Comments on: Trent Reznor: Take my music, please

Nine Inch Nails rocker talks to News.com about the future of music on the Internet, about leaving the record labels behind and about convincing performer Saul Williams to give away his latest album.

[Mousefinger]

Rich sods can afford to give stuff away.

Wealthy individuals like Trent can afford to give away their wares. Other, smaller bands, can't. It's nice to see how Trent used the "record industry" to get ahead and now chooses to vilify "it". Bite the hand that feeds ya.

The phony musician.

/Mouse

[goobernatorial]

Yeah and the Record industry is like the tooth fairy for artists

Sounds like Mousefinger is a bit bitter, Trent Reznor is trying to put the
power into the hands of the artists. The record label wants to keep the power
for themselves. If you have ever been signed to a small label you'd know that
the first year you make nothing, most of the money you are paid goes directly
to recording and promoting your album or your single.

Trent managed to put together his first album by himself while working as a
janitor in a recording studio, nobody gave him a huge contract to record his
album. In fact TVT his first record label was known for releasing TV jingles. So
I reckon you are the Sod not Trent.

Artists can use the internet as a cheap means of promotion, if you go to
youTube you will find plenty of independent artists creating their own low
budget videos and getting plenty of views. You just have to be original enough
and good enough to grab peoples attention.

Who knows maybe this shift in the industry will lead to better quality bands
being popular, instead of the bands the RIAA choose to shove down our
throats with pay for play music videos and radio singles.

[thescale]

Very bitter, indeed.

Why so bitter, mate? Do you work for NIN's former label? Or are you some second-rate musician who never quite made it? Have a word with yourself, please. The record industry did this to themselves. They don't deserve any sympathy at all.

[ferricoxide]

Bitter Much?

Yup, Reznor's a "Rich Sod" but, he got that way in *spite* of the way that the record industry structures their contracts with artists, not because of it. Yeah, he can afford to be on the vanguard that tells the record labels to "go screw themselves" - and rightly so.

As to being a "phony"? Well, I'd take Reznor's brand of "phony", any day, over the productized pablum puked up by the record labels any day. God save me from the Britneys and other such apparently "real" musicians who you'll *never* see break from the record industry's ***.

[papsc]

You know nothing about him

He worked his way up, he lost everything and worked his way back up again. He even states in the article that this doesn't work for the new bands. Your just a bitter garage band wanna be who failed.

[geek.]

re: Rich Sods...

"Wealthy individuals like Trent can afford to give away their wares. Other, smaller bands, can't."

That's mentioned in the article. He's not recommending it for everyone:
"In addition, such a model could work for marquee bands like Radiohead but not for up-and-coming acts."

"It's nice to see how Trent used the "record industry" to get ahead and now chooses to vilify "it". Bite the hand that feeds ya.

The phony musician."

If you knew the history of Trent's journey through the 'music industry' you would understand why he hates it. His second CD was largely done in secret away from the label (TVT), so he could have some measure of freedom. He then made some references to the struggle in the recordings/liner notes.

Hardly biting the hand that feeds. Ironic that you use a title from one of his recent songs. Trent is showing Integrity by doing this, IMO.

[Gringras]

Try, www.Songslide.com

The music is great, the artists get paid on a sliding scale according
to your kind generosity or your slimy crookedness. I enjoy
shopping there. Pass the word. Maybe it IS the beginning of the
end of music labels, but it is up to us. The Public- the fans.

[witchgoddess]

Trent Reznor: Take my music, please

Trent Reznor rules!!! I am so glad he and Radiohead are rebelling against the greedy riaa. I hope more artists and bands take the same stand as Trent and Radiohead!

[PT78]

Amen Trent

Now will you please talk some sense into Lars? He made a complete ass of himself....

[roguepuppet]

AmieStreet Variable pricing.. great model

I am currently in love with the AmieStreet ( www.amiestreet.com) variable pricing model. The more a song is downloaded, the higher the price ( with a max of .98 cents). Produce great music, you will make money off of it. I have gotten songs for free as well as paying full price for really good music. check it out if you have not already.

[pjhenry1216]

he's taking a leap

and we gotta make sure he has a place to land. i wasn't a huge radiohead fan, but i support the general cause. i *paid* for their album. if they don't make money, they won't be able to continue to do it. they're trusting that SOME people will pay enough. the amount that needs to be paid per album is a lot less since they're cutting out the middleman PLUS putting it online, but there still needs to be costs. if you TRULY enjoy their music, then pay for it. if you don't care enough to pay or just sorta like a song or two, then just download it for free, no harm, no foul. but please, if you really are a fan, please pay something to show your support. i know if Trent ever releases anything with the radiohead model, i will pay for it.

