Question:With the recording industry in shambles, certain high profile artists such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have favored a strictly online venue to selling their music. Certain artists are providing people the option of paying what they want for a record. How do you feel about the current state of the music industry and this new approach to selling music?

Marilyn Manson: I think that Prince really pioneered that concept the best but it just wasn’t at the time of the technology and of the audience to understand it. I think he was the first. I wish I could have that luxury and that's the difference. Radiohead and NIN have been freed from their slavery of the record label. I don’t have that luxury. I have a record contract. Anyone who is just starting a band can go make a website and sell their own song. Someone that has been making music for years would love to do that but they just can't because they are under a record contract. That's the one thing I hope people on the outside can see. I would love nothing more than to do that - not even because of the money, the record industry, or specifically my record company. I know you've heard Trent complain it's the same record company, but I'm not going to fight for the same reasons. I just don’t think they understand what to do with me and I think they've proven that very well. I think that they always want to take what I give them and make it a watered down version. It’s not what I give them and I think that then they're surprised about that. First of all, you can water down what I do and give it to the radio or MTV and they are still not going to walk away with a good taste in their mouth. I try to explain to them to just give people what they want, which is what I created. Smells Like Children is a good example. I can’t give you enough examples and that's why my soul has been removed from the whole concept of making music videos. They tear out everything that people want. They don't understand that I wouldn’t be who I am if I wasn’t me. They want to tone me down so that I can be more like new bands that they’ve shown my record to and said, “Be like this, but not so scary.”

Thanks for the info and links.

I love MM and NIN so always interested in news stories about them especially when anyone else I like mentions the P man.

Also excellent news about MM and Twiggy!!!

For me thats like Prince re-uniting with Wendy and Lisa!!!! Brilliant!

he gave respect where respect is due

I think that I may have mentioned Marilyn Manson once.
It may have been that one time I was lecturing at a jr. high school on the ill-effects of drugs or sumthin.
I don't remeber cuz I was so fuckin' stoned at the time, I'm sure that the brain-cells containing that memory were probably atrophying just as the words were leaving my mouth.

Damn.
I wish my memory worked gooder.

Well, theres an awesome new interview that Marilyn Manson did, mostly talking about how he has re-united with long-time collaborator Twiggy Ramirez (who for the last year or so has been playing with Trent in NIN)

You can read the whole interview here - http://www.mansonusa.com/...suffer_now

Here's the part where he mentioned Prince:




interesting how he mentions Prince as the first, and then says how Radiohead and NIN are "freed from the slavery of the label".

Just goes to show how far ahead of the game P is!!
[Edited 1/15/08 5:55am]

I remember some time back when I read an interview where Trent said he wanted to make a Prince record. Did he ever?