Monstercat: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 22:06, 5 June 2018
| Monstercat | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||||||||
| Founded | 6 July 2011 | |||||||||
| Founder | ||||||||||
| Genre | ||||||||||
| Country of origin | Canada | |||||||||
| Location | Vancouver, British Columbia | |||||||||
| Official website | monstercat | |||||||||
YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2011–present (Uncaged) 2018–present (Instinct) | |||||||||
| Genre | Music | |||||||||
| Subscribers | 6.8 million (Uncaged) 100 thousand (Instinct) | |||||||||
| Total views | 2 billion (Uncaged) 8.4 million (Instinct) | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
Last updated: 31 May 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 in July 2011 by Mike Darlington and Ari Paunonen, two college students out of Waterloo, Ontario. Around the same time, they created the label's YouTube channel, which served as a medium to promote their friends and their music.[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]
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".[7]
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.[8] Monstercat also announced their own TV channel, Monstercat TV, on the television platform Pluto TV the same month.[9][10]
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.[11]
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.[12]
In December 2017, Monstercat was named one of the five best independent dance labels of 2017 by Billboard.[13]
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.[14] 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.[15]
Artists
In May 2016, Monstercat signed American producer Marshmello's single, "Alone". Its music video has amassed over 940 million views combined across YouTube,[16] including a label record 134 million views on Monstercat's YouTube channel As of October 2017.[update] These views contributed to the artist's $21 million year since the video's release.[16]
The label has supported prominent artists such as Krewella, Gareth Emery, Ookay, Modestep, and Infected Mushroom. Other notable artists include:
- Aruna
- Candyland: Originally appearing as a remixer for Tristam's Truth in 2012, Candyland released two songs with the label in 2016, including Faces with Shoffy.
- Draper
- 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".[17] In mid-2016, Ephixa returned to the label and has since continued to release music through Monstercat.[18]
- Haywyre: Joined Monstercat in 2013. He finished his first published album, Two Fold Pt. 1, with the label. His latest release on the label is the follow-up, Two Fold Pt. 2.
- Lets Be Friends: Consisting of John Ford and Oren Emanuel, Lets Be Friends released two songs on the label: Manslaughter (VIP Mix) in 2013, and FTW in 2014.
- Project 46: Thomas Shaw and Ryan Henderson, two friends who met via Skype, first joined the label during its first year, 2011, with Dreaming, a song in collaboration with Australian music producer 15grams and vocals by Matthew Sartori. The duo specialize in house music. Their latest release on the label is the Summer Feels EP.
- San Holo: First appeared on the label in 2015 with his Victory EP. Holo currently spends time between Monstercat and his other label, bitbird.
- Varien: One of the seven original Monstercat artists who previously released on the label as Halo Nova for the first two compilations, Varien's (Nick Kaelar's) releases mostly include dark or fantasy themes. The artist's last release on the label was the My Prayers Have Become Ghosts EP in October 2016, which EDMTunes describes as "fitting for a dark underground rave in an epic dungeon of a castle."[19] In 2017, Kaelar retired the Varien name, but in 2018 he announced his return to the alias.
Current artists
Artists who have released on Monstercat in 2017 but not 2018[20]
- Anevo
- Bassnectar
- Crystal Skies
- Dirtyphonics
- Dougal
- DROELOE
- Echos
- Eminence
- Ephixa
- Exist Strategy
- Feint
- Foria
- Fox Stevenson
- Gammer
- Gareth Emery
- Glacier
- Grant (formerly Grant Bowtie)
- Infected Mushroom
- Kayzo
- Kill the Noise
- Laura Brehm
- Mr FijiWiji
- nanobii
- NERVO
- Ookay
- Orbiter (Stephen Walking & 7 Minutes Dead)
- Popeska
- Puppet
- PYLOT
- Quiet Disorder
- RICCI
- Rich Edwards
- Robotaki
- Rootkit
- Seven Lions
- Slushii
- Snails
- Summer Was Fun (alias of DotEXE)
- Timmy Trumpet
- Topi
- Tut Tut Child
- Unlike Pluto
- Wolfgang Gartner
- Zac Waters
- Zero Hero (Darren Styles & Stonebank)
Select featured vocalists on Monstercat in 2017 but not 2018
- Charlotte Haining
- David Benjamin
- Desirée Dawson
- Dylan Matthew
- Elizaveta
- Harry Shotta
- Holly Drummond
- Jessi Mason
- Karra
- Micah Martin
- Park Avenue
- Ragga Twins
- Roniit
- Slyleaf
- Tia Simone
- Tylor Maurer
- Whizzkid
Artists who have released on Monstercat in 2018[21]
- Aaron Richards
- Aero Chord
- Aiobahn
- Apriskah
- Bad Computer
- Bear Grillz
- Bishu
- Bossfight
- Brandyn Burnette
- Conro
- Darren Styles
- Delta Heavy
- Didrick
- Dion Timmer
- Direct
- Dirty Audio
- Droptek
- Duumu
- dwilly
- Dyro
- Flite
- Gent & Jawns
- Grabbitz
- HALIENE
- Hush
- INTERCOM
- inverness
- Jay Cosmic
- Justin Oh
- Koven
- KUURO (Juventa and Luke Shipstad from Suspect 44)
- Lookas
- LVTHER (alias of TwoThirds)
- Matroda
- Matt Van
- Memtrix
- Modestep
- Muzzy
- MYLK
- MYRNE
- The Night (Daniel Stephens and Alana Watson, who are also part of NERO.)
