3lau
Justin David Blau (born January 9, 1991), professionally known as 3LAU, is an American electronic dance music producer, DJ, and entrepreneur.[1][2] Blau began producing music after studying finance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he initially pursued a career in investment banking before pivoting to electronic music full-time.[3][4] His breakthrough came through bootleg remixes and mixtapes, such as Dance Floor Filth in 2012, which helped establish him as a rising figure in the EDM scene with performances at major festivals like Ultra Music Festival.[5] 3LAU's style blends electro house, progressive house, and melodic elements, often starting compositions on piano, reflecting his early self-taught proficiency in instruments like piano, guitar, and drums from age five.[1][6] A pioneer in blockchain applications for music, Blau released the album Ultraviolet as the first fully NFT-based record in 2021, auctioning it for a record $11.6 million and demonstrating new revenue models for artists amid industry shifts.[3][7] He founded Royal.io to facilitate direct fan-artist interactions via Web3 technologies, emphasizing empowerment over traditional label systems.[8] In March 2025, Blau announced a rebranding to perform under his real name, signaling a potential evolution in his artistic identity.[9] Blau's career has included charitable efforts, such as donating proceeds to causes, aligning with his stated focus on helping others rather than personal fame.[1] However, he faced legal challenges, including a 2022 lawsuit from collaborator Luna Aura alleging inadequate compensation from the Ultraviolet NFT sale, though the matter appeared headed toward settlement by 2025.[10][11] More recently, his performance at Donald Trump's January 2025 presidential inauguration after-party drew sharp backlash from segments of the EDM community, including criticism from artists like deadmau5 and Subtronics, highlighting political divides within the genre.[12][10]Early life
Childhood and family background
Justin David Blau was born on January 9, 1991, in Syosset, New York.[6][13] Blau was raised in an artistic family environment that fostered creative interests from a young age. His mother worked as a dancer and choreographer, while her father—Blau's maternal grandfather—served as a recording engineer for Jimi Hendrix, exposing the family to musical influences.[1][14] His father pursued entrepreneurial ventures, contributing to a household dynamic that valued innovation alongside the arts.[14] At age five, Blau became fascinated with music and taught himself to play piano, later expanding to guitar and singing amid a home filled with classical recordings played by his mother.[1][2] No siblings are documented in available records, leaving family emphasis on parental and grandparental legacies as key shapers of his early creative inclinations.[1] The family relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, when Blau was 13, marking a transition in his formative years.[15][6]Education and initial career pursuits
Blau attended Washington University in St. Louis on a full scholarship, majoring in finance at the Olin Business School.[16] [17] His academic focus emphasized quantitative analysis and financial markets, aligning with family influences, as his father managed RABCO Asset Management, a hedge fund.[18] During his time as a junior, Blau interned at major financial institutions, including Credit Suisse in New York and UBS, gaining practical exposure to investment banking operations.[19] [20] Post-internship, Blau received job offers from prominent Wall Street firms, potentially commanding six-figure salaries upon graduation, reflecting his strong performance in finance recruitment processes.[16] [19] Despite these opportunities, which promised stability in a field matching his analytical skills and familial legacy, he declined them to prioritize music production and DJing, viewing the shift as a calculated risk driven by personal passion rather than financial security.[16] [21] This decision ultimately led him to leave university before completing his degree, redirecting his quantitative mindset toward entrepreneurial applications in the music industry.[20] [21]Music career
2011–2012: Mashups and first releases
In fall 2011, Justin Blau, under the alias 3LAU, transitioned from prior shoegaze production to creating mashups, blending top 40 pop vocals with electronic dance music instrumentals as a finance major.[22] This style emerged amid the rising popularity of EDM, with Blau producing bootlegs to fill perceived gaps in existing mashup quality.[23] 3LAU uploaded these early mashups to online platforms, fostering an initial audience in underground EDM circles through shares and plays at college events.[22] By November 2012, while still without original releases, his sets drew attention for their high-energy fusions, with preparations beginning for a debut single by year's end.[24]2012–2015: Breakthrough singles and touring
In 2012, 3LAU shifted emphasis toward DJing and embarked on the "Your Mind" tour, comprising 22 dates primarily across North America, with $1 from each ticket sale donated to Pencils of Promise, raising $25,000 to support educational initiatives.[25] This tour highlighted his growing live performance capabilities in progressive house and electro house sets, positioning him as one of America's fastest-rising DJ-producers at the time.[26] The period saw 3LAU's transition to original productions with breakthrough singles in the progressive house genre. "Escape," a collaboration with Paris & Simo featuring Bright Lights, was released on June 24, 2013, via Revealed Recordings, marking his entry into mainstream electronic dance music with its anthemic build-ups and vocal hooks.[27] This was followed by "How You Love Me" featuring Bright Lights on March 18, 2014, through Island Records, which achieved over 30 million streams across platforms and became SiriusXM BPM's most-played record of 2014, underscoring commercial traction through radio play and digital distribution.[28][29] Touring intensified with appearances at major festivals, including Electric Zoo in 2013 and sets at Ultra Music Festival Miami and Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas in 2015, where performances drew large crowds amid rising popularity.[30] These live shows, blending original tracks with high-energy mashups, contributed to sold-out venue metrics and expanded international reach, solidifying 3LAU's ascent in the electronic music scene through verifiable attendance at events hosting tens of thousands.[31][32]2016–2017: Founding Blume Records
In 2016, 3LAU established Blume Records as an independent, non-profit electronic dance music label designed to channel streaming revenues directly to charitable causes, marking it as the first such entity in the genre.[33][1] The label's model emphasized entrepreneurial independence by forgoing traditional profit motives, instead allocating 100% of proceeds from platforms like SoundCloud and Spotify to organizations such as Pencils of Promise, which focuses on education infrastructure in developing regions.[34][35] This approach addressed common challenges in independent label operations, including limited marketing budgets and reliance on digital streams, by leveraging fan engagement for dual commercial and philanthropic impact without external major-label backing.[33] The label debuted on April 14, 2016, with 3LAU's single "Is It Love," which exemplified its mission by directing all streaming income to charity from launch.[34] By November 2016, Blume had generated $200,000 specifically for Pencils of Promise to fund school construction and teacher training in underserved areas.[35] In 2017, the label expanded its catalog with releases including "On My Mind" and "Star Crossed," both under 3LAU, continuing the profit-donation framework to support broader causes like civil liberties advocacy.[36][37] These efforts highlighted achievements in artist-led sustainability, as the non-profit structure mitigated financial risks inherent to indie EDM ventures while fostering direct fan-artist connections through transparent revenue allocation.[33] Despite operational hurdles like scaling charitable distributions amid fluctuating stream royalties, Blume demonstrated viability by prioritizing verifiable impact over revenue retention.[1]2018–2021: Albums and pivot to NFTs
On February 16, 2018, 3LAU released his debut studio album Ultraviolet through his independent label Blume Records. The 10-track project emphasized instrumental electronic production with vocal features from artists including Yeah Boy and Caroline Pennell, including lead singles "Touch" and "On My Own." Both the album and single "Touch" topped the iTunes Electronic chart, marking a commercial peak for his traditional releases.[13] Proceeds from Ultraviolet were directed toward anti-human trafficking initiatives, aligning with 3LAU's philanthropic priorities.[38] Following Ultraviolet, 3LAU issued singles and collaborative tracks such as "OMF" in 2019 and "Better With You" EP, maintaining a presence in electronic dance music amid stagnant streaming economics. Industry data indicated that platforms like Spotify paid artists approximately $0.003–$0.005 per stream, yielding minimal returns for mid-tier acts despite millions of plays. This environment prompted 3LAU to critique conventional distribution models, noting in interviews that direct-to-fan alternatives could better capture value from loyal audiences. By early 2021, amid broader industry experimentation with blockchain, 3LAU initiated his pivot to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) by tokenizing Ultraviolet for auction. On February 26, 2021, he launched 33 unique NFT editions of the album, including redeemable vinyl and perpetual royalty shares, fetching over $11.6 million in total sales—the first instance of a full album distributed via blockchain auction. This move addressed streaming's revenue shortfalls by enabling direct ownership and revenue sharing with buyers, generating $17 million in NFT proceeds within a month for 3LAU.[39][40]2022–2025: Reduced touring, rebranding, and blockchain focus
