TRENT REZNOR - REZNOR URGES MUSICIANS TO DITCH LABELS

Trent Reznor: "Biggest wake-up calls of my career was when I saw a record contract. I said, 'Wait - you sell it for $18.98 and I make 80 cents? And I have to pay you back the money you lent me to make it and then you own it?" (contactmusic.com)

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/reznor%20urges%20musicians%20to%20ditch%20labels_1099985

TRENT REZNOR - REZNOR URGES MUSICIANS TO DITCH LABELS
Trent Reznor
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Rocker TRENT REZNOR is urging all musicians to follow in his footsteps and ditch their record labels.
Reznor's band Nine Inch Nails broke away from their deal with Universal in 2007, after a tempestuous relationship with the music giant.
The singer describes the experience as "liberating" - insisting big labels make too much money from musicians and are completely out of touch with the industry.
Reznor says, "Anyone who's an executive at a record label does not understand what the internet is, how it works, how people use it, how fans and consumers interact - no idea. I'm surprised they know how to use email. They have built a business around selling plastic discs, and nobody wants plastic discs any more. They're in such a state of denial it's impossible for them to understand what's happening.
"One of the biggest wake-up calls of my career was when I saw a record contract. I said, 'Wait - you sell it for $18.98 and I make 80 cents? And I have to pay you back the money you lent me to make it and then you own it? Who the f**k made that rule? Oh! The record labels made it because artists are dumb and they'll sign anything' - like I did. When we found out we'd been released (from their recording contract) it was like, 'Thank God!'. But 20 minutes later it was, 'Uh-oh, now what are we going to do?' It was incredibly liberating, and it was terrifying."
And Reznor adds that musicians should be exploring other ways to sell their own music, rather than relying on labels: "As an artist, you are now the marketer."


07/04/2009 19:01


Also see: Trent Reznor



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raffraffraff ( 1)

posted on 10/04/2009 11:36

comments:

I fail to see what the music industry really does for artists or consumers. Example: I just tried to buy the 'Cold War Kids' album online. I live in Ireland, so I can't buy from Napster or Amazon. I use Linux so iTunes is not an option - and anyway, installing bloatware so I can download an album is ridiculous. Comparison: I google a few well-chosen words and clicked three times - the album can be mind for free. Alternative: Go into the city and buy the CD. Extra (environmental & financial) cost of packaging, transportation, store markup... but: "Oh, sorry, we don't have that in stock". So tell me, what did the music industry do for the 'Cold War Kids'? Nothing. Last FM introduced me to their music. YouTube showed me their latest video. If the band had a sell-direct website and a PayPal account, I could have paid them directly, and they'd make some money. Actually, not just 'some' money, but almost the whole amount that I paid. As it is, they get nothing until I find a record store that stocks their CD, and even then, they just get a tiny cut. Fair? I think not.




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mikey182 ( 1)

posted on 10/04/2009 12:33

comments:

@JJinBrooklyn > But the rest of us, competing for eyes and ears in the media saturated world, what are we to do? What are you doing now? The labels are still alive and massively influential, record stores and online stores abound, they still own or dominate radio airplay and awards. What's different? I agree they might start to struggle, and might be on the way out - but my point is NOW they still have the power and influence they had for Radiohead and NiN, and YOU still can't get heard. It shows that the difference between you and them is either quality (they might be better) or luck (the record companies happened to run with them rather than you). EITHER WAY you can't do anything about it with the old system - you needed talent and/or the good favour of a record company. Now think of the brave new world if everyone ditches the labels, and the hungry consumer uses free outlets (I love last.fm) to try out new music. True, it's still going to take a bit of luck to be heard, but the cream usually does rise to the top. If you have the talent, you will succeed. If you don't, then why should you? Perhaps radiohead & NiN wouldn't have got super-rich without the labels, but I'm pretty damn sure they would have made a good living, making the music they wanted to, and made their fans very happy. Is that such a bad future?