Let's see: Reznor was free from his contract a couple of months ago, and what has he done:
- set up remix.nin.com where you can DL multi-tracks and make your own remix
- uploaded a ton of stuff on remix.nin.com including really rare stuff
- released an album in various formats, all non-drm and even including two different lossless formats (Ghosts I-IV)
- made a ton of money because he realises that some fans are willing to pay a lot of money for a beautifully produced collector's item
- announced tour dates

Oh yeah, and today he released yet another single online, for free. (Finalised a day earlier, and then sent to radio.) Multitracks to make your own remix: available. And NIN.com has "two weeks" on their front page a couple of days ago, just like with Ghosts; May 5 is the date to look out for. Yet another album already?

And to think Prince could have been doing all this years ago. Instead he sent the internet cops on his fans, threatened fanmags with lawsuits, released albums nobody gave a frak about, replayed his greatest hits on every tour,,...

What's Prince's next move? Oh yeah, a self-congratulating overpriced photo book of his tepid London shows which failed to promote yet another unspectacularly bombed album.

What a waste. So. Frikking. Depressing.

Trent understands "Free The Music"

BartVanHemelen said:

You mean Prince didn't time travel to an era where the kind of technology necessary to provide entertainment in all these forms was available?!!

Shame on him!

(This can't be the real Bart. Bart is smarter than this...)

As much as I 'adore' P (sorry for the bad pun, guys).....I really do think he could be taking some notes and learning a thing or two from Trent's approach.

i know i'm gonna get an atomic famboy wedgie for this, but what the hell. my buttcrack has been a little too comfortable over the winter months, nothing's gonna chap down there anyway:

look, i might be a bit disappointed in prince, but i ain't mad at him.

okay, so trent reznor and radiohead and raconteurs and whoever else out there are kicking prince's ass in terms of how they're marketing their music and doing it independently and enjoying great success.

well, great. prince and bowie and todd rundgren and a few others blazed the trail that led to what's bringing these bands their massive success right now. prince, bowie, etc., were the first mainstream artists to take chances with marketing music online, and those early models have been improved upon until we now have really cool concepts like the 'ghosts' and 'in rainbows' online sales.

soooo...

does this mean that we should still expect prince to be blazing the same trail, running around in the same weeds, following these same methods? not at all. i'd LOVE it if he did, but hey, whatever: the online thing clearly isn't his bag right now. it's his life, his career, his music. he clearly knows how to market his music in ways that benefits him. look at the gimmicks he used to sell 3121 and planet earth. that's where his head's at these days. so be it.

i honestly don't think prince's heart is in the "solutions" anymore in terms of championing idealistic and positive solutions to the problem of making/selling music without compromising yourself. i think these days, dude just wants to get paid. kinda sad. but hey - dude did his part years ago to help bring us to where we are today. i just hope the NINs and radioheads can keep pushing this concept so that the making and distribution of music is controlled by the artists more than the suits.

I respect Trent Reznor and his current attempts at doing things his own way...he's definitely a trailblazer in many ways.

But let's be a little fair to Prince---
In the past 17 years, Nine Inch Nails have released 11 albums (EPs, remix albums, and live releases included). In the same time, Prince has released 15 studio albums, 3 vault albums, a 4-disc live album, 3 digital albums, and multiple EPs, soundtrack recordings, and online singles. Trent is building on what Prince was doing more than a decade ago. Yes, Crystal Ball was a fiasco, but who else was successfully releasing albums exclusively through the internet in 1997? How many other artists were even attempting that? Members of the NPGMC could download Prince multi-tracks and make their own mixes...it was a feature of the club way back in 2003.

Prince has been silent lately and he's been enjoying his hard-earned respect the last few years. Of course I would love to see him innovating online and releasing more material, but the things Trent is doing now and the corporate battles he's fought are things Prince created the blueprint for over a decade ago. As has happened multiple times in his career, Prince innovated and then...unfortunately, sometimes...got bored with his own innovations and moved on.

Prince, Bowie, and Reznor (and Radiohead, to a lesser extent) are all internet pioneers and free-thinkers within the industry. Respect is due to all and I give them that respect. No one's getting their "ass kicked." It would be nice if Prince released more music online. It would be nice if Trent Reznor didn't take years to make a new album (six years for 'The Fragile'?). Such is life.
[Edited 4/23/08 16:46pm]

preach!

renfield said:

Anxiety said:

Preach yourself! We were thinking along the same lines...

renfield said:

Who is Trent Reznor ?

BartVanHemelen said:

Good point. As if that boring photo collection The Sacrifice of Victor was at all well received. Prince could learn a lot of things from a lot of people.

BartVanHemelen said:

of course, this assumes we all know exactly what prince's plans are between now and this september, when the book is scheduled to be released.

Jestyr said:

Uh, Prince lives in the today and now! Hello!

Both men love dick. Only Trent is willing to entertain the notion on CD.


Both are influenced by the Devil. In Trent it's apparent in his performances. With Prince, it's apparent in his hairdo.

Trent is nowhere near as talented as Prince. But there's ALOT to be said about still trying to push one's bounderies.


But only Michael Jackson married Elvis's daughter.


I thank yall know exactly what I'm getting at too.

Imago said:

you like prince too much.

Anxiety said:

I'm sending you a picture of my crotch. It even looks like there's a pee stain in the picture. So there.

Imago said:

already seen it. google maps.

Anxiety said:

Hey, remember when Trent said he wanted to make a Prince record? I read that in an interview one time. Did he ever make that record?

BartVanHemelen said:

I don't think Trent is banking the kind of cash that Prince is. Prince may have options that Trent does not. I like what Trent is doing for his fans, but I don't think it makes sense for Prince to do the same type of deals right now. I'm glad Prince does not have to operate a fan club situation anymore. Even if that means we don't get the little extras like Trent is doing. There are so many Prince outtakes and bootlegs already circulating, that as fans, we don't need Prince to release anything officialy anyway.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

The NINE INCH NAILS maxi-single "Head Like a Hole - Opal Mix" uses the drumb line from Tamborine off of ATWIAD and Graffiti Bridge's "Release It" all through out the song.

I think Trent once past Prince in the hall and Prince snubbed him or something and Trent was rather pissed about it.

er ok but who is trent reznor? never heard of him. i think that about sums things up doesnt it?

superkiss said:

you're right, nobody's ever heard of trent reznor

Now that Prince has all of his music (or most of it) off the net and off limits Trent can play anything he wants???? .....except Prince??? If so not a bad move at all from my standpoint.

BartVanHemelen said:

Come on Bart, the album was used to promote the tour, not the other way round.

Macroeconomics - The laws of supply and demand. When supply is low, the value goes up.(Thank you Florida State University) I think that's the idea.....just guess'n....

Trent is a GOD

Trent Reznor will never kick Princes ass.

One-dimensional, industrial music has never offered answers.

Trent Reznor has never composed a song that comes close to Princes best efforts.

Nine Inch Nails is all surface, no substance.....learn to deal with it.

Trent is no god.....where is your mind?