Monstercat

Monstercat
Monstercat's official logo with wording.
Founded 6 July 2011 (2011-07-06)
Founder
  • Mike Darlington, CEO
  • Ari Paunonen, COO
Genre
Country of origin Canada
Location Vancouver, British Columbia
Official website monstercat.com
YouTube information
Years active 2011–present (Uncaged)
2018–present (Instinct)
Genre Music
Subscribers 7 million (Uncaged)
100 thousand (Instinct)
Total views 2.1 billion (Uncaged)
23.1 million (Instinct)
100,000 subscribers 2012 (Uncaged)
2018 (Instinct)
1,000,000 subscribers 2013 (Uncaged)
Subscriber and view counts updated as of 13 October 2018.

Monstercat (formerly known as Monstercat Media) is a Canadian independent electronic dance music record label based in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2011, the label began releasing new music on a tri-weekly basis; this was changed to four new releases a week in 2018.[1]

History

Beginning (2011–2012)

Monstercat Media was founded on 1 July 2011 by Mike Darlington and Ari Paunonen, two college students out of Waterloo, Ontario. The label's YouTube channel, which served as a medium to promote their friends and their music, was created the same day.[2][3] Today, the label signs artists on a single-track basis, allowing them to move between labels and brands without an exclusive contract.[4] Darlington and Paunonen were later responsible for the creation of the label's uniform compilation albums.[2]

The team moved to their current offices in Vancouver in 2012 after Darlington and Paunonen finished school.[5]

Building the label and first tour (2013–2015)

In July 2014, Monstercat surpassed one million record sales across the label.[3] When asked about the label model, Darlington said:

People don’t need record labels anymore. Artists can do everything on their own. So we either had to do it for them better or provide a platform and marketing tool they can’t find on their own. That’s where the community concept came for Monstercat. We created a brand that fans can use to discover music and [that] artists can use as a platform for getting their music out there.[3]

In August 2014, Monstercat published a manifesto calling for reform of copyright law. In it, they described their desire to allow musicians more freedom in sampling other musicians' recordings.[5][6]

In December 2014, Monstercat launched Monstercat FM as part of live-streaming service Twitch's start in music broadcasting.[7] Monstercat FM is a 24/7 radio station-like Twitch stream featuring a lot of Monstercat's releases from some of their history as a label. The launch event of the stream was a DJ set by Monstercat artist Stephen Walking. Monstercat FM was eventually added to YouTube and Microsoft-owned live-streaming website Mixer.

Since 2015, Monstercat has participated in multiple music festivals. One such festival is the Amsterdam Dance Event, which Billboard describes their 2015 show as "a three-hour mixer outing".[8]

Partnerships, awards and evolution (2017–present)

In June 2017, Monstercat announced a partnership with Psyonix to help promote the two-year anniversary of Rocket League with the release of Rocket League x Monstercat Vol. 1, an 18-song album from various artists who had previously signed songs to Monstercat including Slushii, Aero Chord and Vicetone. The album was released on 5 July 2017.[9] Monstercat also announced their own TV channel, Monstercat TV, on the television platform Pluto TV the same month.[10][11]

In July 2017, Monstercat won DJ Mag's 'Best Breakthrough Label', competing against other labels such as Discwoman, Tuskegee Music, Perspectives Digital and Honey Soundsystem.[12]

In November 2017, Monstercat received the label's first certified platinum record for the 2016 song Alone by Marshmello. In an email towards Billboard magazine, Mike Darlington stated:

Working on Alone was an extremely unique experience for the team as the marketing efforts continued for over six months and pushed the boundaries of what we knew a general release strategy to be.

The combination of a great/catchy record, great viral music video, unique influencer marketing, amazing DSP support, and very dedicated digital and terrestrial radio campaigning pushed this record into the spotlight. I'm so grateful to have been a part of it all and am very proud of all the success Marshmello has had over the past couple of years.[13]

In December 2017, Monstercat was named one of the five best independent dance labels of 2017 by Billboard.[14]

On the week of 1 January 2018, Monstercat announced a split in branding into two distinct themes, "Uncaged" and "Instinct", citing the diversity of their library.[15] The change included a retirement of the tri-weekly release schedule in favour of a release schedule of four times a week and a podcast episode in-between.[16]

Artists

Marshmello (left) and Pegboard Nerds (right) are two of the many artists Monstercat has supported.

