The NIN frontman rails against overpriced music in his band's latest blog posting.You know I think a band really shows its true character when it comes down to a battle over either profits or creativity. It's when a band's back is up against that the wall that their heart and soul really comes out. Sure Metallica, for instance, was a great band but, as soon as Lars started griping that his band was unable to get every penny that it deserved, that his million-dollar billfold was a bit light, it really made you see them for who they were. Rather than propose an alternative or show at least some kind of empathy for teenage kids unable to otherwise afford to buy all their albums, they railed against file-sharers and never seemed to miss an opportunity to reiterate RIAA talking points. As a fan of Metallica it was very painful to watch. It's easy for a band to say that they're rebels, or try to say to their audience that they're free wheeling, creative souls but, as always the proof is in deeds not words. We saw it with Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam when they took Ticketmaster's high ticket price monopoly to task and worked for years to try and change it. The Dave Matthews Band allows fans to post and share live concert recordings and footage on their Ants Marching site in the spirit of the Greatful Dead and other artists whose main focus was on the music itself and not what the music puts into their pockets. Sure they have to make a buck but, at what point does reaching your audience supersede profits? There has to be a healthy balance between the two otherwise one risks alienating the very fanbase that forms the foundation upon which an artist is able to find the safety and security necessary to practice his art and talents, and more importantly, to express himself in a way that was hopefully his intention from the very start. Music does not exist in a vacuum. NIN is a band that seems to be in tune with its listeners and what the future holds for music distribution and its ability to stay relevant. It has posted tracks from Year Zero on The Pirate Bay, and even made some tracks, clips, and snippets of material available for download on its band's site. Now, I think Trent Reznor, NIN's lead singer, has made an even more startling revelation than any previous, observing the high price of physical CDs and realizing why it is that people steal music. He writes:
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He is potentially creating problems with him and the labels, but he is speaking on what he knows to be right. Regardless of the potential self inflicted damage; MAJOR "PROPS".
"Here, here" buddy. Its true though, and nice to see that even while Im sure he has tons of cash he empathizes with the average joe having to shell out 30 bucks for a CD. He knows its just plain wrong and had the decency and the courage to tell his label rep as much.