Wouter “Wally” De Backer was born 21 May 1980, in Bruges, Belgium, and under the stage name of Gotye, he is now known around the world as an outstanding instrumentalist and singer, having reached #1 on the US Billboard chart, and winning five Aria Awards.
So just how rich is Goyte? Sources estimate that currently he has a net worth of $1.5 million, accumulated during a career in the music industry which has so far spanned not much over 10 years.
Gotye Net Worth $1.5 Million
Gotye started his musical career at early age. He spent all of his childhood in Australia (the family moved away from Belgium when he was only two years old), and started learning to play various musical instruments at school in Sydney. He met some like-minded young teens and they started a school band called Downstares; one of the band members, Lucas Taranto, still plays in Gotye’s live shows. After another relocation, this time to Melbourne, where the artist finished his Bachelor of Arts, he received an old record collection from a neighbor, and from that point in 2001, his career started picking up.
Goyte recorded his first tracks primarily using samples, designed the cover of the CD himself, and made 50 copies. He sent them to more or less influential radio stations around the country, and made ‘phone calls to make sure they were received. However, a solo career was a while coming, and hasn’t been the only way to fill Gotye’s pockets. Since 2002, Gotye has been a member of indie pop band called “The Basics”, who have released three studio albums along with many other recordings and singles. This, of course, has notably contributed to the artist’s net worth. It is important to mention that Gotye’s vocal abilities are often compared to those of Sting and Peter Gabriel.
As they say, money do not come as easily and quickly as we would wish. Only in 2011, when Gotye released a single called Somebody That I Used to Know which made him a world known star, has his income started reaching those dreams. As mentioned before, the single reached the first place of the Billboard Hot 100 charts and made him famous all over the globe. Gotye as a solo artist has released three studio albums so far. As a strong believer of the indie movement, he never signed contracts with any record label, the albums were released independently. In addition to the three albums, Gotye has released an album combined of remixes of songs written in his early career. The money received from selling the mentioned albums skyrocketed to the overall amount of Gotye net worth.
Gotye is now considered to be one of the most successful musicians of today, as in his adopted Australia he managed to become the fifth artist to reach first place in the Billboard Hot 100 and the second artist from his native Belgium (we compare so because the artist is half- Australian, half- Belgian). Not only is he a great singer, but also a world renowned multi- instrumentalist. He is the best at playing the piano and the drums though.
Money makes the world go round, but acceptance is nice too. Goyte has received five ARIA awards – having been nominated for seven in 2011 alone – as well as three Grammy awards. The three Grammy awards were received at the same ceremony, the 55th Annual Grammy Awards to which the singer’s reaction was: “I often feel more of a tinkerer, less of a musician”.
Little is known of Goyte’s private life, but outside music he is interested in politics, even rumoured to be considering standing for the Victorian parliament. For the sake of his many fans, we can hope that he prefers to continue his music career, full time.