In May 2016, Monstercat signed American producer Marshmello's single, "Alone". Its music video has amassed over 940 million views combined across YouTube,[17] including a label record 134 million views on Monstercat's YouTube channel as of October 2017. These views contributed to the artist's $21 million year since the video's release.[17]

The label has supported prominent artists such as Krewella,[18][19] Gareth Emery,[20] Ookay,[21] Modestep,[22] and Infected Mushroom.[23] Other notable artists include:

  • Ephixa: Debuting on the label as the first official artist with his song "Dubstep Killed Rock 'n' Roll" in mid-2011, Ephixa had left the label in late 2012, continuing to release music independently. In a Reddit AMA, the Monstercat staff were questioned what happened to him, which they answered "Ephixa, as an artist, took some time off to focus on other projects and his personal life. However, word on the street is that he is back at producing and we are looking forward to hearing his new work".[24] In mid-2016, Ephixa returned to the label and has since continued to release music through Monstercat.[25]
  • Haywyre: Martin Vogt first released his song "Synergy" on Monstercat in 2013 when American electronic music artist Fractal recommended that Vogt should send his music to Monstercat's head of A&R as they might be interested in signing the song to the label.[26][27] Haywyre has since released two full-length albums through the label, Two Fold Pt. 1 in 2014 and Two Fold Pt. 2 in 2016.[28][29] His first album, "Two Fold Pt. 1", was placed as the 5th and 9th best album of 2014 by EDM Sauce and Your EDM respectively.[30][31]
  • Pegboard Nerds: First appearing on Monstercat in 2012 with their song "Gunpoint", Alexander Odden and Michael Parsbergon has since released thirteen extended plays through the label including Guilty Pleasures and The Lost Tracks in 2013 and Nerds by Nature in 2017.[32][33][34] Their 2015 extended play "Pink Cloud" was released to help fund breast cancer research and charted at #9 on the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums and at #20 on the Billboard Heatseekers.[35][36][37]
  • Project 46: Thomas Shaw and Ryan Henderson, two friends who met via Skype, first joined the label in 2011 when Mike Darlington convinced the duo to release their music on Monstercat in an effort to diversify genres in the label, which at the time, the majority of the releases were dubstep.[38][39] The duo has since released two extended plays through the label, Continuum in 2013 and Summer Feels in 2016.[40][41]
  • Varien: Debuting as one of the first artists on the label under the alias 'Halo Nova', Varien has since released various albums and extended plays via the label, including Mirai Sekai (with 7 Minutes Dead) in 2014, The Ancient & Arcane in 2015 and My Prayers Have Become Ghosts in 2016.[42][43][44] In 2017, he retired the Varien alias, simply using 'Nick Kaelar' as his publishing name instead, though he later returned to using Varien as his alias.[45]

Current artists

Artist list sourced from Monstercat's official roster for the current year.[46]

Discography

Main series compilations

  • Monstercat 001 – Launch Week (2011)
  • Monstercat 002 – Early Stage (2011)
  • Monstercat 003 – Momentum (2011)
  • Monstercat 004 – Identity (2011)
  • Monstercat 005 – Evolution (2012)
  • Monstercat 006 – Embrace (2012)
  • Monstercat 007 – Solace (2012)
  • Monstercat 008 – Anniversary (2012)
  • Monstercat 009 – Reunion (2012)
  • Monstercat 010 – Conquest (2012)
  • Monstercat 011 – Revolution (2012)
  • Monstercat 012 – Aftermath (2013)
  • Monstercat 013 – Awakening (2013)
  • Monstercat 014 – Discovery (2013)
  • Monstercat 015 – Outlook (2013)
  • Monstercat 016 – Expedition (2014)
  • Monstercat 017 – Ascension (2014)
  • Monstercat 018 – Frontier (2014)
  • Monstercat 019 – Endeavour (2014)
  • Monstercat 020 – Altitude (2014)
  • Monstercat 021 – Perspective (2015)
  • Monstercat 022 – Contact (2015)
  • Monstercat 023 – Voyage (2015)
  • Monstercat 024 – Vanguard (2015)
  • Monstercat 025 – Threshold (2015)
  • Monstercat 026 – Resistance (2016)
  • Monstercat 027 – Cataclysm (2016)
  • Monstercat 028 – Uproar (2016)
  • Monstercat 029 – Havoc (2016)
  • Monstercat 030 – Finale (2017)
  • Monstercat Uncaged Vol. 1 (2017)
  • Monstercat Uncaged Vol. 2 (2017)
  • Monstercat Uncaged Vol. 3 (2017)
  • Monstercat Uncaged Vol. 4 (2018)
  • Monstercat Instinct Vol. 1 (2018)
  • Monstercat Uncaged Vol. 5 (2018)

