Once again, Forbes has taken it upon themselves to rank the highest paid DJs in the world. The list is quite similar to the one we saw last year, with EDM’s heaviest hitters all earning obscene amounts of money.
Back at #1 is Mr. Calvin Harris and surrounding him are all the expected names. Aoki, Tiesto, Avicii, etc. They’re all here, and they’re all absolutely killing it. Combined, they pull in $268 million, which, when compared to last year’s total of $241 million, signals an 11% jump.
Check out the full list below, which was calculated using earnings from live shows, merchandise sales, endorsement deals, etc.
1. Calvin Harris – $66 Million
2. David Guetta – $30 Million
3. (TIE) Avicii – $28 Million
3. (TIE) Tiesto – $28 Million
5. Steve Aoki – $23 Million
6. Afrojack – $22 Million
7. Zedd – $21 Million
8. Kaskade – $17 Million
9. Skrillex – $16.5 Million
10. Deadmau5 – $16 Million
11. Hardwell – $13 Million
12. (TIE) Armin Van Buuren – $12 Million
12. (TIE) Steve Angello – $12 Million
As I said, the list is pretty much exactly what one would expect to see, with only a few notable omissions (I’m surprised that Diplo isn’t on here). Other than that, though, it all looks as it should, making it very apparent that the EDM business is seriously booming and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.
Tell us, are you surprised by Forbes’ list? What do you think of it? Sound off below!