Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Trent Reznor Working on 'Challenging' Music Delivery Project at Apple
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
You guys need to follow the history of Beats Music. Trent is/was their CPO, almost from the start. He's a product guy, similar to Dre. For all intents and purposes, NIN should've died with the rest of the Industrial music groups from that era (80's), but he kept the group going, and became a well known music composer for film. He embraced the digital distribution model early on, and knows how to monetize. If there were anyone that had a clue as to how and make this work properly, it's probably him (and Dre).
BTW, he did start his 'career' as a comp sci major, before dropping out of college to pursue music. If you've ever seen his studio, you can see that he's very clearly extremely technical.
What you're saying is incorrect. When you buy a CD, LP, MP3 download, etc you do *not* own the music. You're still leasing that music, with the right to play as often as you'd like.
I used to own about 2000 CDs. I sold them all and now use various streaming services. Try living in San Francisco and finding an apartment that has enough 'extra' space to store 2000 CDs. All the money is in merchandise now, and purchases like limited pressings, shirts, concert swag, etc is where the market is going, with the actual music being pumped through streaming services. I'm not saying this is good or bad, because I do miss the days of raiding bins at local music stores, but resisting this change is somewhat self-defeating.
I liked listening to NIN...in 1995 when they were relevant. 
But it doesn't matter who's working on the project. I just can't wait to see how Apple will attempt to best Spotify.
But it doesn't matter who's working on the project. I just can't wait to see how Apple will attempt to best Spotify.
As if you own the software in the OS of the computer you use. Media is not gold or jewelry. For a small monthly fee I can download and listen to as much as I want. My old DVD tower, full of movies just sits there, after watching a couple of times then what? Stare at the tower and shout "mine". Buying media, that's how you turn gold into lead.
I used to think that, old skool NIN were tops until The Downward Spiral, you know anger, frustration kind of like I was when I was younger
.Then I re-listened to Year Zero and Year Zero Remixed, phenominal albums if you can get past the "He's not as good as he used to be" phrase, I have mellowed with age which is why I don't listen for the angry lyrics as much anymore.
Good on ya Trent.
I used to think that, old skool NIN were tops until The Downward Spiral, you know anger, frustration kind of like I was when I was younger
Then I re-listened to Year Zero and Year Zero Remixed, phenominal albums if you can get past the "He's not as good as he used to be" phrase, I have mellowed with age which is why I don't listen for the angry lyrics as much anymore.
Good on ya Trent.
I think focusing on talent or lack of talent isn't even relevant here. Would you hire the *best* musician in the world to work on your streaming music service, if that person had no background in marketing, technology, distribution, etc? If you're a good CEO, you wouldn't. Whether his past or previous music is or isn't good is irrelevant. He was brought onboard for his knowledge domain.
Wow, there is nothing "dumb" about my opinion of a musician whose prime is way past him. If you can deal with this pretentious midget's efforts in the past six years, then by all means, do so. But not everyone has to agree with your view on the artistic merit, or the longevity of it in my opinion, of a musician. I know a lot about him since I bought most of NIN's material in the '90s. He just doesn't have it anymore, in my opinion.
I think Trent Reznor knows that... For his Ghost Album, he issued the whole spectrum, from a free version that he made available on The Pirate Bay to a luxury limited edition with vinyl, HD Audio and studio tracks.
But he's right: digital ownership means less and less. People do not care if they own a file or if they stream it. You're right that some people do care to own music. But in that case, they really want to own music, not just a file. For instance, digital files sales are going down and so are CD sales, but vinyl sales remain steady. Because if I want to own music, I don't want a file on my computer or a tiny CD, I want to be able to hold what I own, I would want a fat vinyl, with huge cover art... I have friends who won't buy digital files, who don't buy CDs anymore (way to expensive in France), yet, they are in the process of buying all their classic albums as vinyl...
I personally don't see the need to purchase a streaming music service. I am old enough that I have a ton of music from my past to which I listen, and the rate at which I acquire new music is pretty slow nowadays. I can save the monthly streaming fees for other sources of amusement.
