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Music

Calvin Harris Is Still the World's Highest Paid DJ

Other top earners according to Forbes include Diplo and ZEDD.
Photo of Calvin Harris via Wikimedia Commons.

Forbes' annual list of the world's highest-paid DJs, "Electronic Cash Kings," has been released for 2016 and for the fourth year in a row, Calvin Harris tops the list. Despite claiming the number one spot, Harris pulled in $3 million less than the previous year. But he probably is not hurting too much. Forbes reports Harris—who earns more than $400,000 per Las Vegas gig—earned a cool $63 million dollars for the year.

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New DJs to enter the list include Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, who earned the number ten spot with $15.5 million. Their ranking is just below Martin Garrix ($16 million) and just above Afrojack ($15 million).

Collectively, the top ten earners on the list made $270.5 million this year, a 1 percent drop from the previous year. It is the first year in which the cumulative total has gone down since Forbes began tracking the numbers. Some DJs on the list cite a changing music scene.

"The bubble has already burst in America," said Steve Aoki, the number five DJ on the list with total earnings of $23.5 million. "You can see it in Vegas' DJ landscape."

Forbes notes that many of the stars on the list make their earnings in realms outside of the DJ booth. Estimates for the magazine's list were derived from reports of earnings from live shows, merchandise sales, endorsements, recorded music and outside business ventures from June 2015 to June 2016. Read the full list below.

Forbes' "Electronic Cash Kings": 1. Calvin Harris $63 million
2. Tiësto $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