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Finding ways to release music in 2020 has been challenging. Denied the usual routes of promoting a new song or a new album release, which would include extensive tours and live performances, musicians have come up with new ways to promote their wares. As the physical realm remains out of bounds for now, the digital realm is providing new opportunities. It’s probably fair to say that nobody’s made better use of those opportunities than Deadmau5. 

Photo by Haydn Curtis from New Zealand – Glastonbury 2009

Deadmau5 was an early adopter of the new medium of promoting music within popular video games. Anybody who’s anybody in the world of music is currently queuing up for an opportunity to perform inside the digital worlds of games like “Roblox,” “Minecraft,” and “Fortnite,” but only one person can claim to have been there at the start of this new movement. That person is Deadmau5. When “Fortnite” decided to introduce a “Party Royale” island to give gamers a place to hang out without shooting at each other, they wanted to hook up with a musical act to kick things off with a bang. Deadmau5 fit the bill perfectly. The DJ teamed up with Dillon Francis and Steve Aoki to deliver a performance that was enjoyed by millions of people simultaneously on May 8th this year. 

Since Deadmau5 visited “Fortnite,” we’ve seen stellar performances from artists like Travis Scott and Lil Nas X inside other game worlds, demonstrating that this new format is almost certainly going to be here to stay even when the world’s concert venues and arenas re-open. The Canadian DJ – real name Joel Zimmerman – will presumably be back out on the road as soon as circumstances allow him to do so. He’s not done making waves in the virtual world just yet, though. As of November 2020, he’s now the star of his very own dedicated game at online slots websites. 

We have to be fair to other musicians when we report this news. Although Deadmau5 is the first-ever DJ to collaborate on the creation of an online slots game that features their music, he’s not the first person from the musical world to do so. For the past three or four years, rock bands – especially those that have earned legendary status – have been reaping the benefits that online slots and the people who play them have to offer. Motorhead, Alice Cooper, Guns n’ Roses, Alice Cooper, and many more famous rock musicians have contributed to online slots, all of which feature both their likeness and a carefully-selected tracklisting of their greatest hits. The new Deadmau5 game follows a similar format but comes with some new music devised by the man himself, along with some trippy, psychedelic visuals. 

We don’t pretend to be experts when it comes to online slots and how they work, but here’s what we know about the game. It was released on October 23rd, 2020, and was made by a company called Eurostar Studios. You’ll find it listed at online slots websites under the simple name “Deadmau5,” where it’s easy to spot because of the DJ’s distinctive distorted Mickey Mouse face logo. The slot is played across five reels and three rows, which contain two hundred and forty-three different and distinct ways possible ways of winning money from each spin. Bonus features available within the slot include free spins, multipliers that are applied to the value of your wins, symbols that stack together to increase your chances of finding a win, and a second chance to find and additional win after an initial one thanks to an innovative system known as ‘cascading wins.’ The slot’s ‘return to player’ rate, which determines how much of your money you’ll likely to win back over an extended period of play, is 95.22%. Those who know a thing or two about online slots and have had the opportunity to play with it for a while seem to enjoy it, but they offer two small warnings. The first is that the slot’s volatility is high – which means large wins are more likely, but long gaps between wins are equally likely. Secondly, the maximum jackpot is 2100 times a player’s stake. That might sound like a lot if you’re not a regular online slots player, but it’s considered low in the context of what’s offered elsewhere. 

By associating himself with these experimental products, Deadmau5 is positioning himself ahead of his peers when it comes to finding new ways to connect with fans. Whether or not you’re a fan of playtech slots, they’re played by tens of millions of people all over the world and are part of an industry that’s worth more than fifty billion dollars each year. If you can come up with a successful concept for an online slots game, you’re almost guaranteed to make money. Deadmau5 will be hoping that he doesn’t become an exception to that rule. Thus far, he’s managed to retain his enormous popularity despite some examples of less-than-desirable behavior in the past, and he’ll be hoping to add some more with this game. Prior to his resurgence this year, he took a short time-out from the music industry to focus on the mental health problems that he blamed for a spate of highly offensive outbursts towards fellow musicians and members of the public on Twitter. Having seemingly come back stronger after seeking treatment and finding new ways to connect with music lovers, he might now be riding higher than ever before. 

If this new Deadmau5 endeavor is successful, we can probably expect to see other dance and electronica musicians try their own luck with online slots in the months to come, possibly resulting in a whole new sub-genre for the medium. There are other electronica slots available at such websites at the moment, but Deadmau5 is the only ‘name’ DJ you’ll find on the reels. There’s obvious potential here for Marshmello, who’s also dabbled with “Fortnite” performances in the past, and we wouldn’t be surprised to hear that he was working with an online slots company already. If slots are already one of your hobbies and you’ve been itching to spend some time on one with a less irritating sidetrack than you’re used to, this new Deadmau5 slot might be the best choice for you. 

author avatar
Bernard - Side-Line Staff Chief editor
Bernard Van Isacker is the Chief Editor of Side-Line Magazine. With a career spanning more than two decades, Van Isacker has established himself as a respected figure in the darkwave scene.

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