Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails) goes independent
In the last few years, I’ve seen the record industry just not “get it”. Or, they want to use antiquated laws to make sure they can get every dime possible from archaic distribution means. They just don’t see the bigger picture. Growing up, sharing music meant taking the time to make a copy of an album (read: vinyl) which was time consuming, and I personally didn’t like using albums more than I had to. Nowadays people share songs by simply clicking on them. Note: I used the word SHARE, not COPY. I realize that there’s an inherent equality with those two words nowadays, but there are times when you want to say to someone “hey, I got this cool new NIN song. You should listen to it”, but that friend is 1000 miles away. The person can’t come to your house or listen in your car, so the only means necessary is to send them the actual file. You don’t always mean to break copyright law, you just love a song so much you want someone else to hear it. Sharing has, unfortunately, mutated into illegal distribution based on today’s laws.
Today, Trent Reznor announced that he’s gone independent and now has a direct relationship with the fans. He’s finally cut out the middle man. I don’t know much about the record business, but I can say that Trent will probably see more direct income from what he sells, but I wonder what a record label did for him in terms of promotion and touring. Can Trent do this on his own somehow? I don’t know, but I hope so. I think that after almost two decades of being in the business, if he can’t do it himself he knows people that can.
I think over time the concept of a “record label” will change. Instead, there may be some kind of organization that oversees payment distribution for artists, and can see that sharing a song could mean more income from the people that found the artists more than if that song was never played by the people that downloaded it.
Good luck, Trent!
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