DEPECHE MODE SIGN WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE DEAL WITH EMI MUSIC - TO INCLUDE THE U.S. FOR THE FIRST TIME

AGREEMENT EXPANDS EMI LABEL MUTE'S DECADES-LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH MULTI-PLATINUM ELECTRONIC MUSIC VANGUARDS.

DEPECHE MODE TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM IN APRIL 2009, FOLLOWED BY FIRST-EVER STADIUM TOUR IN MAY!

EMI Music is thrilled to announce that it has signed an exclusive worldwide deal with multi-platinum recording artists Depeche Mode. EMI Music's Mute label has been the best-selling British trio’s international home since 1981 when the label released the group’s debut single "Dreaming of Me" in the U.K. The new deal means that EMI Music will now release Depeche Mode’s music in the U.S. for the first time, as well as in the rest of the world.

Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode said: "We are so pleased to be continuing our relationship with Mute, and we feel very positive about the new team and set-up at EMI. This is going to be an exciting new chapter."

Nick Gatfield, EMI Music's president - A&R Labels, North America, the UK and Ireland, said: "We are delighted to be extending our relationship with Depeche Mode, and to be supporting them in the US for the first time. They are one of the world's most innovative and successful bands who continuously push boundaries and excite fans with their recording and live work."

Daniel Miller, chairman, Mute, said: "I am really happy to be continuing to work with the band. They have been reaching new creative heights in the studio and they have one of the most devoted fanbases of any band in the world today. I believe that the Mute and EMI teams are extremely well positioned to help Depeche Mode build on their success."

The first release under Depeche Mode’s worldwide agreement with EMI Music is a new studio album, the band’s twelfth, due outside the U.S. on April 20th, 2009, and in the U.S. on April 21st. Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andy Fletcher are currently in New York working on the album, which will be the follow-up to Depeche Mode’s 2005 release Playing the Angel, which reached No. 1 in 18 countries.

In addition, Depeche Mode has announced dates for the European leg of its "Tour of the Universe 2009" — the group’s first-ever stadium tour in which they will perform in 28 cities across 21 countries. The tour, which kicks off in Israel on May 10th, is the band’s first since 2005’s "Touring the Angel" trek, which smashed European sales records with 1.8 million tickets sold across 87 shows.

Formed in Basildon, England, in 1980, Depeche are considered the founding fathers of the ’80s synthpop movement and have become one of the most influential pop groups of the last 25 years by inspiring generations of new artists with their sublime, superlative electronica. The group has racked up multiple hit singles, including "Just Can’t Get Enough," "Everything Counts," "Enjoy the Silence," "People Are People," "Master and Servant," "Personal Jesus," "Policy of Truth" and "Precious". Their 11 studio albums — 1981’s Speak & Spell, 1982’s A Broken Frame, 1983’s Construction Time Again, 1984’s Some Great Reward, 1986’s Black Celebration, 1987’s Music for the Masses, 1990’s Violator, 1993’s Songs of Faith and Devotion, 1997’s Ultra, 2001’s Exciter, and 2005’s Playing the Angel — have collectively sold more than 75 million copies worldwide.