Mike Darlington and Ari Paunonen founded Monstercat in Waterloo, Canada, in 2011, after meeting at the University of Waterloo. They launched it as an online-focused label for electronic music. The independent label later moved its team to Vancouver and opened offices in Los Angeles and Singapore. Its releases cover drum and bass, dubstep and house, with new tracks arriving weekly; the label has issued more than 2,000 tracks and drawn millions of streams on Spotify and SoundCloud. Co-founder Ari Paunonen has served as Director of A&R, curating releases and working with artists on their music.
Monstercat 001 – Launch Week was the label’s first compilation. Koven, MUZZ, Rogue and Rameses B have released music through Monstercat, as has Stephen Walking, whose 2011 single was Christian The Lion. Marshmello’s 2016 track “Alone” received platinum certification in the United States in 2017 and Canada in 2018. The label offers track-by-track deals instead of requiring year-long signings and a set number of tracks; its agreements are non-exclusive, with a 50/50 royalty split and monthly payments to artists.
Monstercat Uncaged and Monstercat Instinct began in January 2018, and Monstercat Silk followed the 2021 acquisition of Silk Music. The label launched its 24/7 Monstercat FM stream on Twitch in December 2014 and has held its annual Monstercat Compound event near its headquarters since 2017. In 2017, it partnered with Psyonix on the first Rocket League x Monstercat compilation and won DJ Mag’s Best Breakthrough Label award.
