LOS ANGELES: American singer Taylor Swift was the highest earning musician of 2015 despite Adele selling more records than her.

The Shake It Off singer, aged 26, raked in $73.5 million, thanks to her 1989 World Tour, which earned her $61.7 million.

Billboard, which compiled the figures, said it showed how important touring has become to musicians instead of just selling music, reports mirror.co.uk.

Adele, 28, sold the most albums in 2015, yet she could only make ninth place with $20.5 million. Of this, $16.3 million was from album sales and nothing from touring.

In the second place on the list was country star Kenny Chesney with $39.8 million in earnings followed by the Rolling Stones on $39.6 million.

Despite Zayn Malik’s exit in early 2015, band One Direction raked in $19.6 million. They came fifth in the earnings chart — making $24.2 million. They topped the chart in 2015.

Billboard used data from the US sales and tours only to calculate its numbers.