This is why the major labels are fucked.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t ask for help IF YOU’RE SUING YOUR CUSTOMERS!<\/p>\n
I’m writing about this as a public service.\u00c2\u00a0 Because, unless you’re a Nine Inch Nails fan, you’ll probably be completely unaware of it.\u00c2\u00a0 Not that Trent gives a shit, he’s concerned about his core.\u00c2\u00a0 But, my point is YOU CAN ONLY APPEAL TO YOUR CORE!\u00c2\u00a0 Because it’s too fucking difficult to reach everybody else.<\/p>\n
Hold on to what you’ve got.\u00c2\u00a0 Maximize what you’ve got.\u00c2\u00a0 Pleasure your regular customers.\u00c2\u00a0 At least you know they’re interested.\u00c2\u00a0 Trying to convert someone new is oh so difficult.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s one of BMW’s successes.\u00c2\u00a0 The number of people who buy ANOTHER BMW!\u00c2\u00a0 Are you gonna buy another album by lame-o act if the first one only had one good track out of ten?\u00c2\u00a0 Are you going to buy the new single if the act never made it beyond the first single?\u00c2\u00a0 Are you going to go see an act live that only has one hit single?<\/p>\n
Record labels still believe it’s the nineties.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re in cahoots with the major media outlets.\u00c2\u00a0 But radio’s tanking, newspapers are in free-fall and MTV doesn’t play any music.\u00c2\u00a0 These are your modern partners?\u00c2\u00a0 Ridiculous.\u00c2\u00a0 Your partner is your AUDIENCE!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s easy to reach your audience, if you’re good, if they like you.<\/p>\n
Hell, YOU can’t even convert a new audience member.\u00c2\u00a0 Usually A FAN has to do this!\u00c2\u00a0 If I get one more loser e-mailing me a link to his MySpace\/YouTube page, or worse, committing the crime against humanity known as e-mailing an unsolicited MP3, I’m gonna PUKE!\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t want to hear it from you!\u00c2\u00a0 I want to hear about it from the underground, not someone with an investment!<\/p>\n
If I’m getting a press release, I know you’re spending too much money, you’re clueless.<\/p>\n
If I’m not getting a personal e-mail, I know I’m just not that important to you.\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t tell me you’ve got to send out thousands!\u00c2\u00a0 I’m an INDIVIDUAL!<\/p>\n
Old line marketing is dead.\u00c2\u00a0 And who knows what’s truly going on in the present?\u00c2\u00a0 NOBODY!\u00c2\u00a0 Which is why Trent Reznor is ASKING HIS FANS!<\/p>\n
Read Trent’s words below.\u00c2\u00a0 He doesn’t sound like a record company bozo, speaking in platitudes that no one you know employs.\u00c2\u00a0 In Hollywood, everything’s FABULOUS!\u00c2\u00a0 It’s their BEST ALBUM EVER!\u00c2\u00a0 I’m IGNORING YOU!<\/p>\n
Sounds like Trent’s a real person.\u00c2\u00a0 Like if you bumped into him at the mall, you could have a conversation.\u00c2\u00a0 The Net has burned down the wall between artists and fans.\u00c2\u00a0 You have to be accessible and human.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t talk down to your fans, you must respect them.\u00c2\u00a0 They’ll do ANYTHING for you if you treat them right, if they think you’re really listening.<\/p>\n
If it’s all about money, and the major labels believe this, telling us they want 360 deals and ringtone fees, then an artist like Trent has got the big boys beat.\u00c2\u00a0 Because his fans won’t buy only the single, but the album, the t-shirt, the concert ticket, the coffee table book, just about anything Trent can cook up!\u00c2\u00a0 And the profit margin? ASTRONOMICAL!\u00c2\u00a0 Not that Trent’s afraid of giving away his music for free.\u00c2\u00a0 Kind of like Google.\u00c2\u00a0 Search is free, click on ads if you’d like.\u00c2\u00a0 You feel GOOD when you click on Google ads.\u00c2\u00a0 You want to pay the search company BACK!<\/p>\n
Doug Morris can’t come up with this questionnaire idea.\u00c2\u00a0 He’s never heard of questionpro.com.\u00c2\u00a0 All the fat cats.\u00c2\u00a0 They think their job is…\u00c2\u00a0 Exactly what?\u00c2\u00a0 Hanging with lawyers, dealing with television networks?\u00c2\u00a0 Their purview is rapidly declining.\u00c2\u00a0 And they just don’t know it.\u00c2\u00a0 They should be online, where their CUSTOMERS ARE!<\/p>\n
It’s like a car showroom with no salesmen.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re all speaking B2B.\u00c2\u00a0 And you can’t test drive the cars.\u00c2\u00a0 And you can’t have a brochure.\u00c2\u00a0 The fat cats are so inured to the way it used to be, they can’t come up with new ideas.\u00c2\u00a0 Or, in the alternative, they’re so busy cutting budgets that they can’t hire and give reign to the young people who do know what’s going on.<\/p>\n
What’s the name of Nine Inch Nails’ most famous track?<\/p>\n
CLOSER!<\/p>\n
That’s what we want.\u00c2\u00a0 To be ever closer to our heroes.\u00c2\u00a0 Because we don’t have many left.\u00c2\u00a0 People who are not sold out whores, who won’t make a deal with a beer company, who won’t take a political stand…\u00c2\u00a0 We need heroes.\u00c2\u00a0 And Trent Reznor is one to his fans.<\/p>\n
They won’t answer the questionnaire with lies just to fuck him up.\u00c2\u00a0 They want to HELP HIM!<\/p>\n
But they don’t want to help the usual suspects.\u00c2\u00a0 And this is a problem for them.<\/p>\n
Honest, human, emotion…\u00c2\u00a0 These are absent from the mainstream music business, and that’s why it’s in decline.<\/p>\n
_________________________________<\/p>\n
Message from Trent:<\/p>\n
\nHello everyone.<\/p>\nI’d like to thank everyone for a very successful year so far in the world of Nine Inch Nails. I’m enjoying my couple of weeks off between legs of our Lights In The Sky tour and got to thinking… "wouldn’t it be fun to send out a survey to everyone that’s shown interest in NIN?" Well, that’s not exactly how it went, but regardless – here it is. As we’ve moved from the familiar world of record labels and BS into the unknown world of doing everything yourself, we’ve realized it would benefit us and our ability to interact with you if we knew more about what you want, what you like, what you look like naked, etc. I know it’s a pain in the ass but we’d truly appreciate it if you’d take a minute and help us out. As an incentive, everyone who completes the survey will be able to download a video of live performance from this most recent tour (and I know what’s going through your little minds right now: "I’ll just grab this off a torrent site and not have to fill out the survey!!!"
and guess what? You will be able to do just that and BEAT THE SYSTEM!!!! NIN=pwn3d!!!)<\/p>\nBUT<\/p>\n
What if we were to select some of those that DO complete the survey and provide them with something really cool? I’m not saying we’ll ever get around to it, but if we did maybe something like signed stuff, flying someone to a show somewhere in the world, a magic amulet that makes you invisible, a date with Jeordie White (condoms supplied of course), you know – something cool. See, you’d miss that opportunity AND be a cheater.<\/p>\n
Do the right thing – help us out. You’ll feel better. <\/p>\n
Thank you and I’ve had too much caffeine this morning,<\/p>\n
Trent <\/p>\n