For the second straight year, Calvin Harris pulled in $66 million to lead all DJs, and it’s not even close: The Scotsman earned nearly twice as much as the No. 2 name on Forbes list. The top twelve DJs earned $304 million over the past year—read on to see the complete rankings.
1. Calvin Harris ($66 million)
Though he’s been in the headlines for capturing the heart of Taylor Swift, Harris has captured quite a bit of cash as well. He played fewer shows than last year but has seen a rise in club and festival fees prop up his earning total. He also has seven-figure endorsements with the likes of Giorgio Armani, which made Harris its newest face for its men’s underwear line. A rare artist who writes, performs and produces his own tracks, he released “Motion” last October with Gwen Stefani and Big Sean.
2. David Guetta ($37 million)
The ageless French DJ/producer had another massive year, playing 30 shows in Las Vegas while still maintaining a weekly residency in Ibiza. He was a headliner at the most recent Coachella and is a majorattraction in overseas markets like South America and Europe. One of a handful of EDM artists who has found mainstream pop success, the former Parisian club manager has worked with the likes of Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj.
3. Tiësto ($36 million)
Though he’s one of the older DJs on the circuit, Tiesto still out-earns twenty something whippersnappers from Avicii to Zedd, thanks to sky-high nightly fees and a work ethic to match. The Dutch DJ played over 100 dates around the world during our scoring period; he also pads his coffers by endorsing the likes of Guess and 7UP.
4-tie. Skrillex ($24 million)
The screamo-prodigy-turned-superstar-DJ pulled in the highest total of his career, playing more than 95 shows during our scoring period. His thumpy brand of electronic music has proven immensely lucrative: by our estimates, Skrillex has pulled in $71.5 million in pretax earnings over the past four years. Earlier this year he released an album with fellow electronic cash king Diplo under the name Jack Ü. With guests from 2 Chainz to Justin Bieber, the record topped the U.S. dance charts.
4-tie. Steve Aoki ($24 million)
In the 12 months ending this past June 1st, Aoki tallied 216 shows, down from 277 gigs last year. Despite that, he was able to boost his earnings by $1 million in 2015 by focusing on key areas like Latin America. An avid investor, he owns his Dim Mak record label, several restaurants and a minority stake in headphone company Sol Republic; he also boasts endorsements with Bud Light, Guitar Center and Scion.
5. Avicii ($19 million)
The Grammy-nominated producer/DJ is still riding the momentum of debut album True, which spawned the 4x-platinum single “Wake Me Up,”a track that hit No. 1 in 81 countries en route to becoming the most streamed song of all time on Spotify. Despite playing fewer shows than some of his peers, Avicii commands healthy six-figure nightly fees, enough to keep him high on this year’s list. His new album, Stories, is set for release later this year.
6. Kaskade ($18 million)
Despite being in his 40s, Ryan Raddon, better known as Kaskade, is still among the most energetic DJs in the game. The former Mormon missionary and father of three got his start in the music business as an intern at San Francisco-based Om Records. Today, he’s one of the biggest acts in the dance music business. In January, he inked a two-album deal with Warner Bros. After spending most of his career releasing his music on independent labels.
8-tie. Martin Garrix ($17 million)
The Dutch wunderkind born Martijn Garritsen is only 19, making him the youngest member on our list after a monster 12 months that included 116 show dates and a number of endorsements including one with 7UP. Inspired by fellow countryman Tiësto, he started exploring music and production as a pre-teen. Garrix was boosted into the limelight with the mega-success of single “Animals” and is managed by Scooter Braun, the man behind Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
8-tie. Zedd ($17 million)
Born Anton Zaslavski, the Russian-German DJ got his stage moniker as a youngster in an attempt to distinguish himself from another student in his class who shared the same first name. There’s no confusion over Zedd’s identity now: last year his second album, True Colors, soared to No. 4 on the Billboard album charts with the help of a lead single recorded with Selena Gomez.
10. Afrojack ($16 million)
The Dutch-born DJ is without a doubt the biggest one on our list—in terms of height (he stands 6 feet 9 inches tall) if not earnings. The latter may soon catch up to the former, thanks to the six-figure fees Afrojack pulls in at clubs and festivals from Las Vegas to Europe. His music often includes cash kings of a different genre: his debut album Forget the World, released last year, featured Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa.
11-tie. Deadmau5 ($15 million)
For Joel Zimmerman, better known as Deadmau5, it’s about quality, not quantity. He only played about 30 shows in our scoring period, but he can afford to when he’s making upwards of $500,000 for many of them. Some large festival fees can breach the seven-figure mark. Always controversial, he was called an “a**hole” by listmate Skrillex, after the mouse-head-wearing DJ dissed one of his former protégés’ new tracks. Fun fact: Deadmau5’s agent is also named Joel Zimmerman.
11-tie. Diplo ($15 million)
Better known as the DJ/producer Diplo, Thomas Wesley Pentz has been one of the top names in electronic music for years, but this is highest total yet. His big payday comes courtesy of skyrocketing fees for live shows, of which he has played more than 100 in our scoring period, both alone and as part of electronic group Major Lazer. He also teamed with fellow electronic cash king Skrillex to release an album under the name Jack Ü; the record topped the dance charts in the U.S.
Near Misses
There were plenty of EDM acts who earned millions but didn’t make quite enough to land on our list. Among the closest: Alesso, Hardwell, Armin Van Buuren, Nervo, DJ Snake, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Krewella.