From the early days as the inspiration for the birth of hip-hop, to the modern phenomenal rise in popularity of Electronic Dance Music, the DJ’s of today are given the same attention that would in previous decades have been reserved for bands and singers, but who exactly is top of the DJ heap when it comes to earning power? Find out here which performers took home the biggest paycheck in the last twelve months.
The Richest DJs In The World – 2024‘s Top Earners List
Without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the richest DJs in the world.
10. Zedd – $50 Million
Zedd is a Russian-German music producer and DJ. He was propelled into stardom with the release of his 2012 single, “Clarity (ft. Foxes)”. Not only did it reach number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, but it also earned him a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
That same year, he released his debut studio album of the same name. Praised by critics, it spawned two additional singles—“Shave It” and “Spectrum”, the latter of which charted in several countries including the United States, Japan, Germany, Poland, Austria, Australia, and Belgium.
Since then, he has released a second album titled, True Colors. Some highlights include “Addicted to a Memory (ft. Bahari)”, “True Colors”, “I Want You to Know (ft. Selena Gomez)”, “Beautiful Now (ft. Jon Bellion), and “Bumble Bee (with Botnek). He was also featured in Ariana Grande’s “Break Free”, which reached number four in the United States.
He has also won a handful of accolades including two APRA Music Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, a Grammy Award, and three iHeartRadio Music Awards. On top of that, he has been nominated for three Much Music Video Awards, five Radio Disney Music Awards, and five American Music Awards.
9. Paul Oakenfold – $65 Million
Paul Oakenfold is a record producer and trance DJ. Throughout his career, he has won numerous accolades including three Grammy Awards, four DJ Awards, and two World Music Award nominations. That’s not all, DJ Magazine also named him the Number One DJ In the World in 1998 and 1999.
Known for his mix compilations, he has provided remixes for more than a hundred artists including Britney Spears, The Cure, The Stone Roses, U2, The Rolling Stones, Massive Attack, and Michael Jackson.
He also has four studio albums to his name—Bunkka, A Lively Mind, Trance Mission, and Shine On, the latter of which was released in 2022.
8. Thomas Bangalter – $70 Million
Thomas Bangalter is best known as one half of the former electronic music duo, Daft Punk. One of the most influential acts in dance music history, they have won numerous awards including six Grammy Awards, six International Dance Music Awards, two Billboard Music Awards for Top Dance/Electronic Artist, a Brit Award for Best International Group, and a BMI R&B/Hip Hop Award for Song of the Year.
Not only that, but he has also released music as a member of the duo, Together, and the trio, Stardust. As a solo artist, he has also come out with four albums including Trax on da Rocks, Spinal Scratch, Trax on da Rocks Vol. 2, and Outrage.
Over the years, he has also written songs for several films including Irreversible, Riga, Climax, and En Corps.
7. Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo – $70 Million
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo is a French DJ, singer, songwriter, record producer, and film director. The other half of Daft Punk, he has produced several works from his music label, Crydamoure. For example, he worked on Sebastien Tellier’s album, Sexuality, in 2008.
Some other tracks that he’s worked on include “See Me Now” by Cassius, “Nightcall” by Kavinsky, “My Poseidon” by Sebastien Tellier, “Hurt You (ft. Gesaffelstein)” by The Weeknd, and “Test” by Charlotte Gainsbourg.
He has also released two solo albums: Waves in 2000 and Waves II in 2003.
6. Andrew Taggart – $70 Million
Andrew Taggart is one half of the EDM duo, The Chainsmokers. They rose to fame in 2014 with the release of their single, “#Selfie”, which charted within the top 20 in several countries. They’re also known for the songs “Roses (ft. Rozes)”, “Don’t Let Me Down (ft. Daya)”, Closer (ft. Halsey)”, and “All We Know (ft. Phoebe Ryan)”.
As of 2024, they’ve released four albums—Memories…Do Not Open, Sick Boy, World War Joy, and So Far So Good, the first of which debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.
One of the highest-paid DJs in the world, they’ve won one Grammy Award, seven Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, and nine iHeartRadio Music Awards.
5. David Guetta – $75 Million
David Guetta is a French music producer and DJ. As of 2024, he has sold more than 65 million singles and 10 million albums worldwide. Some of his most popular songs include “Little Bad Girl”, “Turn Me On”, “Without You”, “When Love Takes Over”, “Sexy Bitch”, “Gettin’ Over You”, and “Titanium.”