Following the pivot to blockchain initiatives after his 2021 NFT album release, 3LAU, whose real name is Justin Blau, curtailed traditional DJ touring significantly from 2022 to 2025, shifting emphasis toward technology development and entrepreneurial ventures.[41] This period saw no full-scale tours or major festival circuits, with performance data indicating only isolated club and event appearances rather than the extensive global schedules of prior years.[42] Blau's EDM engagement persisted at a reduced level through selective sets, including performances at Nebula in New York City and LIV in Miami Beach during 2025, often aligned with crypto-themed events like Crypto Ball 2025.[43] These outings reflected a deliberate minimization of live commitments to accommodate blockchain pursuits, as evidenced by the absence of announced tour dates on major ticketing platforms throughout the timeframe.[44] On March 13, 2025, Blau publicly announced the end of the 3LAU moniker via Instagram, rebranding to Justin Blau amid reflections on his career trajectory and a desire for personal authenticity.[45] The statement highlighted closure on the 3LAU era while signaling plans for limited resumed touring under the new identity, underscoring a broader evolution toward integrating his music production with blockchain innovation.[9] This rebranding coincided with ongoing releases of new tracks and remixes as Justin Blau, maintaining ties to electronic dance music without reverting to high-volume performance demands.[46]NFT and blockchain ventures
Ultraviolet NFT album drop
In February 2021, electronic music producer 3LAU (Justin Blau) launched the Ultraviolet NFT collection, tokenizing his 2018 album Ultraviolet as 33 unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs) auctioned on the Origin Protocol platform.[3][47] The auction, held from February 25 to 28, featured NFTs representing digital ownership of the full album, each with distinct rarity levels such as 1/1 editions accompanied by custom artwork and exclusive access perks for buyers.[48] This drop represented the first complete tokenization of a music album by a prominent artist, embedding the entire tracklist into blockchain-verified assets rather than relying on conventional streaming or physical formats.[47][49] The NFTs leveraged Ethereum blockchain technology to establish digital provenance, ensuring tamper-proof ownership records and scarcity through smart contracts that enforced limited editions.[3] These contracts also automated royalty payments to 3LAU on secondary market resales, providing a perpetual revenue stream independent of traditional intermediaries like labels or distributors.[50] Bidders competed in a Dutch auction format, with prices starting high and descending until sold, culminating in total sales of $11.6 million—equivalent to over 3,300 ETH at prevailing rates— including a record $3.6 million for the rarest 1/1 NFT at the time.[51][52] This event disrupted industry norms by generating artist revenues exceeding those from conventional album releases, where streaming royalties typically yield fractions of a cent per play; the $11.6 million haul dwarfed projected earnings from platforms like Spotify for equivalent fan engagement.[3][47] As the earliest large-scale, artist-initiated music NFT sale, it empirically validated blockchain's capacity for direct-to-consumer monetization, prompting subsequent adoptions by musicians seeking to reclaim control over distribution and fan economics from gatekept systems.[49][48]Launch and role at Royal.io
Following the success of his Ultraviolet NFT album drop in early 2021, electronic music producer Justin Blau, known professionally as 3LAU, co-founded Royal.io in August 2021 with entrepreneur JD Ross to create a blockchain-based platform enabling direct ownership of music rights between artists and fans.[40][53] The platform tokenizes fractions of song royalties as on-chain assets, allowing investors to receive automated streaming revenue shares via smart contracts, with ownership and payouts verifiable through public blockchain records.[54][55] Blau assumed the role of CEO at Royal.io, guiding its development as a marketplace for "liquid digital assets" representing music copyrights, which aimed to bypass traditional intermediaries like labels by facilitating peer-to-peer transactions and revenue distribution.[56][57] The launch was supported by $16 million in seed funding from investors including Paradigm and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, followed by a $55 million Series A round in November 2021 led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing total funding to $71 million by late 2021.[40][58][53] Under Blau's leadership, Royal.io emphasized transparency in royalty flows, with smart contracts enforcing proportional payouts to token holders based on on-chain streaming data from platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, reducing disputes through immutable verification.[59][60] This model positioned the platform as a tool for fan-artist alignment, where co-owners benefit from ongoing revenue without relinquishing creative control to centralized entities.[54]Innovations in music ownership and fan engagement
