Despite deadmau5‘s immense popularity, the producer has a documented, rocky history with record labels. Early in his career, deadmau5 struggled with Play Records, a label that continues to release older tracks of his based upon previous contracts. Deadmau5 then labored with Ultra Records, which the producer publicly slammed on multiple occasions. After a short stint with Universal Records sublabel Astralwerks, deadmau5 went independent, and a recent development on Ultra Records’ Youtube account suggests the producer has scored headway in his fight against big record companies.
Reddit user john666 posted to the deadmau5 subreddit on Reddit that a few notable deadmau5 tracks disappeared from Ultra Records’ Youtube account. Notable omissions include “Raise Your Weapon”, “Strobe”, “Animal Rights”, “Some Chords,” and “Sofi Needs A Ladder.” Many of these uploads garnered millions of views, and often charted as deadmau5’s most viewed songs on Youtube. Remixes to the tracks still exist on Ultra Records’ account, and a number of other famous deadmau5 songs still populate the channel. Many of the remaining tracks have attached music videos, such as “Professional Griefers”, “The Veldt”, and “Ghosts N Stuff.”
It’s unclear why some Ultra Records deleted some of deadmau5’s most renown tracks, but their disappearance hints at a victory in the producer’s camp. His contract with the label expired over two years ago, and with that expiration could come granted ownership of the Youtube uploads to certain tracks. Deadmau5 grew to detest Ultra Records over the years, and is likely still fighting to retain ownership of a number of his songs. The producer has yet to comment on the matter, but we speculate this activity marks a move forward in deadmau5’s quest for label independence.
Update: Looks like deadmau5 replied to the reddit thread on the topic:
