Trent Reznor Throws Record Label Out of His Concert

[Peench]

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has hit out at his record company - in
particular the Australian branch thereof, in a new interview with
Melbourne's Herald Sun. A few of the more interesting responses
are included below:

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

Q: Did you have a word to anyone?
A: Well, in Brisbane I end up meeting and greeting some record label people,
who are pleasant enough, and one of them is a sales guy, so I say "Why is
this the case?" He goes "Because your packaging is a lot more expensive". I
know how much the packaging costs -- it costs me, not them, it costs me 83
cents more to have a CD with the colour-changing ink on it. I'm taking the
hit on that, not them. So I said "Well, it doesn't cost $10 more". "Ah,
well, you're right, it doesn't. Basically it's because we know you've got a
core audience that's gonna buy whatever we put out, so we can charge more
for that. It's the pop stuff we have to discount to get people to buy it.
True fans will pay whatever". And I just said "That's the most insulting
thing I've heard. I've garnered a core audience that you feel it's OK to rip
off? F--- you'. That's also why you don't see any label people here, 'cos I
said 'F--- you people. Stay out of my f---ing show. If you wanna come, pay
the ticket like anyone else. F--- you guys". They're thieves. I don't blame
people for stealing music if this is the kind of s--- that they pull off.

Q: Where does that extra $10 on your album go?
A: That money's not going into my pocket, I can promise you that. It's just
these guys who have f---ed themselves out of a job essentially, that now
take it out on ripping off the public. I've got a battle where I'm trying to
put out quality material that matters and I've got fans that feel it's their
right to steal it and I've got a company that's so bureaucratic and clumsy
and ignorant and behind the times they don't know what to do, so they rip
the people off.

Q: Given all that, do you have any idea how to approach the release of your
next album?
A: I've have one record left that I owe a major label, then I will never be
seen in a situation like this again. If I could do what I want right now, I
would put out my next album, you could download it from my site at as high a
bit-rate as you want, pay $4 through PayPal. Come see the show and buy a
T-shirt if you like it. I would put out a nicely packaged merchandise piece,
if you want to own a physical thing. And it would come out the day that it's
done in the studio, not this "Let's wait three months" bulls---.

~~
& is all I have to say. I totally agree with him.

[D_Litch]

I read this story on Digg, and I was floored at what he said. My respect for Trent has tripled because of this. He recognizes what his fan base is, and he tries to appeal to them and give them what they want.

Not only is Year Zero my favorite album of the last few years, but this makes me like Trent that much more.

[Serren]

That is awesome. I would imagine many artists feel the same. I know that the CD's have always been the studios money machines and the concerts are where the acts make the bulk of their money.

And now with the record lables on the verge of charging radio stations for playing songs, the whole industry is getting ready to collapse. Which may be a good thing for us and the acts, but not for the RIAA.

[Jon Liu]

Trent is the man.

[BrewCityUpstart]

As much as I can't stand him or his crap music, I liked his comments.

[ZoomZoom71]

Thanks for posting that, Peench! Good read. So, I guess he's suggesting he only gets $4 off every album?

[Peench]

Could be. It makes sense though. Right now the business model is to try to squeeze every penny out of consumers. If he took out the middle men who are screwing all the consumers, he could charge less which would probably result in more sales and more money in his pocket.

The music industry has to realize that consumers want (1) easy and (2) cheap. Another consideration is format, but the general public doesn't necessarily concern itself with that. Right now the easiest and cheapest way to get music is to steal it online. If most people were given the choice between buying something that was reasonably priced so that the artists is rewarded for their hard work over stealing it, they would likely buy it at a reasonable price.

[AZRaiderH8r]

It was very cool to read his thoughts on this. I haven't listened to NIN since Pretty Hate Machine, but I always respected Trent, especially how he treats his fans.