Here's how Taylor Swift makes all that money

Every year, Parade magazine reveals what people actually make, from regular jobs like tax preparers and lab technicians, to very wealth celebrities. For example, 23-year-old Taylor Swift, who made more than Adele and Channing Tatum combined. But how does she do it?

According to Parade, Swift is one of the top celebrity earners. At $57 million annual income, Swift places just slightly lower than LeBron James ($57.5 million), but above big names like Brad Pitt ($35.5 million) and Justin Bieber ($55 million). What's the star's secret?

For one, Swift appears to be kind of savvy when it comes to real estate. Swift purchased a house in Cape Cod just last year, and, upon selling it, netted a neat profit of about $875,000, BostInno reports. 

Additionally, Swift is pretty consistently on tour, and she's got more than few lucrative sponsorship contracts, including Covergirl and Diet Pepsi. 

But even all of that doesn't account for Swift's huge income -- especially compared to other musicians (like Blake Shelton, who makes just $20 million per year). The real secret to Swift's success? Smart marketing and the best possible way to sell albums in a collapsing industry. 

A Planet Money report from November of last year reveals Swift's savvy record contract, and the clever way her people have organized her empire to maximize profit. Essentially, instead of selling her albums and songs through venues like Amazon, which offer cut-rate prices that help other artists (like Bruno Mars) achieve success at a lower profit, Swift only works with vendors that sell at full price. 

Swift's ultra-high profile is also a big part of her success. Because while her perpetually-fascinating dating behavior and small tiffs with other celebrities may raise some eyebrows, the fact is that there's not a person in the Western World who doesn't at least peripherally know that, somewhere out there, there's a guy that Taylor Swift is never, ever, ever getting back together with.