The same old, same old DJs were topping the list again with no major upsets. Check out the list of highest paid DJs for the year:
1. Calvin Harris ($63 million)
2. Tiesto ($38 million)
3. David Guetta ($28 million)
4. Zedd ($24.5 million)
5. Steve Aoki ($23.5 million)
6. Diplo ($23 million)
7. Skrillex ($20 million)
8. Kaskade ($19 million)
9. Martin Garrix ($16 million)
10. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike ($15.5 million)
Combined, all these producers earned a whopping $270.5 million. However, that’s not enough to beat 2015’s numbers. In the five years Forbes has been releasing this list, it’s the first time we’ve ever seen a decrease.
Related: Is Diplo a Hypocrite for Collaborating with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike?
However, according to Thump, it was only a 1% decrease, so it may not be the end of the world or even a sign that EDM is losing steam.
Read more to see Steve Aoki’s pessimistic outlook on the fate of EDM: