The beloved and well respected record label, Morr Music, is operated out of Berlin, Germany. It has built a great reputation for it's tenacious and well considered aesthetics regarding aural and visual art. Early on they released music in the IDM, laptronica and dreampop realms but it has, like every good label, expanded and embraced different styles.
 
Morr Music's eclectic roster includes artists like Lali Puna, múm, Sóley, Sin Fang, Orcas, The Go Find, Radical Face, Sole, Electric President and so many more.
 
Mr. Thomas Morr himself took a little break from his daily endeavors to answer Benedikt Reynisson a few questions about his background and his great label.
 
Could you tell us about how you got involved with music and why you started Morr Music?
 
Well, I’ve been dj’ing since I was 18 years old. I was working in clubs, for local concert promoters, a great record store and for a pretty big German music mail order company while I tried to finish my studies until late 1997 I guess. In early 1998 I moved to Berlin and worked in another record store while interning in the promotion department of one of the biggest European independent music distributors. Back then I got the offer to help a friend setting up his own distribution company. So I jumped on that train as we were about to work with labels I really liked including Kranky, Mego, Constellation (who just started), K Records, Slumberland, Shrimper, Polyvinyl, In The Red and many more. My position included export sales and label A&R and basically shaping our distribution profile. I met a bunch of nice people, with some of them we still work even if they moved across half of the globe, some are sitting next to me, day in and day out. Being able to control and create our own infrastructure maybe was the final push to start the label, beside being roommate with some great artists. An idea I played with for a while, a joint action with friends and a DIY dream come true so to say.
 
Could you say that you‘re inspired by other record labels, if so which labels and why?
 
We started in 1999, every interesting music i was into those days was way more electronic and experimental as it is now. labels like touch, mego, kranky, warp, 4ad and even some small 7″ labels i´d name as influences. it could be the love for serial or strong artworks or packaging etc pp but also as those labels had real curators on many levels, which is maybe the most interesting part of running a label to me anyway. one of my favorites ever will be the 7″ label wurlitzer that might have stopped at the right time but for me way too early.
 
Do you think Morr Music has a sound and how do you feel the sound of Morr Music has progressed over time?
 
We obviously moved away from being strictly or almost strictly electronica and then got back to that genre with new artists and more recent releases and some of our old allies of labelday #1. Our sound is just changing whenever you work with a new artist with all good and bad side effects. For some media it’s easier to like you if you´re more niche and some you won’t reach. We’re aware of those mechanisms but prefer not to care about it too much as it could simply spoil the fun.
 
Are there any recent album that you’ve listened to and you’ve said to yourself: “Man… this record is so amazing, I wish that it would have been on Morr Music!”? Any “classic” albums?
 
I personally don´t think that way anymore even if i did in the beginning, maybe as i was thinking as a record collector, dreaming to be connected to possibly everything you love. BUT the Youth Lagoon album is one of the best things I´ve heard in ages and whatever Jónsi and his fellow artists come up with usually ends up on highest rotation. I was quite happy to see The Magnetic Fields reunite and basically there’s always great new music.
 
What are you thoughts about music streaming and sharing online? How does this affect your label and sales? …and do you think it affects major labels more than indie labels or vice versa?
 
Streaming models will most likely be among the survivors, as long no one proofs it actually doesn’t work financially for the service providers, does it for you gogoyoko? We use Spotify a lot and the whole idea of curated content and the combination of streaming and vinyl + special product sales does not sound too bad on a private level.
 
We´re facing a lot of half yet unknown financial tasks though, the most expensive part about our job is a) production = initial costs to (let the artist) create great music and also create a good product – those costs have to be paid anyway unless we expect all engineers and the designer to work for free and b) promotion and marketing, something we also don´t get for free. AND we need to pay those expenses immediately and i´m not sure how those big investments can be financed in a streaming only world with 0,0001 cent paid per play and the promise you´ll hopefully recoup in 25 years from now.
 
The main problem our investments and risks are based on an old distributional justice and based on that we’re to provide budgets, provide tour supports, promote shows and to do all the early investments for a band to get started. these days the risks are basically getting too high and we as a label we actually have to adjust to that, which would make live harder for artists and booking agents etc pp. but i guess the only way is to concentrate on fewer bands, who could share those risks with us of course on top of all the great work they have to do to start with.
 
The biggest change for us in the past, music piracy first of all destroyed a big big part of the indie culture, made some jerks and questionable services rich by repeating lies either deliberately or not realizing to be manipulated but the outcome is close to a monopoly game that maybe isn´t about major music companies alone anymore but about even more gigantic multinational companies being more powerful than anything ever before. though i have to admit i love itunes and thank god they are safing our label lives every day so far!
 
I’m not sure if mr napster or mr pirate bay had any good interest in mind BUT they surely created a beast that noone can potentially be happy about, if your not an opportunist or hypocrite trying to spoil a complicated already very emotional discussion. unfortunately by now all these topics are of vital significance for a lot of people we work with artists and labels. Two faced blabla doesn´t help, waving the free content flag just for a good marketing story doesn’t help. I simply want artists and not only ours and also labels to be paid for their work and if i REALLY like them i want them to write songs and/or release music forever and be paid for it while keeping their dignity.
 
How do you feel about the ever-changing music scene currently? What do you think about free downloading?
 
I guess i´m not so interested in trends anyway, usually i disagree or don´t care. there´s always sounds i cannot listen to anymore, there´s others i haven´t even discovered, but it´s greta to be surprised or discover something overlooked. Free downloading of what? To me it´s unfortunately senseless sound pollution but please also read above .
 
How do you pick your artists? Do you have guidelines?
 
We just have to be almost over the moon about the music and then hopefully also the artist. Then we have to have the impression that we´d make a good team and that the work that´s gonna be hard enough could still be fun.
 
What do you think about the current German music scene?
 
I´m not sure what that would be to be honest. there´s no German sound that is not in tradition of krautrock or electronic music and i personally still like my old german heroes best, let it be Jan Jelinek or the bands we work with around The Nowtist or maybe even good old Mouse in Mars. What is the German music scene for you?
 
Do you have any great things coming up for the label that you would like to share with us?
 
They’ll be live on gogoyoko any day of course, but i think we’ll have some great releases this year and in 2013 too!