Billboard unveils its list of highest-paid musicians for 2018

American entertainment media brand Billboard has revealed its list of highest-paid musicians for 2018 and only one electronic dance music act has made the top 50 cut. Most fans would bag Scottish talent Calvin Harris to be high among the ranks of the highest-paid musicians since Forbes placed the music producer in their richest celebrities list with a net worth of $48 million. According to Billboard’s list of highest-paid musicians, The Chainsmokers formed of EDM-pop duo Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart are the only electronic dance act to snag a spot on Billboard’s list coming in at position 50 behind English rock band Def Leppard.

Providing fans with a calculated breakdown on how each musician has grossed their earnings, the list looks at figures such as sales, publishing, streaming, and touring. For The Chainsmokers, the release of their album in 2017 – ‘Memories – Do Not Open‘, along with a flurry of singles proved beneficial for the duo who finished that year with the fourth-highest number of track downloads. According to Billboard, both Alex and Andrew made $1.5 million in sales, $2.5 million from streaming, $1.4 million from publishing, and $3.7 million from touring resulting in a grand total of $9.1 million for the year. That’s some serious G’s for the American pair.

Topping Billboards highest-paid musicians list was Irish rock band U2 who totalled a staggering $54.4 million with $52 million coming from touring alone for Bono & Co. American singer and songwriter Garth Brooks follows up in second place, iconic heavy metal band Metallica take third with Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran completing the lists top 5.

There is no doubt that further down the list, the likes of electronic dance music superstars David Guetta, Tiësto, and Martin Garrix are all getting a slice of the action, and if not, hopefully they will be representing EDM in the list next year. Waste no time and check out the full Billboard list right here.

Also, check the full list of Forbes‘ top 15 paid DJs below.

15. Afrojack ($10 million)
14. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike ($10.5 million)
13. DJ Snake ($11 million)
12. Kygo ($11.5 million)
11. Axwell & Ingrosso ($12 million)
10. Martin Garrix ($13 million)
9. Kaskade ($13.5 million)
8. David Guetta ($15 million)
7. Diplo ($20 million)
6. Zedd ($22 million)
5. Marshmello ($23 million)
4. Steve Aoki ($28 million)
3. Tiesto ($33 million)
2. The Chainsmokers ($45.5 million)
1. Calvin Harris ($48 million)