Amazing What You Can Do When You Don't Sue Your Fans
from the you-can-get-data! dept
I was a bit surprised at how many people sent in the news that Trent Reznor had sent around a survey to fans who are on the Nine Inch Nails mailing list. After all, what's so surprising about a survey? There was some cool stuff, where Reznor suggested that as an incentive for filling out the survey he'd consider offering some sort of one-time prize such as flying the fan to a gig somewhere in the world, but overall, what's the big deal about a survey? But it appears Bob Lefsetz has put his finger on it. It's a big deal because it's exactly the sort of thing that the traditional labels simply can't do any more, because you can't ask your fans for a favor when you're suing a bunch of them. While the RIAA still seems to think that its battle against file sharers is some sort of epic necessity, Reznor is out actually connecting with fans and giving them a reason to feel happy about sharing information with him (not to mention paying him money as well).Sounds like Trent's a real person. Like if you bumped into him at the mall, you could have a conversation. The Net has burned down the wall between artists and fans. You have to be accessible and human. You can't talk down to your fans, you must respect them. They'll do ANYTHING for you if you treat them right, if they think you're really listening.
If it's all about money, and the major labels believe this, telling us they want 360 deals and ringtone fees, then an artist like Trent has got the big boys beat. Because his fans won't buy only the single, but the album, the t-shirt, the concert ticket, the coffee table book, just about anything Trent can cook up! And the profit margin? ASTRONOMICAL! Not that Trent's afraid of giving away his music for free. Kind of like Google. Search is free, click on ads if you'd like. You feel GOOD when you click on Google ads. You want to pay the search company BACK!
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: business models, fans, music, nine inch nails, trent reznor
Companies: riaa
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
It is were their greed has brought them.
The phrase "Burn baby Burn" comes to mind
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Love to see it, and want to see more of it. Let the old men with their old business models crash and burn!
m.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
History Books
Trent Reznor - Pioneer of Digital Media
Metallica - Douche Bags
RIAA - (see dinosaurs)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: History Books
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: History Books
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
"If someone sees a billboard for a movie and goes to see it, then that's billboards telling you what to buy" or "If someone sees an ad on the television, it's the cable company telling you what to buy" or "If you buy something that someone had in the classifieds, it's the newspaper telling you what to buy".
Are you serious?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Interesting that other people do this. I actually only use the google ad when I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy something (with the intention of raising the effectiveness of click-throughs.)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Spot on
I have bought his CDs when he was on a label, I have downloaded his stuff from P2P sites for free (sometimes converting into a purchase of the actual CD, sometimes not), and I've bought the digital versions of his works that he has offered (including his collaboration with Saul Williams, for which he tried the "Radiohead Model"), twice paying more to get the actual CD (Ghosts, The Slip). So, essentially, I'm a fan that has run the gamut of his distribution methods.
I used to just like his music and respect the fact that he played all of his own instruments for the albums. Then, one day I found out that he had released "Only" as a file for fans to edit on Sony Acid Pro or GarageBand. It gave you all of the individual tracks for the song, every single layer. You could hear every imperfection in every vocal and background vocal. You could even hear the soft sound of the song playing in Trent's headphones when he was recording a vocal track. If that isn't humanizing, I don't know what is. I don't know many other artists who would let you see their works laid bare from the ground up and give you the ultimate control over remixing or recreating songs. So, that sold me, and I signed up for an account on NIN.com, and I've read every e-mail (and bought every digital whatever that he's offered) ever since.
So...that's what just a LITTLE respect will get ya.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Spot on
I can get Trent's music anywhere for free, but what I cannot get for free is HIM. Trent in the flesh. Singing in person to all of his adoring fans. That's why I recently laid down $100+ for two tix to his current tour. This will be my fifth time seeing him in person/concert.
Also, the first time I heard NIN was from "SHARING." A buddy of mine had Pretty Hate Machine on cassette, so he gave me a copy. Terrible Lie is still my favorite song to this day, since it was the first NIN track I heard.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Spot on
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Love to see it, and want to see more of it. Let the old men with their old business models crash and burn!
Yep, same thing here.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Give the Fans a little and they will give back
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/06/18/kid-rock-lashes-out-against-itunes-en dorses-illegal-downloading/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Give the Fans a little and they will give back
Anyway Trent's whole philosophy about the music business has only served to embolden my love of his music, to which I have dedicated two sections of my skin for NIN tattoos.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Give the Fans a little and they will give back
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Give the Fans a little and they will give back
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/06/18/kid-rock-lashes-out-against-itunes-en dorses-illegal-downloading/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Give the Fans a little and they will give back
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/06/18/kid-rock-lashes-out-against-itunes-en dorses-illegal-downloading/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Give the Fans a little and they will give back
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/06/18/kid-rock-lashes-out-against-itunes-en dorses-illegal-downloading/
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Give the Fans a little and they will give back
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Man crush, music-style
Trent understands that, while the music is valuable in and of itself, it's useless to try and wring those pennies out of the public, instead focusing on giving additional value with limited editions, bundled DVDs, vinyl, etc, at a premium. The man IS a brand at this point, and should serve as a model for independent musicians from this point on.
Buying only from Google ads is foolish, by the way, like asking your neighbor the car salesman for auto buying advice and working solely off his recommendations. Loyalty is one thing, voluntarily limiting your choice is another. Best product, best service, best deal, wins.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Epic Necessity...
the suits at the labels cannot make music any of us would listen to so the music they've stolen from the artists who make it has to be milked to death to feed their ugly machine. seriously, who else will pay their bonuses and pay for their parties and buy the time on radio stations to try to cram that crap down the public's throat? (yes, stolen. go look around at how many artists DO NOT OWN the copyright interest in their OWN MUSIC! read and get educated. many BIG artists were treated like slave labor by their oh-so-benevolent "masters", er, labels.)
the RIAA isn't about partnering with fans in some mutual celebration of art. it is all about commerce, art be damned, and grabbing as much cash as possible from the "customer" with no regard to how sustainable that process is or will likely become...
artists like Reznor KNOW the labels are basically dead. they're just struggling to get out from under the mess and attempt to have a career making a living from their art. more power to him...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]