Erasure • Features • Private Ear

Members of the EIS were asked to submit questions to Mute. A selection of these questions were answered by the founder and MD of Mute, Daniel Miller.

Do you still have the same hunger that drove you to form Mute back in the late 1970's?

Well it's a very different kind of hunger, because I didn't really form Mute as such in the 70's. What I did was put a single out. I had a massive desire to put a single out which I didn't think would lead anywhere, but I just loved the idea of releasing one.

The first single I did was Warm Leatherette and I thought it would begin and end there really. I had no real ambition to start a record label with lots of artists that would last for 26 years! But the single did better than I expected, and I started meeting some artists such as Fad Gadget in the early days, and a little bit later Depeche Mode. And I just loved the idea of working with artists that I really liked, and trying to expose their music to the world.

I suppose in that sense the hunger is the same; I love music and want as many people as possible to hear it.

Are there any Mute albums or artists that you feel feel received too little public appreciation?

Almost all of them! [laughs]

If I had to pick one artist that I felt was hugely influential and didn't get the recognition they deserved at the time then that would be Renegade Soundwave. There are others as well, but they're the ones that always come to mind when I listen to one of their records. They were so ahead of their time and so influential and they made such great records. You can see at the time when they released those records that they didn't "fit" into what the media wanted to play or write about. Two or three years later things changed but by that time they had split up.

The problem with being ahead of your time is that quite often the media don't accept you and therefore getting exposed to the public is that much more difficult. The public are generally much more open minded than the media.

Is there a similar problem getting established artists airplay and exposure?

Certainly I think in this country both Depeche Mode and Erasure are really under valued and that's very sad. However Erasure are certainly really valued by the fans, and have the best fan base of any artist that I know of; really loyal and supportive.

To be fair, with "Other People's Songs" we got a lot of media exposure, a lot of TV and radio; much more so than with "Loveboat". That set them up really well for "Hits!", the tour and the new album [Nightbird], which is the strongest one they have made in a long time in my opinion.

"Hits!" certainly did very well with it reaching gold status...

Exactly, and those three things, Hits!, Other People's Songs and the tour did a lot to bring Erasure back into the broader publics mind. They have made a really good record with Nightbird and if we can get the exposure that we want for it, a lot more people will be open to them again. I hope!

What are the reasons for you to drop an artist?

There are lots of reasons, and they are usually different each time, although it never usually is for financial reasons.

When I sign a band, I really want to feel confident that the band, the label, and I are all on the same page in terms of where they want to go in terms of their career and musically.

And there is a lot of flexibility, in that I obviously respect the artist's needs to develop and change.

I'm not saying that people have to stay on the same level.

So if there comes a point where those agendas become so separate and irreconcilable then that's one way, as it's no fun for either side as you end up trying to force square pegs into round holes. But that difference has to be massive. There was one occasion where there was a band on Mute (I won't say who it was) and they gave me a tape of fifteen songs. I choose five that I thought were really strong that they should take away and develop and put on the album. They said that those five tracks were the ones they were going to drop and they really loved the other songs. I didn't think those were very good and I asked if they wanted to develop the other five and they said no, they preferred the other ones. So we came to the conclusion that we were on a different page.

Obviously it was a longer discussion than that!

How much creative freedom do your bands have? Does the same policy apply to a new, unknown band compared to an established band such as Erasure?

They have a massive amount of creative freedom. With the one exception of the band I mentioned earlier, where I felt we were so far apart, I didn't try to force them to do anything. They just didn't want to do it and it was felt it wasn't worth us working together. But bands have 100% creative freedom. That doesn't mean they go off and create a record without us involved, but we believe in that freedom.

If you look and see how Depeche Mode changed between "Speak and Spell" and "Construction Time Again", Moby changed between "Everything Is Wrong", "Animal Rights" and "Play" – massive musical changes. Even Goldfrapp, with the releases of "Felt Mountain" and "Black Cherry", these are things that come with creative freedom, and not from a record company saying you have to do this and that. And that's what I find really exciting, that sometimes you just don't know what people are going to produce.

Why was Mute sold to EMI?

Well it's a long story! It was a lot of things really...

I tried to work out what would be the most secure future for Mute going forward and I wanted Mute to carry on in a good way. The structure of the industry is changing that fast and Mute shouldn't be the same company it was ten years ago, and the most important thing for Mute is that we put out good records and support them well. What went through my mind is "What is going to secure Mute in a really difficult market place?" Mute is a fairly high risk label, we do a lot of experimental stuff and there came a point where I had to determine what was the best way forward for Mute.

We had gone through a lot of difficult financial times in the late 1990's; very difficult. We got to the point where we were quite weak and we almost had to do a deal with somebody, which would have been the worse possible situation as we would have had no power. Then we were very lucky that Moby had the massive success, and that put us into the position where we were financially secure for a while and in a good position to do a deal.

I thought that was an important time to make some decisions about Mute's future, and I felt on balance that if we got the right deal, in terms of control and our autonomy, it would be best for Mute to work with a partner. I really wanted that partner to be somebody that understood Mute and had worked with Mute over the years.

The only people that I felt who were really up to that were EMI (well Virgin really), and Play It Again Sam, who had just done a really big deal and were in position where they could do something with someone else.

In the end I decided that it was the Virgin people that I wanted to work with, and I don't regret that decision. It's no more difficult working as an independent or as part of a major, as you still need to make the figures add up at the end of the day.

And working with a bigger corporation has given us some breathing space. I'm very pleased that we made that decision. Things are changing in the industry so fast, there are bound to be changes - things that I don't agree with them about, and things that they don't agree with me about. But in the end it was the right thing to do. We are still very autonomous, in terms of music we make and the way in which we do it.

What positive impacts has the EMI deal had for Mute and its artists?

For Mute itself as a label, it's given us financial breathing space, and with the nature of the deal it's given us longevity. It's not had that much impact on the artists either way to be honest. Being more secure as a label means that they are more secure as an artist. In terms of what the artists do in the studio or on the road, EMI don't get involved in that.

How important do yourselves at Mute value Erasure as an act some 19 years after their first single?

We value them hugely. They importantly still make great records. In particular their latest one is exceptionally good, and they still sell well. Vince Clarke, with his association with Depeche Mode and Yazoo, has had a huge impact on Mute and he's a great mate. I love working with both of them and they're great to work with.

What process do you use to determine the singles from albums? Are some songs seen as too risky for a single?

I don't think risky is the right word. Picking singles can be the most difficult thing. The point of a single, particularly a first single, is for it to represent the album and is something that will be exposed. I think that single choices that have been made, whether they have been right or wrong, are based on this and most of the time the band and us are in sync on that.

For a band like Erasure there is no point putting out a single that will not get on the radio at all. It's great that the fans buy it, but in the end we want other people to hear it as well.

Have you considered making unreleased material available via iTunes / digital downloads?

Yes we are certainly planning to do far more with this. Downloading is a good format to release things like that, but we don't believe in giving away music for free.

Once our new Mute website is up, we will have lots of download exclusives like that for people to be able to download. It's the perfect medium for that. In the old days you had to consider whether it was worth making a record to put them on, but now we can make them available for people to download.

Why do you think Erasure are not bigger/more well known in the U.S.?

Well they have certainly been big in the US. I think Erasure, like most other artists, have gone on their own path musically and the American radio picture has changed so much there is not an obvious place for them to get onto radio. They have done some great gigs recently and have a large number of very loyal fans, but for the moment the music that Erasure are making and what American radio play have gone their separate ways; maybe they will converge again.

With the success of the 3 singles last year and Hits! going gold - how would you sum up the past 18 months for Erasure?

The best 18 months they have had in a long time! They have just delivered the type of album they have needed to capitalise on the profile that they have created in the past 18 months. It was the most focused period they have had in a long time and it continues to be so. But most importantly they're both in great spirits and really up for it and enjoying it.

What are you involved in at the moment?

Well we've just finished the new Erasure album and the single mixes and I was quite involved in the mixing of that, which I quite enjoyed. I didn't mix it myself, but I was there helping which I enjoyed. There is a Moby album which is 80% complete and is a key release for us. Depeche Mode will hopefully start recording in a couple of months, and Nick Cave has just finished his new album which is out shortly.

How proud are you of the new Erasure material?

Very proud – I think it's the best material they have done in years.

Are there any plans for EBX 5 and 6?

We'll definitely consider following on the series.

Any plans to release the Cowboy tour on DVD?

Yes!

How would you sum up Erasure's fans in just one sentence?

[laughs]

I think they are incredibly loyal. I find it very moving how loyal they are when I see them at gigs.

I would like to round this interview off by saying that the EIS has received many emails of thanks for yourself and Mute for supporting Erasure, and for producing such great music!

Well I would like to extend a general thank you back to all you guys for supporting Erasure out there in Wonderland!