His accolades include two Grammy Awards, three DJ Awards, eleven International Dance Music Awards, a Billboard Music Award, and an American Music Award. He was also named the No. 1 DJ by DJ Magazine in 2011, 2020, and 2021.
Since 2019, he has also been releasing music with fellow producer, MORTEN. In 2020, they released their EP, New Rave for fans to enjoy at home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
4. Steve Aoki – $95 Million
Steve Aoki is an American DJ, record executive, music programmer, and record producer. One of the highest-earning EDM artists in North America, he has collaborated with numerous artists throughout his career including Lil Jon, Backstreet Boys, BTS, Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park, Taking Back Sunday, and Louis Tomlinson.
He has also released a number of studio albums including Wonderland, Neon Future I, Neon Future II, Steve Aoki Presents Kolony, Neon Future III, and Neon Future IV. Some of his most popular tracks include “Delirious (Boneless) (With Chris Lake and Tujamo ft. Kid Ink)”, “Just Hold On (With Louis Tomlinson)”, Waste It On Me (ft. BTS)”, and “Play It Cool (With Monsta X)”.
In 2013, he won a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronica Album. Aside from that, he’s also received a DJ Award for Best Set of the Season, a Billboard Award for Best Mix Album of the Year, an MTV Latin America Chiuku Award, and a World Music Award for World’s Best EDM Artist.
3. DJ Tiesto – $170 Million
Tiesto is a Dutch music producer and DJ. Not only was he voted “the Greatest DJ of All Time” by Mix Magazine, but he was also voted the “Best DJ of the Last 20 Years” by DJ Magazine readers. In fact, many consider him to be the “Godfather of EDM.”
Over the years, he has released several albums including In My Memory, Elements of Life, Just Be, Kiss From the Past, Kaleidoscope, The London Sessions, and A Town Called Paradise. He has also collaborated with many artists including Steve Aoki, Max Vangell, Kaskade, Ty Dolla Sign, Ava Max, Mabel, and Stevie Appleton, to name a few.
He also has many accolades to his name including a Grammy Award, six TMF Holland Awards, three ID&T Dutch DJ Awards, nine WMC Miami Awards, two Gold Sale Awards, and many others. Earlier this year, his single, “The Business” was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording.
2. Swedish House Mafia – $170 Million
Swedish House Mafia is an electronic dance music trio consisting of Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello, and Axwell. They’re perhaps best known for their single “Don’t You Worry Child”, which earned them a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording in 2013.
Some of their other hits include “Save the World”, “Greyhound”, “One (Your Name) (ft. Pharrell), ”Miami 2 Ibiza (vs. Tinie Tempah)”, “Moth to a Flame (with the Weekend)”, and “It Gets Better.”
More recently in 2022, they released their debut studio album, Paradise Again, after reuniting at the Ultra Music Festival. It consisted of 17 tracks including “Heaven Takes You Home (with Connie Constance)”, “Home”, “Paradise Again”, “Time (ft. Mapei)”, and “For You” and reached the top of the US Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Not only that, but it also topped the UK Dance Albums Chart.
They’ve won numerous accolades as well including two Grammis Awards, two Grammy Award nominations, ten International Dance Music Awards, and two MTV European Music Awards. That’s not all, they were also included on DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJ Poll in 2012.
1. Calvin Harris – $300 Million
Calvin Harris is a Scottish singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. He rose to fame in 2012 with the release of his album, 18 Months, which reached the top of the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart.
Since then, he has released three additional albums—Motion, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 and Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2, the latter of which came out in 2022. Some of his smash hits include “I’m Not Alone”, “Bounce (ft. Kellis)”, “Let’s Go (ft. Ne-Yo)”, “Feel So Close”, “Sweet Nothing (ft. Florence Welch)”, “Summer”, “Blame (ft. John Newman)”, and “This Is What You Came For (ft. Rihanna)”.
The first solo artist from the UK to reach more than one billion streams on Spotify, he’s won a Grammy Award, two Brit Awards (British Single of the Year and British Producer of the Year), a Ivor Novello Award, and several others.
in 2018, he’s said to have earned $48.5 million, making him one of the richest musicians in Britain. He was also named the world’s highest-paid DJ for six consecutive years by Forbes Magazine.
