NINE INCH NAILS Frontman Says His Record Company Is Run By ‘Thieves’

Posted by TyCohen

As far as the both the music industry and the economy goes, for incredible numbers of individuals (maybe even you), this is the year of lost faith, hope and self confidence.


As with most things, in order to have a true sense of ownership and/or to create *Real* wealth, you have to own what it is that you make a living from. These are just two of the reasons why for the last 10 years I have continuously stressed the importance of owning your own label, taking the DIYS route and avoiding signing to a major label.


So with that said, it did not shock me much to hear the leader of one of the music industry’s most well known groups, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails say that his record company, Universal Records is “Run By Thieves”, lets take a look at that interview and then at the very end, I want YOUR comments. (we need to get at least 20 great comments to keep this type of information coming at you… Thanks!)


Oh and by the way if you are not familiar with who Trent Reznor and/or NINE INCH NAILS, the band has been around since ‘88, have recordings that have been nominated for 12 Grammys, they won two of those Grammy Awards and they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, with 10.5 million sales certified in the US alone.

NINE INCH NAILS is primarily an industrial rock group, but this story will benifit everyone who reads it, even YOU because it shows you the direction that the industry is headed in and how you can reap huge benefits by just doing things right and as I tell you.


Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails lets it rip at ignorant record companies to NEALA JOHNSON


ON stage at the Metro on Monday night, it seemed you’re enjoying being a rock star again. True?


It’s funny you’d say that ‘cos that was not one of my favorite shows.


It went downhill at one point.


Yeah. I enjoy playing these days. I try to make the most of it and sometimes it’s great fun and sometimes, like Monday night when it was crippled with technical problems, it made it not fun. I couldn’t hear what was going on, s— was breaking . . .


Fools in the crowd were yelling . . .


Yeah, mixed feelings about that.


I mean, if you want me to go off on a tangent . . . I’m kind of in a weird space right now. I’m not real centered. We’ve been touring for a long time. I went from the record right into the tour, nine weeks in Europe in winter, which I don’t recommend in any circumstance for anybody. I’m moving. There’s some stuff in my personal life that’s up.


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


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.


You’re a bit of a computer geek. You must have been there, too?


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.


Did you have a word to anyone?


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.


Where does that extra $10 on your album go?


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.


Given all that, do you have any idea how to approach the release of your next album?


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—.



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.


Is the Year Zero ARG something labels will copy now?


Well, their response, when they saw that it did catch on like wildfire, was “Look how smart we are the way we marketed this record”. That’s the feedback I’ve gotten — other artists who’ve met with that label ask ‘em about it: “Yeah, you like what we did for Trent? Look what we did for Trent”. They’ve then gone on to try to buy the company that did it to apply it to all their other acts. So, glad I could help them out. I’m sure they still don’t understand what it is that we did or why it worked. But I will look forward to the Black Eyed Peas ARG, that should be amazing.


Be sure to pick up the Nine Inch Nails Album, “Year Zero” (on Universal ;). It is out now and it is an AMAZING CD.


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Back to Ty Cohen
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Now what you just read here applies to ALL genres of music, I have to say that because I can already see you trying to find a way out of taking your career into your own hands and being fully responsible for it.


Much Success!

P.S. If you make it a HABIT to do something towards bringing you closer to your goal, Every Day.. You’ll be light years ahead of 99.9% of everyone else, because very few others have the discipline and self motivation to do this…. Other then those people who are ALREADY where you want to BE.. And the way they got there is by being Focused! Start now by leaving a comment, as well as your name and website info for the world to see and read…

Stay Focused, Stay True to Your Dreams and You’ll Make It!

"The World Is Yours" Cd Compilation Listening Party!

Are you a true fan of Hip Hop?? You like Hip Hop Music with a message?? Then tune in tonight for "The World Is Your" CD Compilation listening party ft. Some of the nicest independent artists/groups!! Like Us!! @www.stickam.com/krazyrace 8-11pm PST.