3LAU's innovations through Royal.io emphasize blockchain-enabled direct ownership models, enabling electronic dance music (EDM) artists to tokenize song rights as limited digital assets (LDAs), which fans purchase for fractional shares in streaming royalties. This approach bypasses traditional record labels, which typically claim 50-80% of artist revenues through unfavorable splits, allowing creators to retain higher portions via upfront sales and automated royalty distributions.[40][61] Launched in 2021 with 3LAU as co-founder, Royal.io facilitates this by recording ownership on-chain, ensuring transparent, immutable tracking of royalties from platforms like Spotify, where average payouts remain as low as $0.003-0.005 per stream in 2025.[62][63][54] In the Royal.io ecosystem, tokenized rights foster fan engagement by granting buyers ongoing economic stakes, such as proportional royalty flows from streams and downloads, which incentivize promotion and loyalty without intermediaries' delays or disputes. For instance, early drops like 3LAU's initiatives enabled 333 fans to acquire 50% collective ownership in specific tracks' royalties, demonstrating causal links to artist independence through diversified revenue beyond one-time sales.[54][64] This model yields efficiency gains by automating smart contract payouts in real-time, reducing administrative costs estimated at 20-30% in legacy systems, and empowering EDM producers to fund projects directly from engaged communities rather than label advances tied to recoupment.[65][66] Long-term, these mechanisms address streaming's structural inefficiencies, where artists often earn less than 10% of total platform revenues after splits, by enabling co-ownership that aligns fan incentives with artist success and enhances control over intellectual property. While blockchain adoption remains nascent, with tokenized music still experimental as of 2025, Royal.io's framework supports community-driven governance elements, such as collective decision-making on track monetization, potentially scaling to broader EDM applications for sustained creator autonomy.[67][68][41]Controversies
Revenue disputes from NFT sales
In November 2022, Luna Aura (Angela Anne Flores), a collaborator on the track "Walk Away" from 3LAU's Ultraviolet album, filed a lawsuit against 3LAU Entertainment, LLC and related entities in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (case 1:22-cv-09598).[69][70] The complaint alleged breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and failure to pay royalties, claiming Aura's original co-writing agreement entitled her to ongoing mechanical and performance royalties from the album's February 2021 NFT auction, which generated $11.7 million.[10][71] Aura asserted she received only a one-time buyout offer of $25,000 post-auction, which she rejected, arguing it did not reflect the full value derived from NFT editions of the tracks.[72] The dispute centered on whether standard publishing and recording contracts, negotiated prior to the NFT drop, extended to blockchain-based sales revenues, with Aura's filing contending that 3LAU tokenized and auctioned the masters without explicit NFT royalty provisions or her consent for secondary monetization.[73][74] Court documents highlighted that the Ultraviolet drop involved 3,666 unique NFTs across 12 tracks, sold via Nifty Gateway, but lacked mechanisms to distribute proceeds akin to traditional streaming or sales royalties.[71] By March 2023, the parties notified the court of a settlement agreement, with a joint letter on March 17 indicating resolution of all claims, including royalty shares; terms remained confidential, and the case was dismissed with prejudice.[75][76] This outcome underscored early challenges in adapting legacy music industry agreements to NFT ecosystems, where verifiable on-chain sales data contrasted with opaque traditional royalty accounting.[77]Backlash over 2025 Trump inauguration performance
On January 20, 2025, 3LAU performed a 30-minute DJ set pro bono at one of the inaugural balls celebrating President Donald Trump's second inauguration.[78][79] Blau described the opportunity as an unexpected honor in a social media post, stating it was "not on my 2025 bingo card, but I mean wow."[80] The performance drew immediate criticism within the electronic dance music community, with prominent artists publicly condemning Blau's decision to associate with the event. Deadmau5, whose real name is Joel Zimmerman, responded to Blau's post by writing, "Everyone in this business will remember that you stood behind nazis and convicted felons," and added, "What very little respect I had for you is gone," while mocking the gig's perks as limited to "drink tickets."[81][82] Subtronics, another bass music producer, had previously blocked Blau on social media and later unblocked him specifically to like Deadmau5's comment, signaling alignment with the rebuke.[12][83] Additional peers and fans labeled the choice divisive, with some accusing Blau of endorsing controversial political figures; reports noted widespread negative comments on his posts, prompting him to delete or restrict visibility of certain content.[12][84] Blau addressed the fallout on X (formerly Twitter) on January 25, 2025, reaffirming the performance as an apolitical artistic endeavor and expressing disappointment in the backlash while emphasizing his independence in booking decisions.[85] Supporters countered critics by defending principles of free association, arguing that artists should not face professional ostracism for non-partisan engagements, though such views received less visibility in EDM-focused coverage.[86] Quantifiable impacts included a surge in negative social media engagement, with EDM community forums and Reddit threads amplifying the criticism through thousands of comments and shares, but no verified data indicated sustained follower losses or booking cancellations as of late January 2025; some observers noted potential appeal to non-EDM audiences aligned with Trump, though Blau has not publicly quantified any offsetting gains.[12][87]Charity and philanthropy
Key initiatives and impacts
In 2012, 3LAU launched a fundraising effort tied to his "Your Mind Tour," donating $1 per ticket from 22 performance dates to support Pencils of Promise's "Impossible Ones" campaign, which funds education programs in underserved communities and aimed to raise $25,000 overall.[25][88] By 2016, he had raised nearly $100,000 for the organization through prior music-related initiatives, contributing to the construction of schools in developing regions such as Guatemala.[89] 3LAU founded BLUME Records in 2014 as the first not-for-profit label in dance music, directing 100% of its profits to charitable causes including education via Pencils of Promise, with cumulative donations exceeding $200,000 by the early 2020s to build infrastructure like schools.[89][21] For disaster relief, in 2017, he donated all proceeds from the "Star Crossed" music video release, along with earnings from select performances and streaming royalties, to aid victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.[90] In partnership with Bold.org, 3LAU established the "Everything" Scholarship in support of his 2023 single release, awarding $10,000 to students pursuing creative or entrepreneurial fields as part of a broader "Year of Giving" campaign.[91] These efforts have demonstrably expanded educational access, with Pencils of Promise utilizing funds to complete multiple school builds in Guatemala, though exact per-project breakdowns remain tied to the organization's public reporting.[92]Discography
Studio albums
Ultraviolet is the debut studio album by American electronic music producer 3LAU (Justin Blau), released on February 16, 2018, via the independent label BLUME. The 11-track project emphasizes instrumental electronic dance music with influences from progressive house and future bass, incorporating select vocal features on tracks like "Touch" and "On My Own."[13] It was distributed primarily in digital formats, accumulating over 100 million streams across platforms by 2021.[93] In March 2021, 3LAU commemorated the album's three-year anniversary by auctioning 33 edition NFTs on the Nifty Gateway platform, each redeemable for a signed physical vinyl pressing; this initiative pioneered the release of a full-length album exclusively as non-fungible tokens, yielding $11.6 million in cryptocurrency sales over 48 hours.[47][94] No subsequent full-length studio albums have been released as of October 2025.[95]Singles as lead artist
3LAU's early singles as lead artist marked his transition from mashup productions to original EDM tracks, with "Escape" (in collaboration with Paris & Simo, featuring Bright Lights) released on June 24, 2013, via Revealed Recordings, achieving popularity as a festival staple during the progressive house era.[96] [1] This was followed by "How You Love Me" featuring Bright Lights on March 18, 2014, which exemplified his signature big-room drops and vocal integrations.[36] In late 2014, "We Came to Bang" featuring Luciana debuted on November 28 via Musical Freedom, blending electro house elements and garnering attention for its high-energy party vibe.[97] The subsequent "The Night" with Nom De Strip featuring Estelle arrived on January 12, 2015, further solidifying his presence in EDM charts.[1] "Alive Again" featuring Emma Hewitt, released in July 2015 on Armada Music, shifted toward trance-influenced progressions and received cinematic video treatment, peaking in niche electronic streaming metrics.[98] [99] Later standalone releases included "Touch" featuring Carly Paige in 2018, which topped the iTunes Electronic chart as a precursor to his debut album.[1] "On My Own" featuring Nevve followed in early 2018 on Blume Recordings, emphasizing introspective themes amid rising streams.[100] More recent efforts feature "Easy" with XIRA on October 20, 2023, via Anjunabeats, noted for its melodic builds, and "Music Is The Answer" in 2024, achieving EDM streaming milestones.[101] [102] In 2025, singles like "Shotgun" and "Will You?" continued his output before his announced pivot from the 3LAU moniker.[103]| Title | Featured Artist(s) | Release Date | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escape | Paris & Simo, Bright Lights | June 24, 2013 | Revealed Recordings | Festival circuit hit; early original production breakthrough.[1] |
| How You Love Me | Bright Lights | March 18, 2014 | Spinnin' Records | Big-room EDM staple.[36] |
| We Came to Bang | Luciana | November 28, 2014 | Musical Freedom | Electro house party track.[97] |
| Alive Again | Emma Hewitt | July 2015 | Armada Music | Trance-prog hybrid; video premiere August 31, 2015.[99] |
| Touch | Carly Paige | February 2018 | Blume | #1 iTunes Electronic.[1] |
| Easy | XIRA | October 20, 2023 | Anjunabeats | Melodic EDM single.[101] |