[jessamineny]

Just a couple of facts

Except for presales, the album goes on sale Thursday (11/1), not Wednesday, and it goes on sale for $5 or free (not for whatever people want to pay... unless they want to hit the $5 button over and over and over...). Thanks. :)

[Blito]

Will take the path of Open Source software

First the musicians will go independent and do it cheaply and more quality then eventually the larger companies will come in and buy it up guaranteeing it stays no DRM with musicians getting their FAIR CUT in money.

Right now it is less advantages for musicians to sell through Yahoo and Rhapsody music because Record labels aren't totally embracing digital music and musicians get less money. Plus musicians wont sell their rights over to companies as nobody should. That was the first and last mistake.

[maverick_nick]

I predicted this

I remember commenting about this happening on another article a while back. Record labels now appear as ice cold evil corporations that nobody wants to have anything to do with.

People are generally good, and I think that when we're not forced to do something it's easier and we'd be more willing to do it. I'm certain that artist would be more successful distributing their music at a recommended price, than pursuing the "or else" tactic of the record labels.

[BCF1968]

Just a question

Who pays for the upfront cost of making an album? Does that entity not deserve to recoup those costs? Or is music the new communism where labels are suppose to pay for everything and give the artists 100% of the money? Ironic how when bands first start #1 things they want is to get signed by a label. Once they are signed the label is evil. Why did they want to get signed by the label in the first place? Oh yeah UPFRONT CASH and all expenses paid. These band could do eveything on thier own because they're broke but now somwhow they can? Riiiiiight.

[kabong]

DId anyone read any follow-up on the Radiohead album?

I'm amazed that you mention this whole Radiohead ploy as some
wonderful thing. I'm not a Radiohead fan myself, but the follow-
up was that the "free" version available for download was of very
poor quality. Whereas I think Trent Reznor is trying to actually
get the music out there in a usable format. I'm not a huge Trent
or NIN fan either, but I do respect the guy a lot more because he
has always tended to do his own thing his own way. I think that
Radiohead has pretty much turned out to be the pretentious d-
bags I always kind thought they were.

[rdupuy11]

The new middlemen

Record companies traditionally handled the manufacture of plastic disks (records, before cd's) and the distribution of the same.

Now that function would be handled by iTunes, Amazon, in a true environment of competition where costs could be driven down.

There is no need for record companies...this article reads like propoganda for record companies overstating by far what they do for the traditional artist. What they do is almost nothing...they don't promote and unknown, they basically sign up someone who is already an obvious hit.

Don't be fooled...an up and coming artist has it hard, and the record companies absolutely did not make it easy for anyone, nor did they promote 99% of those acts...they mostly latch on at the last second, when the success is already starting to appear.

The issue of getting famous, remains, as it always has and always will, somewhat elusive.

[rdupuy11]

manufacture and distriubtion

oops...I mean records are obsolete completely...I meant the need for manufacture and distribution of physical media, will disappear completely....and the distribution company, will be one of the many web stores...because in an era where no physical product is needed, record companies are obsolete.

[chash360]

Not always the case

Record companies also play this game of 'you will like what we tell you to like'. There are several examples of how a label will take an easily exploitable artist, comission a stock writer to write the songs, others to arrange the music, and then pay the media corps, lots of money to have every DJ across the country play the music 10 times a day, until it becomes 'a hit'. These are usually less talented or more often individual artists (opposed to bands) that can't really make any demands, they ride the wave the labels make for them. This is how teen starlets are made, and if they go extinct with the traditional record labels, I won't miss them (not for their corperate contrived music anyway).
As for the bands out there actually working and playing their own music, your basically right the labels won't latch on unitl the band has already done all the hard work, and aquired a significant fan base. (This is required to pay those huge record company execs salaries, so they can pretend to be important to this process).
This is made all the more difficult by the fact that you can't get radio play as an independent, because the media companies (that own all the radio stations) want big money (Read as: backend deals with the record labels) to play your music. This is how they try to keep a monopoly on the business.

Again another argument for free communication (Write the FCC, do not sell the 700MHz band to yet another corperate entity to be monopolized, we want open, unlicensed wireless digital use for this RF band, free to all.)

[imacpwr]

NIN, it's Open Source Music..!!

This is great..!!! It's not just mp3s they're giving away for free over
there, it's literally the whole source code of the songs in formats
such as for GarageBand and Logic..!! You see every instrument and
vocal track separately laid down in the song which means a person
could easily alter the original to create a one-off home made re-
mix of their very own.

[cyclocross]

How is this good for Trent?

