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."
Taken from
www.contactmusic.com