Other compilations

  • Monstercat – Best of 2011 (2011)
  • Monstercat – Best of 2012 (2013)
  • Spotlight Compilation Vol. 1 (2013)
  • Monstercat – Best of 2013 (2013)
  • Monstercat 3 Year Anniversary (2014)
  • Monstercat – Best of 2014 (2015)
  • Monstercat – Best of 2015 (2016)
  • Monstercat 5 Year Anniversary (2016)
  • Monstercat – Best of 2016 (2016)
  • Monstercat – Best of 2017 (2017)
  • Rocket League x Monstercat Vol. 1 (2017)
  • Rocket League x Monstercat Vol. 2 (2018)
  • Rocket League x Monstercat Vol. 3 (2018)
  • Rocket League x Monstercat Vol. 4 (2018)

Accolades and awards

Year Organization Recipient(s) Category Result
2017 DJ Mag[12] Monstercat Best breakthrough label Won
EDM Sauce[52] Best record label Won
Dancing Astronaut[53] Label Of The Year Won
Billboard[14] Best Independent Dance Label Contained
EDM Sauce[54] Call of the Wild Best Radio Show 2

References

  1. ↑ "Vancouver-based dance label Monstercat perfects a new business model". Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 18 November 2015. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 Line Abrahamian (February 2014). "Mike Darlington: Channeling his inner Monstercat". DJ Magazine Canada. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "The Monstercat Label Model: From YouTube Channel to One Million Record Sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Monstercat: A New Breed of Record Label in the Digital Music Age". The DJ List. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 "A 21st-century manifesto for electronic label Monstercat". The Globe and Mail. 17 April 2015. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  6. ↑ "Monstercat Records Wants To Change The Music Industry's Views On Copyright". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 22 August 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Twitch Brings Music To Broadcasters". Twitch Blog via Medium. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  8. ↑ "5 Reasons Amsterdam Dance Event Belongs on Your Bucket List". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017. One came courtesy of Vancouver imprint Monstercat, which took attendees on a three-hour mixer outing to highlight a traditionally low-key Sunday (Oct. 18).
  9. ↑ "How Rocket League became a showcase for new musical talent". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "Monstercat and Pluto TV Launch Platform's First Electronic Music TV Channel". Streaming Media Magazine. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  11. ↑ Clancy, Michelle. "Monstercat, Pluto TV team on electronic music channel". Rapid TV News. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  12. 1 2 "BEST BREAKTHROUGH LABEL: MONSTERCAT". DJMag.com. 4 July 2017. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  13. ↑ "Marshmello's 'Alone' Earns Label Monstercat First Platinum Record". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  14. 1 2 "The 5 Best Independent Dance Labels of 2017". Billboard. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  15. ↑ "Monstercat announces split into two imprints". Dancing Astronaut. 3 January 2018. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  16. ↑ "Monstercat Embraces Categorization, and Confuses Fans, with New Imprints". AltWire. 4 January 2018. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  17. 1 2 Robehmed, Natalie. "Inside Masked Newcomer Marshmello's $21 Million Year". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  18. ↑ Cooper, Dan (27 May 2016). "Pegboard Nerds & NGHTMRE - Superstar (Feat. Krewella)". EDM Sauce. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  19. ↑ "Krewella Helps Lookas Show His Softer Side on Guitar-Heavy 'Alarm': Exclusive". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  20. ↑ "Gareth Emery Takes on Bullying With 'Saving Light' Charity Release on Monstercat". Billboard. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  21. ↑ "Ookay, Fox Stevenson Get Crunchy and Cute on 'Lighthouse': Premiere". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  22. ↑ "Modestep release vigorous single on Monstercat, 'Higher' - Dancing Astronaut". Dancing Astronaut. 15 November 2017. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  23. ↑ "Infected Mushroom releases psytrance single 'Spitfire'". Dancing Astronaut. 25 November 2017. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  24. ↑ "Monstercat's Ephixa Returns with 'Catfish' After One-Year Hiatus - EDMTunes". EDMTunes. 25 June 2014. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  25. ↑ "Ephixa & Stephen Walking - Matches feat. Aaron Richards [Monstercat] | Your EDM". Your EDM. 4 July 2016. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  26. ↑ "Haywyre - Synergy (Monstercat) | Your EDM". Your EDM. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  27. ↑ Staff, DH Vancouver (26 June 2015). "Interview: Getting to know electronic jazz-fusion producer Haywyre | Daily Hive Vancouver". Daily Hive. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  28. ↑ "Haywyre Releases a Soothing Symphony of Sounds in "Two Fold: Pt 1" [Album Review] | RaverRafting". raverrafting.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  29. ↑ "Haywyre Talks New Album 'Two Fold Pt. 2', Shares Japan Tour Recap Video". Billboard. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  30. ↑ Stevo (28 December 2014). "The Winner of Best EDM Album of 2014 Is..." EDM Sauce. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  31. ↑ "#Your2014 Top 10 Albums". Your EDM. 30 December 2014. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  32. ↑ "Pegboard Nerds - Guilty Pleasures EP [Monstercat] | Your EDM". Your EDM. 24 June 2013. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  33. ↑ "Pegboard Nerds - The Lost Tracks EP". www.thissongslaps.com. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  34. ↑ "Pegboard Nerds - Nerds by Nature [EP] - The Bangin Beats". The Bangin Beats. 18 January 2017. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  35. ↑ "Pegboard Nerds take up arms against breast cancer with 'Pink Clouds' - Dancing Astronaut". Dancing Astronaut. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  36. ↑ "EDM Music & Dance Albums Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  37. ↑ "Heatseekers Albums: Up and Coming Musicians Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  38. ↑ "2014 elektro Freshmen Class: Project 46 | Elektro : Elektro Daily". 22 August 2014. Archived from the original on 22 August 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  39. ↑ "Project 46 Tease New Album And Get Personal At Phi Kappa Tau's "Oasis" Party [WRR Exclusive Interview+Event Review] | RaverRafting". raverrafting.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  40. ↑ Stevo (30 May 2013). "Project 46 – Continuum EP (Monstercat) [Free Download]". EDM Sauce. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  41. ↑ "Project 46 - Stars (feat. Haley) - Tinman London". Tinman London. 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  42. ↑ "Varien and 7 Minutes Dead Relive Blade Runner on "Mirai Sekai" EP". Thump. 2 September 2014. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  43. ↑ "Varien's 'The Ancient & Arcane' is a cinematic masterpiece". Dancing Astronaut. 10 August 2015. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  44. ↑ "Varien - My Prayers Have Become Ghosts EP - EDMTunes". EDMTunes. 8 November 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  45. ↑ "Varien Goes On a Social Media Blackout... What Does It Mean? [EDMSAUCE Exclusive Interview]". 1 December 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  46. ↑ "2018 artists". Monstercat. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  47. 1 2 "Anevo & Laura Brehm New Release "Universe"". EDM.com. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  48. ↑ "Atmozfears Returns With New Single "Lose It All"". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  49. ↑ "Infected Mushroom Releases Catchy New Single "Walking on the Moon" [Listen]". EDM.com - The Latest Electronic Dance Music News, Reviews & Artists. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  50. ↑ "Laszlo Returns After Hiatus With Bouncy Banger "Gravity"". Run The Trap: The Best EDM, Hip Hop & Trap Music. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  51. ↑ "MEMBA Makes Monstercat Debut With "Stand Off"". Noiseporn. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  52. ↑ Stevo (9 January 2018). "Dance Music Awards 2017 Winners: These Were The Best Record Labels of 2017". EDM Sauce. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  53. ↑ "Dancing Astronaut proudly presents the 2017 Label of the Year - Dancing Astronaut". Dancing Astronaut. 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  54. ↑ Stevo (7 February 2018). "These Were The 10 Best Radio Shows of 2017 [RESULTS]". EDM Sauce. Archived from the original on 9 February 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
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