Monstercat logo and text by Monstercat, licensed under Creative Commons

One of the most successful independent music labels within the EDM scene is Monstercat. Initially a small Canadian label featuring artists who had yet to gain serious recognition, the label has grown to include well-known artists within the scene, many of whom began at the label as up and coming producers.

Monstercat was founded in 2011 by Mike Darlington, who is its CEO, and his classmate Ari Paunonen, who serves as COO, from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, moving its base to Vancouver, British Columbia in 2012. The label began mainly with a focus on its YouTube channel, and started releasing compilation albums throughout each year incorporating a wide variety of artists and genres under the EDM umbrella. After its 30th compilation release in 2017, Monstercat underwent a rebranding, with albums forthcoming as volumes titled “Monstercat Uncaged.” In 2018, a new segment of the label was introduced called “Instinct,” featuring less heavy material than the “Uncaged” releases. In 2021, Monstercat purchased a label known as “Silk Music,” which was initially founded in 2008 in Los Angeles, to form yet another segment in which artists could release their music, with a focus on progressive house and chillout music.

Monstercat is known for having a particularly niche fanbase, many of whom are part of the official Monstercat Facebook group. The group features a diverse fanbase, and many artists who release on the label are part of it, as well as managers and others involved with the label. Many fans discuss Monstercat and its music within the group, and differing opinions and interesting discourse are prevalent throughout. Admins of the group also post “Daily Discussion Threads,” where a song released that day will be showcased with the poster’s initial opinion and allow for other group members to share their takes on the song.

At the end of each year, Monstercat releases a “best of” album including highlighted songs from the year, voted for online by its fans. “Best of 2023” was released on December 15, 2023, and included 50 tracks from “Uncaged,” “Instinct,” and “Silk” releases.

The diversity of its artists and the genres they produce is one of Monstercat’s most impressive standpoints. Many artists who were part of the label’s early phases remain in its roster today, including such names as Feint, Pegboard Nerds, and MUZZ (formerly known as Muzzy). As the label grew larger and gained further traction with a bigger fanbase, larger artists within the EDM industry released music on Monstercat. Some notable names include Excision, who helped pioneer mainstream heavy dubstep in the early 2010’s and started his own festival known as “Lost Lands” in 2017, and Marshmello, who has become one of the most well-recognized names in EDM, and released one of his most popular songs to date on Monstercat in 2016, “Alone.” “Alone” became the label’s first single to be certified platinum, and its music video has amassed over 2.4 billion views on YouTube.

Two artists who are relatively new to the label, Ace Aura, whose real name is Eric Seall, and Skybreak, whose real name is Skye Ramsay, talk about their own music.

“I definitely try to make music that works in a live setting but is also interesting to listen to on headphones or in the car or wherever. I like both settings so I try to make my music work in a variety of listening environments,” Seall said.

“Honestly, I believe that my music, and every other artist’s music, is a combination of their subconscious inspirations and the stories they need to tell,” Ramsay said.

The artists also detail how Monstercat has helped them grow and what makes it unique as a label.

“Monstercat provides an amazing platform for artists such as myself because they release a wide variety of electronic subgenres,” Seall said. He also explained how the label has made him more comfortable experimenting with his sound, and how Monstercat was instrumental in his discovery of electronic music in 2012-2013.

“Monstercat truly cares about their artists and tries to provide them with resources to grow their careers,” Seall continued. He described how after signing his first track, Stay, he received an email from them a short while later with a breakdown of TikTok strategy for artists.

“I've never seen another label that went out of their way so much to invest in their artists,” Seall finished.

“Working with Monstercat has helped me grow as an artist immensely,” Ramsay said. He discussed how they have provided a great marketing budget and have funded basically any art direction that he is interested in, and that the Monstercat community connects well with his music.

“Monstercat is fully independent, meaning you don’t have to get stuck in a gross 360 deal with them and therefore can self release music that they do not take, and put it out with other labels,” Ramsay went on. He explained how they have a well ironed accounting and publishing system, one which is especially well staffed and oiled for an independent label in electronic music.

The artists also shared their personal evolutions in their sound and ideas, as well as their goals and intentions for the future.

“Over time my music has gotten closer and closer to expressing what I want to express and sounding like the style I've always envisioned in my head,” Seall said. He claimed it was frustrating early on when he didn't have the skills to match what he wanted to hear, but now that he has continued to improve over time he can more accurately reproduce the ideas he has.

Seall talks about his future plans, stating that he has been trying to figure that out lately but hasn't really landed on anything solid.

“I do know that I want to make music that is exciting and fresh to me and have fun creating purely for creating's sake, but what it takes to get back to that point I'm not entirely sure,” he said. He also confirmed he is confident in figuring it out, and that he will gain experience and knowledge that will help him continue to level-up as an artist.

Ramsay described that when he started out, he was making almost exclusively melodic dubstep and old Monstercat style music, styles that still spill out through his current music, but he moved to a more ‘sound design intensive dubsteppy’ direction for a few years, now going back to his roots some more.