Trent Reznor speaks out about DRM and CD prices

trent1_copy_1.jpg

With his band’s new release last month, Year Zero, Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor has been feeling the pain that DRM has been causing for record sales. Here’s what Reznor had to say on his blog:

As the climate grows more and more desperate for record labels, their answer to their mostly self-inflicted wounds seems to be to screw the consumer over even more. A couple of examples that quickly come to mind:

* The ABSURD retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia. Shame on you, UMG. Year Zero is selling for $34.99 Australian dollars ($29.10 US). No wonder people steal music. Avril Lavigne’s record in the same store was $21.99 ($18.21 US).

By the way, when I asked a label rep about this his response was: “It’s because we know you have a real core audience that will pay whatever it costs when you put something out – you know, true fans. It’s the pop stuff we have to discount to get people to buy.”

So… I guess as a reward for being a “true fan” you get ripped off.

Reznor becomes one of many popular artists and figures who have taken a stand against DRM and the reasons behind illegal downloading and cracking. Those of you who follow this sort of thing will surely remember Steve Jobs’ article on his anti-DRM throughts. We say, it’s about damn time people speak up and realize that DRM is a way for record companies to earn more money, not the artist. — Andrew Dobrow

About Andrew

Hey Folks! Myself Andrew Emerson I'm from Houston. I'm a blogger and writer who writes about Technology, Arts & Design, Gadgets, Movies, and Gaming etc. Hope you join me in this journey and make it a lot of fun.

One comment

  1. Trent Reznor is right, labels are ripping people off. If you have to discount a pop CD to get it to sell, then maybe its not worth making in the first place. Since you are trying to make more money off of really good music, then maybe you should take the money you saved NOT making the pop cd and use it to discount the really good music. I’d be happy to give Trent $35 for Year Zero if I could give HIM the money, and keep the label out of the transaction. I think his music is worth it. I will never pay that much in a store tho.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *