Background and career
Markus Schulz ( SHUULTS, German: [ˈmaʁkʊs ˈʃʊlts]; born 3 February 1975) is a German DJ and record producer based in Miami, Florida. Best known for his weekly radio show titled Global DJ Broadcast that airs on Digitally Imported radio, ah.fm and other online stations, Schulz is also the founder of the label Coldharbour Recordings and Schulz Music Group (SMG), an artist management company that manages rising stars in the industry. In September 2012, Schulz was crowned America's number one DJ by DJ Times. In early 2013, after several spontaneous back-to-back performances, Schulz and Ferry Corsten announced they would be producing and touring together as the new EDM group New World Punx. Their debut arena show was held at Madison Square Garden.
Schulz has released 15 mix compilations and seven artist albums under his own name. He has also released productions and albums, Thoughts Become Things, Thoughts Become Things II and The Nine Skies, under the alias Dakota. Through his work with remixing tracks, he has had the opportunity to work with such artists as: Depeche Mode, Madonna, Everything but the Girl, Jewel, OceanLab, Gabriel & Dresden, Télépopmusik, Fatboy Slim, Miro, Book of Love, Blue Amazon and PQM. His remixes of "Intuition" and "Stand" by Jewel both hit number one on the Billboard club chart. His seventh studio album, We Are The Light, released on 12 October 2018.
When not in the studio working on new mixes, Schulz maintains an extensive international touring schedule. He originally held a seven-year residency at The Works in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he developed his style. Since then, he has continued to perform at clubs all over the world including stereo nightclub Avalon, Club Space, Green Valley, Ministry of Sound, Ruby Skye and Zouk.
He has performed DJ sets at some of the largest festivals and events: Electric Daisy Carnival; Electric Zoo; Monster Massive; Together As One; Ultra Music Festival; Amsterdam Dance Event; Nature One; Dance Valley; Love Parade; Global Gathering; Creamfields; ETD Pop; Transmission; Trance Energy 2010; Bang Music Festival; Future Music Festival; Bal en Blanc; on Episodes 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600 and 650 (as New World Punx) of A State of Trance; and at Summafieldayze on the Gold Coast, Australia. In 2013, Schulz launched a North American tour with the M Machine called Scream Tour. A second North American tour started in April 2014 following the release of Scream 2. On 28 October 2010, DJ Magazine announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, placing Schulz at number 8 in the world. In September 2012, Schulz was crowned America's Number 1 DJ by DJ Times. In DJ Magazine's 2013 poll, he was number 21 in the ranking.
Schulz is known amongst his fans as the "Unicorn Slayer". Many EDM artists nowadays tend to fall back on light, upbeat melodies, nicknamed "unicorn melodies", but Schulz prefers to use square waves and pitch bends. After somebody tweeted, "Markus Schulz: the unicorn slayer of trance," Schulz retweeted it and the nickname caught on.
Schulz married Heather Pfeifer in 1993. They had a son in 1995, and the couple worked together to develop his DJ business. They divorced in 2015. Schulz married the Romanian singer Adina Butar on 1 June 2019, in Ibiza. Schulz was 44. The two work primarily in Miami but they also built a home in Sarmizegetusa, Hunedoara, Romania.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