THE WORLD IS OURS VOL.3 CD will be released in Mid-May 2010...((pre-order now for only $10)) PayPal account at mcrprod@aol.com So in honor of this classic compilation series, we are doing a live broadcast/listening session online on 04-19-10 from 8-11pm pst @www.StickAm.com/KrazyRace

DON'T STAY BEHIND...FOLLOW US!!

(click on the links below)

THIS IS A HIP HOP MOVEMENT!

OPEN SOUL SESSIONS EVENTS ARE STRONG!

On Saturday April 3rd 2010, The Sargonites attended OPEN SOUL SESSIONS in Jersey City, New Jersey. Artists, Musicians, Film Directors, Poets, Authors and Producers alike all showed nothing but Love to The Sargonites.

Check Out how the night went down.


Morbius with the world renowned,Fred Ho


Sargonite Fan


Blackwaxx Family U-Savoir, Nana Soul & Soul Sessions Host Jihan Ponti


Morbius with Film Director,Susan Harris


Author of "Hip Hop Intellectual Resistance",Shahid Stover


Sargonite Fan

WEST COAST MEETS THE EAST COAST!

Morbius, Krazy Race & Poison Pen at E.O.DUB (End Of The Weak).





Our West Coast hip hop family "Krazy Race" is releasing an upcoming, Early summer promotional mixtape that you DO NOT want to miss! Offering the hottest lyricists, All on one CD!


"REALIZM REKORDS" PROUDLY PRESENTS:
THE WORLD IS OURS VOL.3 MIXTAPE

Featuring: Poison Pen, The Sargonites, Immortal Technique, Krazy Race, Bambu, M1 of Dead Prez, Rebel Diaz, Scheme Teno, Vietkong, Concrete Saints..Plus, more of the undergrounds finest emcees!


The "Mix-Tape" CD will be released during Mid-May of 2010. BUT, you can pre-order it now for only $10 bucks!


PAY PAL OR MONEY ORDER : PayPal account at mcrprod@aol.com


DONT WAIT!!! GET YOUR ORDER IN AHEAD OF TIME!

A HEART FELT TRUTH HEARD IN DELAWARE!

"Iz The Truth" of Guerrilla Republik and "The Sargonites"





When Morbius and Outcome travel, for the most part their expectations for hitting the road is usually the same, Unpredictable! Over the years they've grown accustomed to the unexpected, embracing everything with what life has to offer on the road. Besides, travelling has always been an exhilarating breath of fresh air for them. A chance to step away from the fast paced city that never sleeps, even if it's just for a short time.

"Iz" (Ambassador of Guerilla Republik) reached out to The Sargonites and invited them to perform for a private birthday/benefit event for Chile in Wilmington, Delaware on March 20th 2010. Even though the invite was short noticed, The Sargonites couldn't pass up an opportunity to perform and not travel, so they humbly accepted and immediately began making arrangements. After several hours on the road, they finally arrived into town and quickly met with Iz to escort them to their final destination. Once there, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves mingling, toasting, smiles and laughter as we were all introduced to the host and several other very nice people.

As time passed, it was moments away for the performances to begin and the host got on the mic trying to detail what the evening has proposed, but much to our surprise, we became aware that the host herself came across some very challenging moments to grasp her people's attention. In effort to capture everyone's eyes, she boldly opened up the floor by reciting personal relationship poems followed by some of her own songs. With still, no full cooperation from the crowd (who she personally invited) an annoucement was made immediately after her performance for donations. We were told that a charity basket was going to be passed around by her nine year old daughter, and out of nowhere, we hear a guys voice yell out "Oh it's a scam!" accompanied by some crowd laughter.