- Nitro Fun
- Noisestorm
- Notaker
- Pegboard Nerds
- Protostar
- Rameses B
- Reach
- Rickyxsan
- RIOT
- Rogue
- Savoy
- Slander
- Slippy (formerly Slips & Slurs)
- SMLE
- SOULJI
- soupandreas
- Stephen
- Stephen Walking
- Stonebank
- Subtact
- Tails
- Taska Black
- Tisoki
- Tokyo Machine
- Tristam
- Trivecta
- Vicetone
- WRLD
Select featured artists on Monstercat in 2018
- Adam Young
- Chimeric
- Cozi Zuehlsdorff
- Danyka Nadeau
- EMEL
- Nevve
- Savoi
- Skyelle
- Sullivan King
Discography
Monstercat compilations
Main series
| Title | Album details | Charts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Dance [22] | |||
| Monstercat 001 - Launch Week |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 002 - Early Stage |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 003 - Momentum |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 004 - Identity |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 005 - Evolution |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 006 - Embrace |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 007 - Solace |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 008 - Anniversary |
|
20 | |
| Monstercat 009 - Reunion |
|
21 | |
| Monstercat 010 - Conquest |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 011 - Revolution |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 012 - Aftermath |
|
13 | |
| Monstercat 013 - Awakening |
|
11 | |
| Monstercat 014 - Discovery |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 015 - Outlook |
|
8 | |
| Monstercat 016 - Expedition |
|
8 | |
| Monstercat 017 - Ascension |
|
— | |
| Monstercat 018 - Frontier |
|
3 | |
| Monstercat 019 - Endeavour |
|
4 | |
| Monstercat 020 - Altitude |
|
7 | |
| Monstercat 021 - Perspective |
|
3 | |
| Monstercat 022 - Contact |
|
4 | |
| Monstercat 023 - Voyage |
|
3 | |
| Monstercat 024 - Vanguard |
|
4 | |
| Monstercat 025 - Threshold |
|
6 | |
| Monstercat 026 - Resistance |
|
2 | |
| Monstercat 027 - Cataclysm |
|
3 | |
| Monstercat 028 - Uproar |
|
4 | |
| Monstercat 029 - Havoc |
|
6 | |
| Monstercat 030 – Finale |
|
— | |
| Monstercat Uncaged Vol. 1 |
|
24 | |
| Monstercat Uncaged Vol. 2 |
|
— | |
| Monstercat Uncaged Vol. 3 |
|
— | |
| Monstercat Uncaged Vol. 4 |
|
— | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart | |||
Collaborative albums
| Title | Album details | Charts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Dance [22] | |||
| Spotlight Compilation Vol. 1 |
|
— | |
| Rocket League x Monstercat Vol. 1 |
|
— | |
| Rocket League x Monstercat Vol. 2 |
|
— | |
| Rocket League x Monstercat Vol. 3 |
|
— | |
Commemorative compilations
| Title | Album details | Charts | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Dance [22] | |||
| Monstercat – Best of 2011 |
|
— | |
| Monstercat – Best of 2012 |
|
— | |
| Monstercat – Best of 2013 |
|
21 | |
| Monstercat 3 Year Anniversary |
|
— | |
| Monstercat – Best of 2014 |
|
14 | |
| Monstercat – Best of 2015 |
|
7 | |
| Monstercat 5 Year Anniversary |
|
13 | |
| Monstercat – Best of 2016 |
|
4 | |
| Monstercat – Best of 2017 |
|
— | |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart | |||
Singles
| Title | Year | Artist | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [23] |
PHI [24] |
US [25] |
US Dance [26] | |||||
| "Surface" | 2014 | Aero Chord | — | — | — | — |
| |
| "The Girl" (featuring Cozi Zuehlsdorff) |
2015 | Hellberg | — | — | — | — |
| |
| "Infinite" | 2016 | Notaker | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Alone" | Marshmello | 56 | 54 | 60 | 9 |
| ||
| "Faces" | Candyland and Shoffy | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Cold Skin" | Seven Lions and Echos | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Saving Light" (featuring Haliene) |
2017 | Gareth Emery and Standerwick | — | — | — | — | ||
| "This Time" | Kayzo | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Watch Out" (featuring The Ragga Twins) |
Dirtyphonics and Bassnectar | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Borneo" | Wolfgang Gartner and Aero Chord | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Superhuman" (featuring Eric Leva) |
Slander | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Lighthouse" | Ookay and Fox Stevenson | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Cold Hearted" | Seven Lions and Kill The Noise | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Spitfire" | Infected Mushroom | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that country. | ||||||||
Extended plays and albums
| Title | Artist | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Dance [27] |
US Heat. [28] | ||||||||||
| Two Fold Pt. 1 | Haywyre |
|
— | — | |||||||
| The Ancient & Arcane | Varien |
|
— | — | |||||||
| Pink Cloud EP | Pegboard Nerds |
|
9 | 20 | |||||||
| Two Fold Pt. 2 | Haywyre |
|
13 | — | |||||||
| Nerds by Nature EP | Pegboard Nerds |
|
12 | — | |||||||
| Connecting the Dots | Conro |
