World’s Most Powerful Musicians 2013

 

There aren’t many industries in which one can endure a season-ending injury and still finish the year on top. But that’s what happened to Lady Gaga, who ranks highest of all musicians on the 2013 edition of FORBES’ Celebrity 100 power list.

 

The Queen Monster earned $80 million over the past 12 months–and would have banked even more had it not been for a hip injury that cut her Born This Way Ball BLL +1.24% Tour short. The excursion grossed $168 million through January; had Gaga been able to finish the tour, she would have likely topped $200 million. Even so, her massive social media presence—including 38 million Twitter followers and 58 million Facebook FB +2.35% fans—helps make her the top musician on our list.

 

Gaga is one of six musicians in the Celeb 100‘s top ten this year. She’s followed by Beyoncé, who returns to the upper reaches of our list thanks to her Mrs. Carter World Tour—a nod to husband Jay-Z, whom she out-ranks once again. In addition to grossing over $2 million in every city she plays, she still collects cash from old hits and non-musical ventures including new deals with Pepsi and H&M, as well as her House of Dereon clothing line.

 

The number three musician on our list is Madonna. Though the Material Girl earned more than any other member of the Celeb 100, she didn’t rank quite as highly as Gaga or Beyonce when it came to press and social media, hence her overall standing. But with income of $125 million over the past 12 months, she’s laughing all the way to the proverbial bank.

 

Perhaps nobody grasps the importance of social media better than Justin Bieber, the sixth-ranked musician on our list.

 

“It used to be there was a mystery to the artist,” Bieber told FORBES in an interview for last year’s Celeb 100 cover story. “Now there’s, like, no mystery—the fans want the connection, they want to see you Instagramming at a coffee shop in the morning.”

 

The Celebrity 100 measures money and fame, which includes estimated earnings over the last 12 months, and how often each celebrity is mentioned in print and on TV. Our formula also considers marketability and social networking strength across 11 social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Earnings consist of pretax income between June 1, 2012 and June 1, 2013, before taxes and fees for managers, agents and attorneys.

 

Of course, social media status and press mentions aren’t everything. Despite a middling power rank, Toby Keith earned $65 million–and a spot on our cover.

 

“I’m not running for president,” says the country superstar. “I wouldn’t want that job. I wouldn’t want to take the cut in pay, either.”