I like NIN's music, i've paid for it in the past. Under his new plan, he'll never see a cent from me. I don't go to concerts, they are just pathetic reproductions of what they did in the sutdio. Merchandise? it's about the music, not a t-shirt. So from me and me friends, thanks Trent, I just worry about your future, I don' have to pay for your work any more.

[imacpwr]

Re: How is this good for Trent?

More than likely he never saw a cent from you in the past as well
since it was his Label that was pocketing the money and not him.
You've also got your live and studio beliefs mixed up as well,
normally studios are the pathetic part if it's a "real" band that
knows how to preform live.

[sw26]

Statistics are in Trent's favor, since ...

"I like NIN's music, i've paid for it in the past. Under his new plan,
he'll never see a cent from me. I don't go to concerts, they are just
pathetic reproductions of what they did in the sutdio. Merchandise?
it's about the music, not a t-shirt. So from me and me friends,
thanks Trent, I just worry about your future, I don' have to pay for
your work any more."

... sociopathic shut-ins represent a small percentage of the
population.

[Penguinisto]

This is how:

1) he gets a bigger cut of the take (100%, minus whatever it takes to keep the website up). Typical artists get a paltry 2-10% of a typical CD sale, unless they are able to negotiate from a position of strength. Most musicians are lucky to break the poverty line in sales. It looks like they live in luxury, but most of the luxury goods are (often literally) on loan from the RIAA affiliate company.

2) He makes money from the concerts, where bands traditionally make the majority of their dough. This time however, there's no A&R man to swipe the majority of the take. Only the promoter and the venue gets a cut. You might not go to the concerts, but as a huge for instance, the band Tool sold out within minutes of their tickets going on sale here in Portland, Oregon. You really don't want to know what the ticket prices were... and yet people were glad to pay up.

3) Merchandise? Again, you (and I) probably aren't into wearing NIN T-shirts, but hordes of teenagers, wannabe goths, and a surprising shedload of adults are more than happy to purchase one.

3a) Also, we can throw physical CD's in with the merchandise (yes, see also #1). Sure you can download it for free and rip it, but a lot of folks (myself included) would happily plunk down for a pressed CD with decent cover art. Why? Because it supports the band and I get a "master" from which to make my own messes with. If I remember right, NIN also released their songs in (MOD) formats that can be very easily picked apart and mixed. A CD with these is worth a lot more to me than just a CD with the songs.

4) Broadcast rights. MTV, MTV2, VH1 (yep, he's been around that long) and similar channels would happily pay up a mint for concert broadcasting rights.

5) Commercial usage rights. Just because he gives it away free for non-commercial use doesn't mean he cannot charge for commercial usage. Make the MPAA member companies pay up for the privilege of playing his tunes in a movie (or the soundtrack of one)... they have to do that anyway, after all.

Dude - the list goes on, and on, and on...

/P

[chash360]

Power to the people (and artists too)

This is the answer to the RIAA issues. Artists in control of their own distribution, in control of their own costs. Best of all the artists don't have to pay bloated record company executives huge salaries, just to be brushed under the carpet for the next teen starlet that sleeps with them for top billing.
This new method has found an efficiency, fewer degrees of separation from the source artist to the end customer, which the record companies will have to shape up, to compete with.
You can distribute electronically for less cost than in retail, end of story. If the RIAA can't get their heads out of the sand, and embrace low cost electronic distribution that is relatively free to the end user, they might find themselves obsolete.
Big Name artists today might become the labels and promoters of tomorrow, which is really a great idea. Who better to promote and record new artists than the artists that have already been there, and know what works and what doesn't for them?
Electronic distribution could be made easy and free to the end user with a very simple licensing model. Pay to distribute, not to receive. A low monthly flat fee for an authorized site to distribute unlimited copies of a particular song for free to end users. As downloads increase or decrease, perhaps the fee scale could change but still remain small. The distribution sites, can then sell ad space, being able to provide substantial data about their active unique visitor counts, by downloads.
If these sites are run by artists themselves, even better.

[thedreaming]

Radiohead

Their decision was definately bold and they are making money since 100% of the profit goes straight to them, but at the same time, alot of people that could easily go to their website and download the music for free are still going to p2p to download the album that away. Their thought is that if you can download it for free from them, then you should be able to download it from a p2p network for free as well.

[ninmom]

Concerts and Music have VALUE

I wonder if Cyclocross has ever seen a live show and if he has, I don't believe it was NIN (or some of the other phenomenal concert performances, i.e., Pink Floyd)

I love live music and have found that NIN's concert performances are great experiences that allow the fan to be involved in the music. When you see a band with such stage presence and talent as NIN perform it really translates the music into a more meaningful experience. When I think of NIN, my memories include getting a key from the keyboard during NIN's New Orleans' Fragile show, having tears in my eyes as Trent sang "Hurt" at the New Orleans Voodoo Music Festival 2 months after Katrina, and the more usual stress relieving audience involved multi-senses concert experience. I've had the opportunity to see NIN Live 8 times (sometimes 2 days in a row) and each of the shows is different and a truly memorable experience. In addition to NIN, I go to many other concerts and music festivals seeing a variety of music. And yes, I have seen some bands that have shows that are just boring reproductions of their studio recordings - and those are the bands that I choose to only see once live whereas for other bands, I am willing to plan family vacations around their concert schedule.

