deadmau5 Expects to Retire the mau5head by the Time He’s 50
Time flies when you’re headlining global mainstages. Fifteen years after releasing their collaborative classic “I Remember,” deadmau5 and Kaskade have come back together as Kx5.
Ahead of their debut album coming next Friday (March 17) and their performance at Billboard Presents The Stage at SXSW on March 18, the pair sat down for our latest cover story to talk about life as two of EDM’s elder statesmen.
More from Billboard
Why Kaskade and deadmau5 Formed Kx5, Dance Music's Most In-Demand Odd Couple
Calvin Harris & Ellie Goulding Drop Trance Anthem 'Miracle': Stream It Now
In the piece, deadmau5 shares that “I don’t think I’m going to be f–king donning a mau5head in my 50s,” referring to his signature helmet and his plans to retire it in the next decade. (deadmau5 is 42, while Kaskade is 51.) deadmau5 adds that he’s considering managing acts from his indie label, mau5trap, as he gets older and tours less.
Noting that he and Kaskade broke through “right at the turning point” when EDM was the world’s most lucrative genre, deadmau5 says their respective businesses have developed so that most of their revenue is currently “in ancillary goods — tangible items [like merchandise], appearances, shows, production.”
Kaskade’s manager Ryan Henderson also notes that the pair put major money into Kx5 live performances, with their record-setting show last December at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum costing “almost seven figures to design and over seven figures to execute.”
But while such investments affect the Kx5 bottom line, so too does the pairing feed each artist’s residual revenue streams, with Henderson adding that Kaskade just signed a three-year, eight-figure Las Vegas residency deal. “I’m not saying the Kx5 brand contributed to that,” Henderson notes, “but it definitely didn’t hurt it.”
And with the pair having influenced the next generation of dance artists, the story also reveals that current scene phenom John Summit, who opened for Kx5 at the Coliseum show, will release the first-ever official remix of “I Remember” later this year.
Best of Billboard