|
— | — | |||||||
| Genesis | Notaker |
|
— | — | |||||||
| Dilapidation Celebration | Slander & Kayzo |
|
— | — | |||||||
| Vantablack | Dirtyphonics & Sullivan King |
|
— | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that country. | |||||||||||
Accolades and awards
| Year | Organization | Recipient(s) | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | DJ Mag[11] | Monstercat | Best breakthrough label | Won |
| EDM Sauce[29] | Best record label | Won | ||
| Dancing Astronaut[30] | Label Of The Year | Won | ||
| Billboard (magazine)[13] | Best Independent Dance Label | Contained | ||
| EDM Sauce[31] | Call of the Wild | Best Radio Show | 2 |
References
- ^ "Vancouver-based dance label Monstercat perfects a new business model". Georgia Straight Vancouver's News & Entertainment Weekly. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ^ a b Line Abrahamian (February 2014). "Mike Darlington: Channeling his inner Monstercat". DJ Magazine Canada. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ a b c "The Monstercat Label Model: From YouTube Channel to One Million Record Sales". Billboard. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ^ "Monstercat: A New Breed of Record Label in the Digital Music Age". The DJ List. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
- ^ a b "A 21st-century manifesto for electronic label Monstercat". The Globe and Mail. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ "Monstercat Records Wants To Change The Music Industry's Views On Copyright". Huffington Post. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- ^ "5 Reasons Amsterdam Dance Event Belongs on Your Bucket List". Billboard. 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).
- ^ "How Rocket League became a showcase for new musical talent". PCGamesN. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^ "Monstercat and Pluto TV Launch Platform's First Electronic Music TV Channel". Streaming Media Magazine. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ^ Clancy, Michelle. "Monstercat, Pluto TV team on electronic music channel". Rapid TV News. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- ^ a b "BEST BREAKTHROUGH LABEL: MONSTERCAT". DJMag.com. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ "Marshmello's 'Alone' Earns Label Monstercat First Platinum Record". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ a b "The 5 Best Independent Dance Labels of 2017". Billboard. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ "Monstercat announces split into two imprints". Dancing Astronaut. 3 January 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ "Monstercat Embraces Categorization, and Confuses Fans, with New Imprints". AltWire. 4 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ a b Robehmed, Natalie. "Inside Masked Newcomer Marshmello's $21 Million Year". Forbes. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
- ^ "Monstercat's Ephixa Returns with 'Catfish' After One-Year Hiatus - EDMTunes". EDMTunes. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ "Ephixa & Stephen Walking - Matches feat. Aaron Richards [Monstercat] | Your EDM". Your EDM. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ "Varien - My Prayers Have Become Ghosts EP - EDMTunes". EDMTunes. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ "2017 artists". Monstercat. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- ^ "2018 artists". Monstercat. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- ^ a b c "Various Artists Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
- ^ Alone only: "Marshmello - Chart history". www.billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Alone only: "BillboardPH Hot 100". Billboard Philippines. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ Alone only: "Marshmello - Chart history". www.billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Alone only: "Marshmello - Chart history". www.billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^
- Pink Cloud: "EDM Music & Dance Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- Two Fold Pt. 2: "Haywyre - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- Nerds by Nature: "Pegboard Nerds - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- ^ Pink Cloud only: "Heatseekers Albums: Up and Coming Musicians Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
- ^ Stevo (9 January 2018). "Dance Music Awards 2017 Winners: These Were The Best Record Labels of 2017". EDM Sauce. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ "Dancing Astronaut proudly presents the 2017 Label of the Year - Dancing Astronaut". Dancing Astronaut. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- ^ Stevo (7 February 2018). "These Were The 10 Best Radio Shows of 2017 [RESULTS]". EDM Sauce. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
External links
- Official website
- Monstercat on YouTube
- Monstercat discography on Bandcamp