Jay-Z & Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift Among "Billboard's" "Power 100"

Stan Honda/AFP/Getty ImagesWho is the most powerful recording artist in music today? If you said Lady Gaga, you'd be wrong -- at least, you would if you went by Billboard magazine's new Power 100 list. 

The publication has ranked the most powerful folks in the music industry -- both artists and those behind the scenes -- based on everything from chart position, touring revenue, social media standing, business trends and more.  The highest-ranked music artist on the list is the power couple of Beyonce and Jay-Z, and they come in at #13 -- everyone ahead of them is an executive of some type or another.  

The next artist to appear on the list is U2, at #27, followed by Jon Bon Jovi at #50.  Taylor Swift is next at #78, and way down at #84, we get to Lady Gaga.

According to Billboard, Beyonce and Jay made the list due to their music careers as well as their outside interests, which for him include his Roc Nation entertainment company, his shares of the New Jersey Nets and the 40/40 club chain, and his Rocawear clothing line.  Beyonce has her clothing line, House of Dereon, and her deals with L'Oreal, Coty and Target.  U2 is powerful because the band just wrapped up the most successful concert tour in history -- it grossed more than $736 million dollars.  

Jon Bon Jovi's there because he runs the business of Bon Jovi behind the scenes, and business is good: they're the biggest self-managed music act in the world.  Taylor owns her own management company and has many endorsement deals, as well as her own clothing line and fragrance, while Gaga has her amazing social media presence and her many branding deals.

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