Calvin Harris Made More Money Than Rihanna & Katy Perry This Year
Good news for people who are still paying off their college loans: Forbes revealed that Scottish DJ/producer Calvin Harris earned $46 million within the last 12 months. That means the 29-year-old EDM heavyweight out-earned any other DJ this year, not to mention netting more money than pop stars like Katy Perry and even his "We Found Love" collaborator Rihanna.
Surprisingly, Harris' astounding take is partly due to his reluctance to headline his own tour, Forbes suggests in their report. By playing festivals and Las Vegas clubs, Harris avoids having basic operational costs taken out of his own earnings. Smart dude.
Following Harris on Forbes' Electronic Cash Kings list are a number of the usual suspects in the exploding EDM scene. Dutch DJ Tiesto follows significantly behind Harris in the No. 2 slot, earning a "mere" $32 million within the last 12 months. David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia and deadmau5 round out the Top 5 on Forbes' list. The estimated earnings for these artists includes endorsements, merch sales and other business ventures, in addition to concert ticket sales and—least importantly—recorded music sales.
BTW, we're only sort-of kidding about music sales being the most negligible part of an EDM artist's earnings in the 21st century. After all, Harris saw his last album peak at No. 19 on the U.S. Billboard Album Charts and has seen just one single reach the Top 10 ("Sweet Nothing" featuring Florence Welch) within the last year.
So live music isn't just where the party's at—it's where the dough is, too.
The Top 5:
1. Calvin Harris - $46 million
2. Tiesto - $32 million
3. David Guetta - $30 million
4. Swedish House Mafia - $25 million
5. Deadmau5 - $21 million
Head over to Forbes for the full list.
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