And when given a choice of getting Saul Williams' new music for free or donating $5 to the artist - I was very willing to purchase the music because I really enjoyed Saul's live performances.

[BCF1968]

Artists are babies and stupid

And the cheap fans by into it. Does anyone have a clue how many MILLIONS in upfront cash the labels give these artists? How about the expense of providing the artist with the equipment, studio and studio time to produce the music. Not to mention the production and distribution of this music, then the artist want to whine if the labels taking most of the money. Ummmm well the labels are out ALL of the money in the first place. Do they not have a right to recoup those cost and God forbid make a bit of a profit?

SO this guy offer FREE or $5 donation. He will find out that most of his so called fans love him so much they'll take the music for free. That's sad that so called fans can't even come up with $5. I mean you can go work at Burger King for an hour and make $5.

Everyone wants everything for free. Sorry nothing is free. The sooner you learn that the better. Unfortunately most will have to learn the hard way and we all suffer.

[reyes89]

yo

Relax dont do it...

[starfire_cnet]

You are wrong

I purchased Saul William's album, and I will purchase Trents. And I
think you are wrong and that there are plenty of NIN fans who will
prchase the online music. Those who REALLY love him WILL. So you
are wrong.

[vega8686]

the middleman sucks

Artists are not given MILLIONS. Artists receive $100,000
depending on how successful the label predicts the artist will be.

No one is whining. Artists want control of the material they
create.

They don't want to be treated like a commodity: used, then
tossed aside when they don't generate enough money. The
music industry has become obsessed with the bottom line. So
now we the audience are feed a lot of pure crap that so many
people buy. Sure a few artists become wealthy but so does the
middleman.

But in this age the artists can level the playing field. Equipment
is increasingly cheaper and higher quality so that bands can
easily record in their garage. They can then utilize the internet
to spread their music to whom ever they want. Still takes work,
artist would have to make music from shows and merchandise.
But they get to make the decisions.

Hope i'm making sense.

[starcannon]

Trent is thinking correctly

He sees a dead horse, and knows that kicking it won't make it go.
So instead of putting on spurs, he's looking for alternate vehicles to keep his music moving.

Well done Trent, I wish you the best of success, and I look forward as a consumer to seeing where this all ends up as well. For now I buy CD's, I just haven't been that impressed with the sound quality of mp3 generally speaking.

I do use the mp3 format, but I load my own mp3's from my CD's, but those are always excellent because I get to choose the bitrate that I rip at, where as Amazon or other mp3 sites offer the mp3's in bit-rates I'm not willing to pay for.

[WhiteNoise5348]

A link between musicians and their fans!!

Reznor?s music and videos have always been ground-breaking and brilliant. I?m not surprised he?s moving away from traditional distribution methods. Times are changing and people enjoy the convenience of down loading songs. I hope other artists see what Trent and Saul are trying to accomplish because the old way of doing business is truly dying.

I listened to the FLAC version of ?Niggy Tardust?, I?m not really into hip-hop, but Saul Williams has a unique sound; it?s really good and certainly worth the donation. Independent distribution is a brilliant marketing approach on the part of Reznor. He?s supported and produced records for other artists in the past and they were very successful; I have no doubt he?ll do the same for Williams.

In support of Trent and his vision I am offering to donate $250.00 for one song, NIN or Saul Williams. Where do I send the cash, donations on Reznor?s web site is limited to $5.00!!

Best of Luck and Thanks

[Xtoo]

Trent did you think about this?

How about all the people (probably the majority NIN fans) that
got to Niggy's website, downloaded the music to check it out
and didn't like it. Remember than Niggy's downloads, even the
free ones, are because of you. And your fans have nothing to do
with Niggy's music.

Why be disappointed? Niggy is after your shadow.
How many people did not like Niggy's music even for free?
I bet a LOT.

Now if you were to do the same strategy with NIN, I would pay
and I bet 100's of 1,000's would.

[indistr.com]

YOU DON'T GET IT!! Xtoo

You obviously have no idea what you're talking about, nor do you
have any insight or understanding to the point being expressed by
Trent Reznor. He's disappointed because of the lack of SAUL
WILLIAMS fans that are willing to purchase the music.