deadmau5 has signed with Independent Artist Group (IAG) for worldwide representation across all areas of his business, according to an announcement from the agency. The deal covers music, film, television, digital content, gaming and technology, with IAG tasked with building out new opportunities around the producer’s growing pile of intellectual property.
Joel Zimmerman has spent more than two decades operating outside the usual recording-and-touring lane. He was an early mover in livestreaming, gaming and immersive production, and that side of his career has only grown — to the point where mau5trap’s founder now runs something closer to an entertainment ecosystem than a typical artist project, with content, software and IP ownership all part of the mix.
IAG’s strategy centers on finding film, TV and digital opportunities tied to deadmau5’s existing ventures. That includes relaunching Coffee Run, his digital series featuring candid car-ride conversations with guests like Pharrell Williams, Skrillex, Tommy Lee, Zedd and Dillon Francis. It also covers Oberhasli Games, his video game company, and Auto/Pilot, the live-performance software he built for real-time arrangement, sampling, sequencing and automation.
“Joel is a once-in-a-generation creative force who represents exactly where we believe the entertainment business is going — the intersection of music, technology, content and ownership,” said Jim Osborne, CEO, and Kyle Loftus, President of Independent Artist Group, in a joint statement. “He has been ahead of the curve for his entire career, from the way he approaches live production and streaming to gaming, software and digital experiences. Music will always be the center of what he does, but the opportunity here goes well beyond music.“
“IAG’s proven track record of creating exciting crossover content creation and ownership opportunities for musical artists is what attracted me to them,” deadmau5 said. “As my business continues to evolve across touring, music, technology and new ventures, I’m excited to partner with a team that understands our goals and objectives and can help us build what’s next.“
A Busy Stretch for deadmau5
The signing lands during an active run for the producer. Earlier this year he released ‘Science’ featuring Stevie Appleton — his first vocal single since ‘My Heart Has Teeth’ with Skylar Grey, which appeared on the Resident Evil Netflix soundtrack. ‘Science’ hit No. 1 at U.S. Dance Radio and also charted on Billboard’s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart and Canada’s CHR/Top 40.
He’s also spent recent years marking his own history, with sold-out retro5pective: 25 years of deadmau5 shows at the Hollywood Bowl, Brooklyn Mirage and Red Rocks Amphitheatre. His Day of the Dead performances at Red Rocks remain a fixture on the electronic music calendar, and his 2025 editions introduced new music alongside pieces of a new touring production. He continues to split his creative output between deadmau5 and his techno alias TESTPILOT.
Across his catalog, deadmau5 has built one of electronic music’s more recognizable bodies of work, including the 2x platinum ‘Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff,’ plus ‘I Remember,’ ‘Professional Griefers’ and ‘Sofi Needs A Ladder.’ He’s a multiple JUNO winner and GRAMMY nominee with seven albums to his name, including where’s the drop?, a reworking of his catalog into orchestral arrangements. He also scored his first film, Jonas Åkerlund’s spy thriller Polar, with the soundtrack released via his own label, mau5trap.
His list of collaborators includes The Neptunes, REZZ, Wolfgang Gartner, Kiesza, Lights, Foster The People, Portugal. The Man and Skylar Grey. The REZZ collaboration evolved into the ongoing REZZMAU5 project, while his long-running partnership with Kaskade produced Kx5. Their single ‘Escape’ featuring HAYLA reached No. 1 at dance radio and crossed onto Top 40, ahead of the duo’s GRAMMY-nominated self-titled album.
As Kx5, deadmau5 and Kaskade headlined the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2022, in what was reported at the time as the largest single-day concert headlined by an electronic artist in North America. His solo cubev3 tour, built around production he designed himself, landed in Pollstar’s global Top 10 tours during its 2019/20 run.
Beyond his own output, deadmau5’s influence carries through mau5trap, the label he founded, and through TESTPILOT, which gives him a dedicated outlet for underground techno. TESTPILOT debuted alongside Richie Hawtin at SXSW and has since become a steady part of his creative rotation.
