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How Deadmau5 Achieved a Net Worth of $53 Million

Deadmau5

Deadmau5 is a progressive-house producer and performer in the music industry who has managed to amass a net worth of $53 million. The Canadian musician is unique and well-known for his gimmick headgear and helmet that puts people in mind of Mickey Mouse. If his stage name sounds a lot like "dead mouse," you've got it right. He donned the name when as a teen, a computer malfunctioned and put off a terrible odor from burning wires that he likened to a dead mouse. He had found his stage name and this gives us just a glimpse of his interesting and whimsical sense of humor that also inspired the famous Mickey headgear and helmet. It's become his trademark and he must have been doing something right to build such a large net wealth figure, but how did he do it? We'll tell you.

Net Worth$53 Million
NameJoel Thomas Zimmerman
Age38
BornNiagara Falls, Ontario
Birth DateJanuary 5, 1981
Source of WealthMusician, Record Producer
CountryCanada

The story of Deadmau5

He was born in 1981 in Niagara Falls on the Ontario, Canada side. His given name is really Joel Thomas Zimmerman. After his experience with the dead mouse smell on his computer, while chatting online with friends, they teasingly started calling him the "dead mouse guy." Zimmerman attempted to change his username to "Deadmouse" but because of the length of the name, it would only accept an abbreviated version and that is how he found his name. The electronics wizard had a flair for computer animation along with a talent in web design. He developed an interest in music and pursued a career as a DJ. His career took off and he accepted gigs in South American as well as Europe. Deadmau5 developed a reputation for delivering a unique electronic music sound on the Beatport India dance site which was an online retailer with his instrumental tracks titled "Not exactly" and "Faxing Berlin."

The rise to the top

It wasn't long before artists and DJs began including his works on their playlists and in compilation albums. It was at this point that Deadmus5 began to realize the fruits of his efforts. Several of his songs hit the Billboard Dance/Club chart and his popularity soared. He was recognized and honored with several Grammy Awards nominations. His collaboration with Chris James was noted as a career accomplishment along with his appearance with the Foo Fighters on a 2012 telecast of an award show. He had hit the big time and was taking the stage with some of the biggest names in the music business.

More recognition and awards

Being a native of Canada, he was honored with the Juno award which was bestowed for his music in the category of dance recording of the year. The Canadian award was granted to Deadmau5 for four years in a row from 2008 through 2011. He was a hot commodity on the music scene. It was his work with Billy Newton-Davis that earned him the award n 2008. In addition to this, he received a nomination for Juno artist of the year in both 2012 and 2013 and although he didn't take these awards home, it's still an honor to be on their list of considerations.

Personal life

Deadmau5 is a busy professional who is about the business of music, but he did take time to focus on a relationship. He became engaged to Kat Von D in 2012. She's a well-known tattoo artist and has appeared on television. The relationship ended in 2013 for undisclosed reasons.

How much does Deadmau5 get paid?

He recently shared that the amount of pay he receives per gig varies. In 2014, his compensation ranged from $200,000 to $250,000 per performance. Currently, the fee ranges from $400,000 to a cool million in U.S. dollars. This places him in an elite group of music artists who are among the top earners in the industry. He's right up there with Afrojack, Skrillex, and Zedd. His earnings exceeded that of Avicii Kaskade, which was a notable feat. With an income like his, it's not hard to understand how he's been able to build a fortune of just over $53 million, and he isn't through yet. According to sources, Deadmau5 is building a new studio and he's still churning out new music in addition to being actively involved with his live show. He's far from being finished and it's hard to tell where his career will go from here, but current projections suggest it's only going to be upwards.

Garrett Parker

Written by Garrett Parker

Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world.

Read more posts by Garrett Parker

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