NIN: no longer on any record label

[shecky]

caught this via DF; posted by trent to the front page of nin.com

"Hello everyone. I've waited a LONG time to be able to make the
following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally
free agent, free of any recording contract with any label. I have
been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the
business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very
different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a
direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate.
Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008.
Exciting times, indeed."

first radiohead, now this. very interesting :) i bet we see a lot more bricks falling out of record execs butts over the next couple of years.

[iGav]

first radiohead, now this. very interesting :) i bet we see a lot more bricks falling out of record execs butts over the next couple of years.

But Radiohead are looking for a new record deal.

[bartelby]

first radiohead, now this. very interesting :) i bet we see a lot more bricks falling out of record execs butts over the next couple of years.

Einsturzende Neubauten were before Radiohead and there were bands before EN to cut links to record labels and go it alone.

So Nothing Records wasn't independent after all...

[Foxglove9]

I just saw read that this week while randomly checking NIN's website. Kinda shocking. Mixed feelings about it. Trent has always had issues with his label but I didn't realize he had problems with Nothing Records. The downside to all this is all his old material is no longer accessible since the label probably has certain rights to it.

I know he had a new album scheduled for 08. Wonder if that changes things. Also explains why there was no US tour announced promoting Year Zero. Argh.

[bartelby]

I thought Trent owned Nothing?

[iGav]

I thought Trent owned Nothing?

Nothing was owned by Interscope.

It was independent in the same way that Ned's Atomic Dustbin's Furtive label was independent.

E.g. Not very.

[bartelby]

Nothing was owned by Interscope.

It was independent in the same way that Ned's Atomic Dustbin's Furtive label was independent.

E.g. Not very.

Ah, Furtive. Brings back good memories...


He doesn't have much luck does, old Trent?
What happened with his accountant, or manager, who nicked all Trent's money in the end?

[Scarlet Fever]

thank ******* for that. Reznor has wanted to be independent for ages now. Now we can hear what he really wanted to produce :D

[bartelby]

thank ******* for that. Reznor has wanted to be independent for ages now. Now we can hear what he really wanted to produce :D

Hopefully it'll be better than Year Zero!

[PlaceofDis]

Ah, Furtive. Brings back good memories...


He doesn't have much luck does, old Trent?
What happened with his accountant, or manager, who nicked all Trent's money in the end?

that is either still pending or he won it back in court i think.

edit: at least year zero was better than withteeth

[bartelby]

that is either still pending or he won it back in court i think.

edit: at least year zero was better than withteeth

Each album has got progressively worse since The Downward Spiral. I hope this is due to record label intervention.

[pantalaimon]

Each album has got progressively worse since The Downward Spiral. I hope this is due to record label intervention.

not at all, The Fragile is amazing, With Teeth was poor and Year Zero is somewhat a return to form...

looking forward to the remix album thats out in a few weeks!

[ZiggyPastorius]

I actually liked Year Zero. Probably my number four out of all his albums.

(Paraphrase)All the albums after the Downward Spiral were bad...](/Paraphrase)

I also liked [WITH_TEETH] and The Fragile. I actually liked most of the releases after The Downward Spiral better than earlier releases. My top 5 is probably..

1. The Fragile
2. The Downward Spiral (Deluxe Edition)
3. [WITH_TEETH]
4. Year Zero
5. Broken

But that's just what I think. They're all great albums, I just don't like the sound of Pretty Hate Machine much (Or atleast, the rap-esque qualities of "Down in It")

But, to clear up some of the curiosity here...If my understanding of the quote from Trent (off nin.com before [WITH_TEETH] was released) is correct, Trent basically gave away Nothing to someone he knew, a while before [WITH_TEETH] was released.

[disconap]

I don't know the specifics, but I doubt that Nothing was owned by interscope. It was likely a label started up under their umbrella, like Grand Royal was for the Beastie Boys. Which could mean that Nothing is done, or that Nothing is now completely independent, or really several other possibilities.

As for ownership of the music, it's doubtful that Interscope owns rights to the music. What most larger musicians do these days is license their music to the labels (which is often why they have imprints within those labels, to retain control of the music). Chances are there was little or no intervention from Interscope on the creative end, other than possibly being able to say yes or no to albums or releases (though I doubt even that). The biggest control that larger labels have in these situations is control over pricing and promotion, release dates, how the songs are released (allowed/disallowed formats), tour requirements, licensing for commercial use...it all depends on the contract.

Again, this is not specific to Nothing, just speculation based on labels I know that have either started up as or become umbrellas to other, larger labels. It is all very specific to the contracts involved, there isn't a set way that they all work; Nothing could just be a brand of Interscope, or it could have been a "partner" label for the releases it did, I have no idea, but it's probably not as cut and dry as being owned by them...