We were already disgusted by the lack of respect and inconsideration she was recieving during her performance, but that comment made the event become very appaling at that point in time. The second act was then introduced to go on stage, a local emcee known as "Redjay" to perform his set. And while he's on the mic dropping lyrics, the sound equipment persons took the liberty upon themselves to conduct a sound check during the middle of his performance! And if that isn't any better, groups of people were amongst themselves taking pictures, some were in a corner what seemed to be gossiping and talking loudly, others walking in and out of the place refilling their cups, clearly showing their true intentions for attending that evening.

The Sargonites came very close to the conclusion of not performing that night, especially when they were told of only one microphone made avialable for the evening. Ultimately, a decision was made to go ahead do at least one song, being that they traveled all the way from the big apple's tri-state area. When Iz held the mic to introduce The Sargonites, he immidiately set the tone demanding respect and attention by expanding on the whole purpose of the benefit, by recalling our humanly right to assist others in need, and by doing in it with events such as that one. Morbius did the same, even going as far as calling specific individuals out in the crowd and reminding them of the homeless and foodless families in Chile and in Haiti. Emphasizing on how they all take for granted of a comfortable lifestyle by drinking, eating, partying and having a great time, but yet, forgetting about the crucial reason for coming to the event. As the crowd gave them their full attention The Sargonites siezed the moment armed with two songs, one mic, raw energy and the heart felt truth. Very few participating individuals at the event heard closely to the message, whom later on approached them showing appreciation of the insight given by the comrades. As usual, huddled conversations of enlightment carried on outside, music and contact information was shared to the one's with a genuine interest.

On the ride back stareing out of the car window and into the wooded fields, I just couldnt stop reflecting on what really happened on that momentous evening. The "Unpredictable" arose from the dead once again in attempt to disturb the harmonious power of enlightment, only to fall to the bottom fiery soles of The Sargonites footprints. And like always, they go out to deliver with purpose and complete a meaningful mission. The Sargonites showned no signs of penetration in their full metal jackets, they never ran out of ammo, dominated the rugged trenches and gave it their all. Only to come out in the end winning over some newly opened hearts and minds, through hip hop. Quite frankly, it was just another day in the battle field for The Sargonites.

A HUGE SALUTE TO THE REVOLUTIONARY VERBAL EVENT!

The Verbal Revolution Event on 3/16/10 turned out to be a tremendous success, and all due to the amazing performances at the famous Nuyorican Poets Cafe, open since 1978!

236 East 3rd St. (bet. Avenue B and Avenue C), New York, NY‎ - (212) 505-8183

The Verbal Revolution Event was dedicated for underground artists who has that creative desire and passion to keep expressive/hip hop alive, just how it was intended to be since the late 70's. The "Open Mic" segment of the event allows anyone to get on stage and recite either their favorite poem, sing a song or even go accapella to deliver and emphasize on meaningful concept of their message. The greatest attribute mostly impacting the evening was comprised of the diverse and very colorful personalities dominating the mic, captivating the shows audience every moment. Many walked out blown away, (including first time artists) seeking to return to another entertaining and very insightful event. The line-up of performers that night were:


G.T.P (Ghetto Terrorists Productions)


Y.C. The Cynic


The M.C. Faceman


LOST


T-Paris (Young MarvinGaye)


Rossini Celestin


Illz


Sinapase

..And

Rhino

Of course, your Hosts of the evening...Morbius


And....Godhead The General

VIVA LA REVOLUCION!

Long live the revolution! Let's continue to keep hip hop alive.

HAPPY Pi DAY! 3.14 REASONS TO CELEBRATE

by Adam Markovitz

Today is March 14, which means one thing: It’s Pi Day! (For those of us who slept through math, pi = 3.14 = March 14) To celebrate, I thought we’d break out the number’s 3.14 greatest pop culture moments:

1. The Net (1995)
This cyberthriller starred a young Sandra Bullock as a computer geek who stumbles onto some amazingly vague internet conspiracy — one that she unlocks by clicking on a mysterious “pi” symbol on her computer screen. Nowadays, the scariest part of the movie is the fact that I actually remember when 2 MB floppy disks were considered cutting edge. Yikes.


