who asked you, Trent Reznor?

originally posted THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008

I won't have much interesting to say until after Sunday, but I have a possible gig lined up for Friday, so expect more from me then. In the meantime, another piece from NME.com:

Trent Reznor attacks Radiohead for download release

Nine Inch Nails mainman Trent Reznor has criticised the unconventional release of Radiohead’s album 'In Rainbows, dubbing it "insincere."

Reznor’s comments come a week Nine Inch Nails released a set of instrumental tracks 'Ghosts I-IV' that included a similar free download option.

Yesterday (March 12), the band’s website had processed 781,917 transactions, and had sold out of the 2,500 box sets being sold for $300, according to the Chicago Tribune.

However, speaking on the subject of Radiohead to American TV Network ABC, Reznor said: "What they (Radiohead) did was a cool thing. But if you look at what they did, though, it was very much a bait and switch to get you to pay for a MySpace - quality stream. There's nothing wrong with that - I but don't see that as a big revolution [that] they're kinda getting credit for."

Reznor added: "What they did right: they surprised the world with a new record, and it was available digitally first. What they did wrong: by making it such a low quality thing, not even including artwork ... to me that feels insincere."

Unlike Radiohead after the release of ‘In Rainbows’, Reznor decided to make his album's sales figures public.

First off, he's a bit late to be on the "let's hate on Radiohead" train. As for not including artwork, I don't think the right word is "insincere" - more like "incomplete."

Trent's issue with the lack of artwork as well as the poor quality of the audio were both recently solved when In Rainbows physically hit stores. Some might say this is because people will no longer have the option of getting it for free - I say, you get what you pay for. (And if you were one of those probably few who did pay for it online, Thom Yorke appreciates it, I'm sure.) Audio quality aside, the free download worked both as a gimmick and as a way to get people to think differently about the music industry.

Some have said Radiohead's free download option is an act of arrogance. And offering a $300 box set of Ghosts doesn't qualify?

I took a peek - to be fair - at the website, to see if NIN included artwork for these new tracks. They did:



Really? I know this isn't a huge in-stores album, but come on. It's basically a simple Photoshop effect and, that, to me, is truly insincere