Calvin Harris Highest Paid DJ 2015: Taylor Swift’s BF Tops ‘Forbes’ List
Calvin Harris is the luckiest man in the world right now. Not only is he dating one of the biggest pop stars in the world, Taylor Swift, but he’s also one of the richest DJs of 2015.
Calvin Harris, 31, topped the Forbes list of the highest paid DJs for the second consecutive time in a row. There’s no doubt that Harris makes chart-topping hits in both the U.K. and the U.S. Now, it looks like the former nerd is taking over the EDM world.
Forbes recently reported that the Scottish DJ and producer earned $66 million last year. That led Calvin to automatically rise to the top of Forbes’ Electronic Cash King list. Calvin is making nearly double of his competitor, French DJ David Guetta, who only earned $37 million last year.
It’s no surprise that Calvin Harris top the list, but there also plenty of other big name DJs cashing in big checks. Check out the full list below, from HypeBot.
- Calvin Harris ($66 million)
- David Guetta ($37 million)
- Tiësto ($36 million)
- (Tie) Skrillex ($24 million)
- (Tie) Steve Aoki ($24 million)
- Avicii ($19 million)
- Kaskade ($18 million)
- (Tie) Martin Garrix ($17 million)
- (Tie)Zedd ($17 million)
- Afrojack ($16 million)
- (Tie) Deadmau5 ($15 million)
- (Tie) Diplo ($15 million)
Harris exclaimed his excitement for topping the list for the second time. He told Forbes that he credits the popularity of EDM due to his success.
“The rise of dance music has been astronomical… I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Ryan Mac, editor of Forbes, explained to the Fader as to why Calvin topped the list again while female DJs struggle to make it onto the list. Two popular female artists, Nervo and Krewella, score several Vegas gigs but can only crack the $8 million to $15 million range.
“It’s still a male dominated industry and I’m not sure if that’s because the music attracts more men, or women don’t get a fair chance playing or producing.”
Calvin Harris was first crowned the highest paid DJ in 2013, when he earned a whopping $46 million. He earned more than Katy Perry or Jay-Z that year, and made EDM mainstream thanks to his collaborations with Ellie Goulding, Florence and the Machine, and Rihanna.
Back in June, it was revealed that Harris and Swift were the highest paid celebrity couple in the world. Combined, they made $146 million last year. Harris and Swift knocked Jay-Z and Beyoncé off the list, quickly cementing themselves as the music industry’s new power couple.
[Image: Tristan Fewings / Getty Images]
