Every year, DJ Magazine publishes a poll of the Top 100 DJs as voted by dance music fans around the globe. We don’t really know if it’s all that scientific or not, but it’s pretty fun to watch who gets added, who moves up or down and who gets bumped. New York City’s Ultra Records, a label that has somehow survived the tragedy that has beset other labels through three economic downturns in the last 10-years, releases records from many of the artists that top the polls. With Strictly Rhythm a shell of its former self and Tommy Boy and Robbins chasing pop radio, Ultra latched onto the trance movement, while also releasing a few house records here and there. Although they do chase radio as well, they’ve been able to bridge the gap between radio cheese and quality dance music, and almost always with a vocal. Dance music producers take note: You want to make long lasting records that sell across the globe? Get yourself a vocalist, period!
Because we’re a blog and not the New York Times, we’re not going to recap history here. It’s always easier to simply publish the label’s own self-promotion. But, what we did do was link everything up for you. That, in itself, takes a good hour to complete. While you read, we’re off to have a brew and kick some beats.
Ultra Records Press Release
New York, NY – Ultra Records is proud to be the home for a staggering number of artists and DJs who have placed on this year’s annual DJMag Top 100 DJs Poll, the biggest music poll on earth. Results were announced Wednesday night from a star-studded gala event at Ministry of Sound in London.
Armin van Buuren and Tiesto, at #s 1 and 2, are non-movers this year, and with Above & Beyond (#4), Paul van Dyk (#5), deadmau5 (#6), Ferry Corsten (#7), Markus Schulz (#8), and Sander van Doorn (#10), dominate the Top 10 with eight of the total places. Three-time champ Tiesto is still celebrating the successful release of his new artist album Kaleidoscope (Ultra Records) 
with a multi-city North American tour scheduled to hit Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, Phoenix, Vancouver, and LA in the coming weeks, wrapping up with a New Year’s Eve extravaganza in Las Vegas.
Above & Beyond squeak into the Top 5 at #4, just in time for their Anjunabeats Volume 7 (Ultra Records) release party at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom on Halloween. Completing the Top 5 is DJ Paul van Dyk, whose career-spanning best-of collection Volume was released by Ultra Records earlier this summer. Just missing the Top 5 at #6 is 28-year-old Canadian dance music phenomenon deadmau5, known for wearing a big mouse head, on the heels of the release of his critically-acclaimed For Lack of a Better Name (Ultra Records) album.
At #19 is Cosmic Gate, whose move up 49 places makes them the poll’s Highest Climber.
Ultra Records represents a total 20 artists who placed in the top 100 this year, including Ultra recording artist Kaskade who entered the chart for the first time at #51, as did DJ Sharam at #73, whose Get Wild album was released on Ultra earlier this year. Robbie Rivera re-enters this year’s poll just in time for the release of his new artist album, Closer to the Sun, out on Ultra November 3.
The Top 100 DJs Poll annually attracts over 350,000 voting fans from around the globe and is powered by Trackitdown.net. Artists placing on the Poll and represented by Ultra Records are listed below. For the full list, visit http://www.djmag.com/top100djs/
1. Armin van Buuren (non-mover)
2. Tiesto (non-mover)
4. Above & Beyond (non-mover)
5. Paul van Dyk (down 2)
6. deadmau5 (up 5)
7. Ferry Corsten (down 1)
8. Markus Schulz (non-mover)
10. Sander van Doorn (up 3)
14. Axwell (up 6)
19. Cosmic Gate (up 43)
26. Benny Benassi (up 13)
29. Fedde Le Grand (non-mover)
34. Eric Prydz (down 13)
49. Richard Durand (up 17)
51. Kaskade (new entry)
60. Roger Sanchez (down 3)
66. Laurent Wolf (up 1)
70. Sander Kleinenberg (down 11)
73. Sharam (new entry)
95. Robbie Rivera (re-entry)
About Ultra Records
Ultra Records is an American independent electronic dance music record label, voted Winter Music Conference’s IDMA Best American Dance Label (2006-2009) and Billboard’s Dance Airplay Label of the Year (2005-2008). Ultra was formed in New York City in 1995 by former Polygram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey, who is still the owner. Ultra’s current roster includes American artists Markus Schulz, Steve Smooth, Kaskade, Sharam, Cedric Gervais, and international artists Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, Above & Beyond, The Young Punx, Benny Benassi, Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren, Kraak & Smaak, Morcheeba, Fedde le Grand, Enur and others in North America. Ultra has featured releases from the aforementioned artists and many others such as Pitbull, Paul van Dyk, The Crystal Method, Timo Maas, Sasha & John Digweed, 4 Strings, Panjabi MC, Despina Vandi and Junkie XL. In the U.S., Ultra Records is distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance/Warner; elsewhere, Ultra is distributed by EMI Canada and Vital UK.
Web site: www.ultrarecords.com
