Trent Reznor Says Streaming Sites Have ‘Mortally Wounded’ Artists

Trent
Reznor
has
slammed
streaming
services
like
Spotify
and
Apple
Music,
claiming
their
paltry
payouts
have
“mortally
wounded”
artists.

The

Nine
Inch
Nails
mastermind
dished
his
thoughts
during
a
recent
interview
with


GQ.

“I
think
the
terrible
payout
of
streaming
services
has
mortally
wounded
a
whole
tier
of
artists
that
make
being
an
artist
unsustainable,”
Reznor
explained.
“And
it’s
great
if
you’re
(multi-platinum
rapper)
Drake,
and
it’s
not
great
if
you’re
(indie
rock
group)
Grizzly
Bear.”

To
those
who
argue
the
streaming
structure
will
eventually
sort
itself
out,
Reznor
had
a
clear
message.

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“The
reality
is:
Take
a
look
around.
We’ve
had
enough
time
for
the
whole
‘All
the
boats
rise’
argument
to
see
they
don’t
all
rise,”
the

Rock
&
Roll
Hall
of
Famer
declared.
“Those
boats
rise.
These
boats
don’t.
They
can’t
make
money
in
any
means.
And
I
think
that’s
bad
for
art.”

The
irony
is
that
Reznor
once
worked
for
one
of
streaming’s
biggest
companies.
In
2013,
he
joined
with
music
executive

Jimmy
Iovine
at
Beats
Music.
It
was
later
taken
over
by
Apple
Music,
where
Reznor
maintained
a
prominent
role.
In
the
conversation
with

GQ,
the
NIN
leader
noted
how
he
learned
from
the
experience.

“I
thought
maybe
at
Apple
there
could
be
influence
to
pay
in
a
more
fair
or
significant
way,
because
a
lot
of
these
services
are
just
a
rounding
error
compared
to
what
comes
in
elsewhere,
unlike
Spotify
where
their
whole
business
is
that,”
he
explained.
“But
that’s
tied
to
a
lot
of
other
political
things
and
label
issues,
and
everyone’s
trying
to
hold
onto
their
little
piece
of
the
pie
and
it
is
what
it
is.
I
also
realize,
I
think
that
people
just
want
to
turn
the
faucet
on
and
have
music
come
in.
They’re
not
really
concerned
about
all
the
romantic
shit
I
thought
mattered.”

Trent
Reznor
Is
Planning
New
Nine
Inch
Nails
Music

Reznor
has
found
great
success
with
his
musical
partner,
Atticus
Ross.
The
two
have
taken
home
a
pair
of
Academy
Awards
for
their
scores
to
the
films

The
Social
Network
(2010)
and

Soul
(2020).
Still,
Nine
Inch
Nails
–
which
Ross
is
also
part
of
–
hasn’t
fully
gone
away.

“[Doing
movie
scores]
managed
to
make
Nine
Inch
Nails
feel
way
more
exciting
than
it
had
been
in
the
past
few
years,”
Reznor
admitted.
“I’d
kind
of
let
it
atrophy
a
bit
in
my
mind
for
a
variety
of
reasons.”

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“I
do
feel
excited
about
starting
on
the
next
record,”
Ross
added.
“I
think
we’re
in
a
place
now
where
we
kind
of
have
an
idea.”

The
duo
has
also
started
a
new
company,
With
Teeth,
which
will
cover
storytelling
in
multiple
mediums,
including
film,
fashion
and
a
music
festival.
They
already
have
a
TV
show
in
development
with
Christopher
Storer,
the
creator
of

The
Bear,
with
more
projects
coming
down
the
line
quickly.

Still,
Reznor
is
insistent
that
With
Teeth
will
stick
to
its
creative
morals.

“Trent
was
very
clear
when
we
started,”
Ross
noted.
“We
cannot
let
this
get
into
Apple
terrain.”