THE NET TRAILER VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46qKHq7REI4


2. “Pi” by Kate Bush (2005)
How many other mathematical constants have their own theme song? (In your dreams, Khinchin’s.)

3. Pi (1998)
Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler) became the toast of the independent film world (and the bane of copy editors everywhere) when he chose the symbol as the title of his debut thriller.


Pi MOVIE TRAILER VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ1sZSCz47w



And what about that extra .14 reason? We’ll leave that up to you, readers. Tell us your favorite pop culture pi moments in the comments!

THE ILLUMINATI'S LATEST IN TOY'S "Skinput"!

What a perfect way to distract the masses by providing the latest in meaningless technological gadegts on the market. Just when I thought, all other interactive games are doing enough already these guys manage to pull another one out of their sleeves.

Check out the following article:

‘Skinput’ turns body into touchscreen interface
Tapping on arm allows users to scroll through menus and select options

Chris Harrison/Carnegie Mellon University/Microsoft
Skinput turns a user's own body into a touch interface for electronics.

By Dan Hope
updated 11:44 a.m. ET, Thurs., March. 4, 2010

Touchscreens may be popular both in science fiction and real life as the symbol of next-gen technology, but an innovation called Skinput suggests the true interface of the future might be us.

Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University unveiled Skinput recently, showing how it can turn your own body into a touchscreen interface.

Skinput uses a series of sensors to track where a user taps on his arm. Previous attempts at using projected interfaces used motion-tracking to determine where a person taps.

Skinput uses a different and novel technique: It "listens" to the vibrations in your body.

Tapping on different parts of your arm creates different kinds of vibrations depending on the amount and shape of bones, tendons and muscle in that specific area. Skinput sensors can track those vibrations using an armband and discern where the user tapped.

"Accuracy is already good, in the high 90s percent accuracy for finger input," said project team member Chris Harrison, from Carnegie Mellon's Human-Computer Interaction Institute.

"The arm band is a crude prototype,” Harrison said. “The next generation could be made considerably smaller – likely easily fitting into a wristwatch."

From there it's fairly simple to associate those tappable areas with different commands in an interface, just as different keystrokes and mouse clicks perform different functions on a computer.


When coupled with a small projector, Skinput can simulate a menu interface like the ones used in other kinds of electronics. Tapping on different areas of the arm and hand allow users to scroll through menus and select options.

Skinput could also be used without a visual interface. For instance, with an MP3 player one doesn't need a visual menu to stop, pause, play, advance to the next track or change the volume. Different areas on the arm and fingers simulate common commands for these tasks, and a user could tap them without even needing to look.

Skinput is the product of a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon's Harrison and Desny Tan and Dan Morris of Microsoft Research. For now, Skinput is only a proof-of-concept for alternate ways to interface with electronics, but the team isn't ruling out that it could become a commercial product someday.

Harrison also pointed out that the next generation of miniature projectors will be small enough to fit in a wristwatch, making Skinput a complete and portable system that could be hooked up to any compatible electronics no matter where the user goes.

Besides being bulky, the prototype has a few other kinks that need to be worked out. For instance, over time the accuracy of interpreting where the user taps can degrade.

"We (the researchers) have worn it for extended periods of time," Harrison told TechNewsDaily. "But it does occasionally need to be retrained. As we collect more data, and make the machine learning classifiers more robust, this problem will hopefully reduce."

Skinput, and similar sensor devices developed by the team could have applications beyond simple menu screens. Tan recently demoed a Skinput-like interface that allowed him to play Guitar Hero, a popular music game, without the requisite plastic guitar controller. The results were still a little crude, but impressive because it proved the viability of game controllers that don't require physical controls.

This is especially relevant considering the Project Natal technology Microsoft is developing for the gaming industry and which has been gathering a lot of attention. Despite working in vastly different ways, both systems focus on letting users play games with their own bodies, without the need for accessories and game controllers.

Here's the YouTube Video link for it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3XPUdW9Ryg