Marshmello may be anonymous, but there’s nothing mysterious about his success. As an independent artist, Marshmello has been able to rocket his way to the top via one-off, A-list collaborations on major labels.
It’s a brilliant strategy that’s earned him $44 million in 2018 and made him a Forbes favorite. His cartoonish mug graces the cover of the magazine’s annual 30 Under 30 issue. Within its pages, readers will also find Marshmello’s famed manager Moe Shalizi. In honor of Marshmello’s achievement, Billbaord Dance takes a closer look at his success by the numbers.
For a guy who won’t take his mask off, Marshmello is certainly sociable. He’s racked up 5.8 million followers on Facebook, quickly approaching 5.9 million if you’re in the mood to round up. He’s got 1.32 million followers on Twitter, and an astounding 13.7 million on Instagram and nearly 22 million YouTube subscribers. Indeed, Forbes’ cover story states that his YouTube channel is the 50th largest on the platform, averaging 250 million views and 1.4 million new subscribers each month.
His breakout single “Alone” may have peaked at No. 60 on the Hot 100 chart, but it since cracked 1 billion views in mid-October, making him the fifth electronic artist to do so, joining The Chainsmokers, Major Lazer and DJ Snake, Alan Walker and Calvin Harris. Fast-forward to his latest single “Happier” featuring UK band Bastille, which sits at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, his highest placement to date, while the music video has earned a fast 90 million YouTube views in its first two months. All in all, Marshmello has had seven hits on the Hot 100, three of which cracked the top 20.
Turning our attention to Spotify, Marshmello counts a hair more than 40 million listeners a month, with six super-hits that have garnered more than 100 million streams. His Khalid collaboration “Silence,” released in August of 2017, seems to be his heaviest stream hit with 658 million streams to date. It’s followed by “Wolves” with Selena Gomez at 578.4 million, and “Friends” with Anne-Marie at 564.5 million.
His famous helmet has been through many renditions as it undergoes constant improvement. Currently, it costs $55,000, but the price tag includes an air-conditioning system and programmable LED lights, weighing in at a comfortable eight pounds. His future is looking bright too: Forbes says the masked musician is on track to make $50 million in 2019. If things continue to go well, he could surpass Calvin Harris as the highest-paid DJ in the game, a ranking the Scottish producer has held for six years running.
