Nine Inch Nails Frontman Says His Record Company Is Run By 'Thieves'

[dafloppyone]

Trent Reznor points out the very problem with the music industry in this day and age. The people in charge of the decision making are arrogant, money hungry, and will do what ever it takes for the bottom line. I'm willing to bet that this backward thinking of pricing it at $35 will actually net them *less* money than they would have made if they priced it more reasonably. The music execs pull this BS and then wonder why pirating is so rampant. If they honestly believe for one moment, that we as the consumers don't at the very least think something is fishy with the whole state of it all, then they are either stupid or are just completely out of touch with reality. It's like when they leave their office, the go home to a room with steel walls, no TV, no internet and don't step foot outside except for work. Something needs to change and change quick. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

Q: It must be an odd time then to have a new album, Year Zero, out?

Trent Reznor: It's a very odd time to be a musician on a major label, because there's so much resentment towards the record industry that it's hard to position yourself in a place with the fans where you don't look like a greedy *******. But at the same time, when our record came out I was disappointed at the number of people that actually bought it. If this had been 10 years ago I would think "Well, not that many people are into it. OK, that kinda sucks. Yeah I could point fingers but the blame would be with me, maybe I'm not relevant". But on this record, I know people have it and I know it's on everybody's iPods, but the climate is such that people don't buy it because it's easier to steal it.

Q: You're a bit of a computer geek. You must have been there, too?

Trent Reznor: Oh, I understand that -- I steal music too, I'm not gonna say I don't. But it's tough not to resent people for doing it when you're the guy making the music, that would like to reap a benefit from that. On the other hand, you got record labels that are doing everything they can to **** people off and rip them off. I created a little issue down here because the first thing I did when I got to Sydney is I walk into HMV, the week the record's out, and I see it on the rack with a bunch of other releases. And every release I see: $21.99, $22.99, $24.99. And ours doesn't have a sticker on it. I look close and 'Oh, it's $34.99'. So I walk over to see our live DVD Beside You in Time, and I see that it's also priced six, seven, eight dollars more than every other disc on there. And I can't figure out why that would be. ​

 

[helmet]

He makes some fair points TBH but the problem is too far gone for his word to have any real impact, (even at shifting his own CD price downwards). Still it is good he mentioned it whilst the album is still new and still getting hype.
Hat off to him... finally showing his age and making good music again.

Best quote for me is:

When your US label, Interscope, discovered the web-based alternate reality game (ARG) you'd built around Year Zero, were they happy for the free marketing or angry you hadn't let them in on it?

I chose to do this on my own, at great financial expense to myself, because I knew they wouldn't understand what it is, for one. And secondly, I didn't want it coming from a place of marketing, I wanted it coming from a place that was pure to the project. It's a way to present the story and the backdrop, something I would be excited to find as a fan. I knew the minute I talked to someone at the record label about it, they would be looking at it in terms of "How can we tie this in with a mobile provider?" That's what they do. If something lent itself to that, OK, I'm not opposed to the idea of not losing a lot of money (laughs). But it would only be if it made sense. I've had to position myself as the irrational, stubborn, crazy artist. At the end of the day, I'm not out to sabotage my career, but quality matters, and integrity matters. Jumping through any hoop or taking advantage of any desperate situation that comes up just to sell a product is harmful. It is.