Max Martin earned an insane amount from songwriting last year

As one of the world’s most successful and prolific songwriters and producers – challenged only by the Beatles for his number of #1 US hits – it should come as no surprise that Swedish hitmaker Max Martin grew his income by 22% last year.

That’s according to Stockholm-based newspaper Expressen, which reports Max Martin’s corporate entity reported income of around US$54 million (436 million SEK) in 2016. The paper also reports he profited a cool US$19 million personally.

It makes sense. While production fees are usually paid at the end of a project, songwriters can wait years for their work to be released. And when it is, up to 18 months for the publishing fees to be paid out.

In 2015 alone, Max Martin’s credits included ‘Love Me Like You Do’ by Ellie Goulding, ‘Bad Blood’, ‘Style’ and ‘Wildest Dreams’ by Taylor Swift, ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ by The Weeknd, and Demi Lovato’s ‘Cool for the Summer.’

Max Martin has been dominating the airwaves for over two decades now, having ushered in a new sound for pop music with his work in the mid-’90s for the likes of Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and ‘N Sync.

According to the most recent tally by Swedish business magazine Veckans Afffärer, published in Decemeber, Max Martin’s net worth is estimated to be around US$260 million (2.1 billion SEK). It’s earned him the title of the 99th richest person in Sweden.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.