I had a subscription to Spotify since early summer and it runs out early November. I am not sure why people think it is perfect. For my money, Rdio is the best service overall and it's not even close.
The way Apple can make Beats better is by utilizing Siri, like they do with iTunes Match...and copying Rdio features or reintegrating the useful features that Beats dropped from MOG.
The way Apple can make Beats better is by utilizing Siri, like they do with iTunes Match...and copying Rdio features or reintegrating the useful features that Beats dropped from MOG.
Understand this, the majority of tech users don't think like we do. They use cloud computing everyday without even knowing what it is.
Your first 4 points seem to say that the reason why people buy less music is because of unauthorized copying/piracy and the used market, which has been the record companies' argument for the last 2 decades, and the main driving force for pushing the subscription-based model ("renting music" as Jobs used to say).
The fundamental problem really is that music is fighting for consumer time -and money- as never before.
Before the era of mobile devices and high speed wireless networks, music used to be easier to "consume" than other sources of entertainment, but today when we can access millions of books, movies, TV shows, podcasts, games, etc. in just a few seconds, anytime, anywhere, music has simply lost that advantage.
You don't need to be a programmer to design software or a service. You need some at some point to do the actual work, but someone like Reznor would be more like a football coach. The coach might not have the skill to throw a football accurately, but the QB does. So Reznor would say to play an album and have a list of related albums pop up. Or maybe he would help with recommendation algorithms.
Do you have any idea who is in charge while making a movie? Last time I checked its the director. I understand David Fincher didnt invite you to the mix and maybe you are a little bent out of shape about it, but apparently the music was good enough for David, who likely had a LOT of say in just how exactly the music was going to sound. Awards or not (industry awards are a joke and Trent has been outspoken in saying the same) David Fincher liked it for his movie and thats really all that matters.
Oh please - even the guys in Puppy dont think that. Give it up. Trent has given them credit for much influence over the years - and they run in the same camps in the business. Same people working for both artists at times.
And seeing as how many people here didnt have any idea Trent was involved with Beats - even though he has openly communicated with NIN fans about it since WELL before it launched, I am guessing no one here even knows who you are talking about anyway.
I myself have been a huge fan of both bands since their early days (SP when Bites came out), and have had the pleasure of working with or hanging out with many from both bands/camps, and no one among all of them are whining about Trent ripping off SP as some of you SP fans have been doing for the last 20 years.
Please move on and get over it.
On the same token - if I played you Portion Controls music from the year or 2 before Skinny Puppy released their Back and Forth cassette, and I told you I was playing you early Skinny Puppy demos, you wouldn't know the difference. So who ripped off who?
Sorry mate, but what you said was "dumb". He is an incredibly successful artist (sold over 30 million albums), has a massive following, he helped pioneer the industrial music scene, has influenced many other artists and won an Academy Award for a film score less than 5 years ago.
Not to mention the longevity of his career, which spans three (successful) decades.
You are wrong. He certainly does NOT "suck".
End of story.
Last edited:
It is obvious you have little understanding of the American music business nor American grammar.
It is very common for a musician later in his career to end up on "the other side of the glass" in front of a sound board coaching up and coming musicians that work with the same label.
As far as what Trent has been doing lately? Look at the Academy Award he won for movie soundtrack work just a few years ago.
Then you haven't worked with the best in the business. While working with symbols all day in a modern version of Plato's Cave, tend to get you average software developer introverted.
However, the ones that most cannot afford have a fantastic grasp of customer experiences. They jump from industry to industry giving fresh views while charging more than most lawyers and surgeons.
Spotify radio is horrible.
----------
While I like and appreciate NIN and Trent Reznor, his film score work is awful.
I think I figured out the algorithm:
if (someone says something against apple) {
hate someone;
}
Took me long enough...
if (someone says something against apple) {
hate someone;
}
Took me long enough...