Lady Gaga arrives at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles. Lady Gaga tops Forbes' 2013 list of the most powerful musicians. [File Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images/CFP]

Lady Gaga has topped Forbes' list of the most powerful musicians.

The rankings are compiled based on earnings, press mentions and social media following.

Lady Gaga earned over US$168 million for her Born This Way Ball tour, despite having had to cut it short due to a hip injury.

The 27-year-old singer's 38.5 million Twitter followers and 57.9 million Facebook fans also helped to propel her to the top.

Lagging behind is Beyonce at number two, with her Mrs. Carter show and endorsement deals with Pepsi and H&M.

Meanwhile, Madonna is in third place, having earned over $300 million for her MDNA tour.

Elsewhere on the list, country pop songstress Taylor Swift makes it to number 4, followed by Bon Jovi and Justin Bieber at 5 and 6 respectively.