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    Area_CelebrityCamille Dodero
    8/16/13 4:13pm

    What is the source of this income? It's not like sports stars with huge numbers of paying fans, and endorsements up the wazoo. The clubs are paying for these guys to perform, but it couldn't be that much. Endorsements? What can they endorse beside headphones and mixing equipment?

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      Sheeeeeeit-ClayDavisArea_Celebrity
      8/16/13 4:16pm

      Most of the top earners produce for other artists. This basically means Calvin Harris got a big piece of Rhianna's last album. Diplo does similar work with other artists.

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      La.M.Area_Celebrity
      8/16/13 4:22pm

      And they tour like CRAZY. I am in Vegas and most of these guys are here at least once a month playing clubs and day clubs. Diplo has been on the road with Mad Decent Block Party and Major Lazer all summer (and he is in Vegas around 2ce a month). All of them produce music for other people. Skrillex just did a soundtrack for Spring Breakers.

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    Li'l BiscuitCamille Dodero
    8/16/13 4:27pm

    Yeah... I have a hard time believing these numbers. Let's say that Harris works maximum three nights a week, between traveling and what not, besides the fact that there aren't a lot of clubs pulling big crowds on a Tuesday night in general. That would be $233k a gig, average. Maybe you can get a fee like that playing a big festival gig, but on a Saturday night even in Vegas, they are never going to pay a DJ that kind of cash.

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      La.M.Li'l Biscuit
      8/16/13 4:35pm

      Calvin Harris' most recent single is number one on the Billboard top dance songs. I don't know what that means as far as record sales go, but I am sure it helps with his earnings figure.

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      betty24twelveLi'l Biscuit
      8/16/13 4:35pm

      Perhaps the profits are from their side business dealing ecstasy.

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    miltonistaCamille Dodero
    8/16/13 4:06pm

    That's some serious scratch.

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      Not A Snortmiltonista
      8/16/13 4:20pm

      This situation is wrong on so many...levels.

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      HashTagYoloisbackNot A Snort
      8/16/13 4:25pm

      Why?

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    HashTagYoloisbackCamille Dodero
    8/16/13 4:53pm

    Sooo...Gawker commenters do not like house and EDM, eh? It's not easy being a DJ. At all. You gotta have an unfailing ear for rhythm and tempo. And you need to be excellent with pitch and frequency. And you have to have an incredible ability to manage and contain constant change in all of the above.

    Most musicians would not be able to hear an Etta James song and figure out how to transform its context and instrumentation entirely but in a way that makes auditory sense. Most musicians cannot figure out how to transform a rhythm over and over again within the same song and still make it coherent like Skrillex can.

    Also I don't get how and why the same demographic that pays close attention to Jennifer Aniston and takes Rihanna's music very seriously is now very concerned about mediocrity in popular culture.

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      Taint NuttinHashTagYoloisback
      8/16/13 6:27pm

      It was easy enough to be a rave DJ even before it all went digital. Now they basically stand there and try to look busy while their laptop does all the work.

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      MilkSauceHashTagYoloisback
      8/16/13 7:43pm

      It's not easy being a DJ

      Not true. I have a friend who is a model/actress but gets booked most often for DJing gigs. All she does is pop a CD-R of "mixes" into her laptop and press play. (You read that right) She gets booked constantly at clubs around the country, and is paid very well for it. It's extremely easy to be a DJ. It's hard to be a good DJ.

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    Cam/ronCamille Dodero
    8/16/13 4:10pm

    Ugh, remember the good ol' days when respected DJs never touched a CD-J or a laptop?

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      explodingkneesCam/ron
      8/16/13 4:42pm

      thanks for this. gonna go remind myself that Q-bert and Babu exist. RIP Roc Raida.

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      b-rarCam/ron
      8/16/13 5:17pm

      It's almost as though things change over time.

      Also in "the good ol' days" DJs were shit on as non-musicians anyway, so what in the world is your point?

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    Zoey NovaCamille Dodero
    8/16/13 4:02pm

    damn dude i saw steve aoki live, i didnt know he was so loaded, he sports that jesus look ya know?

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      Dancin' in HeavenZoey Nova
      8/16/13 4:04pm

      His dad founded Benihana, so he's never been anything but loaded.

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      John BoehnerZoey Nova
      8/16/13 4:08pm

      His dad was rich as fuck. He and Devon had a shitload of connections to jump start their careers.

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    Montauk MonsterCamille Dodero
    8/16/13 4:10pm

    You know what I love about Pauly D, and every other “Jersey Shore” cast member? Is how much every fameball who ever entered a Real World house (and decided that participating on “Challenge” shows well into their 30s and beyond was a good life plan) must HATE them.

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      Taint NuttinMontauk Monster
      8/18/13 10:03am

      That's why I always rooted for the Jersey Shore people at least a little bit- for all the shit they took, unlike every cast of The Real World the Jersey Shore guys kept a clean house and cooked. They came off as better people than 90% of the Real Worlders.

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    La.M.Camille Dodero
    8/16/13 4:29pm

    As an ex-raver it thrills me to no end that electronic music is mainstream. In Vegas it gets radio play regularly. It's a fun lifestyle. It's fun music. I used to dance my ass off in warehouses and now I reconcile spreadsheets to Major Lazer. I say make that money. If Miley Cyrus gets paid to make music, so should these guys.

    Zedd will make the list next year.

    It would be nice to see some really successful lady DJ's.

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      UhhWutLa.M.
      8/16/13 5:38pm

      You're one of the few. All my long-time techno junkie friends do nothing but bitch about EDM being mainstream now. Calvin Harris is a sellout etc.

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      La.M.UhhWut
      8/16/13 5:40pm

      Yeah well, haters gonna hate.

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    ArdenCamille Dodero
    8/16/13 6:32pm

    And those "pre-recorded tracks" of theirs were painstakingly crafted in the studio where 90% of all the DJ/Producer's work is actually done.

    Just because the guy isn't plucking at a string or poking a keyboard on stage doesn't mean they aren't actually working.

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      GrowlrBearArden
      8/16/13 8:48pm

      When you go see a band play live, you don't expect them to play pre-recorded tracks and mime playing along, do you?

      If a DJ isn't mixing and cutting live, then you might as well save money and rent a jukebox.

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      ArdenGrowlrBear
      8/16/13 11:22pm

      It's a reasonable expectation, though Beyonce, Brittney and a host of other 'singers' caught lip-synching would like to discuss how standard "live" is. ;)

      I agree if a DJ just loads up a pre-selected playlist, pushes play and then dances around it's an issue, but any GOOD DJ will read the crowd and spin in his songs on the fly to match their mood. These days though, a lot of EDM artists are also mostly performers on stage.

      I suppose it comes down to whether or not you're at the show for live demonstrations of talent, or there to have a freaking blast. If I want to watch people wow me with their talent live, I'd go to see like...the Berlin Philharmonic. If I want to dance and have a good time, I'll go see Armin Van Buuren

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    Taint NuttinCamille Dodero
    8/16/13 6:33pm

    So button-pushing clowns are clocking eight figures, while you can find Shortkut at the bottom of the bill on local reggae flyers. Makes sense.

    If there's that much money coming through the spot, the DJ may as well get a huge chunk of it. But that's really the only perspective on this shit I can appreciate. Wipe the first twelve names on that list and all their fans off the face of the planet, and the world would be a much better place.

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      classyasskyleTaint Nuttin
      8/16/13 11:11pm

      As many people have pointed out here, all of these people (except for Pauly D) record their own songs, release their own albums, and have Top 40 hits being played on the radio. They didn't get that much money by just pushing buttons at a club. Their doing more work than the Britney's and Katy Perry's when it comes to today's music so yeah, they're making big bucks. Still not as much as you're average big name celebrity though.

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      Taint Nuttinclassyasskyle
      8/16/13 11:48pm

      And I can appreciate that, at least in theory. If you're playing a lot of your own stuff you're making the most of the technology and have the right to a bigger check. But even when I've seen some DJ rankings that were supposedly all about skill and not $, they preface the whole thing by acknowledging how many rap DJs are more technically proficient and better party rockers than everybody on their list. It would be nice if the game was a little more of a meritocracy and a little less show business.

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