Michael Masnick The Trent Reznor case study

Since completing his earlier major record label contract, musician Trent Reznor has been experimenting with a variety of new and unique business models for his band, Nine Inch Nails, to reach and connect with fans. This case study explores Reznor's experiments, examining what has worked and what has not - and why.
Speaker: Michael Masnick (Editor/President & CEO, Techdirt Blog/Floor64)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Michael
• Masnick
• The
• Trent
• Reznor
• case
• study

[HispanicImpression]

And how you generate such a fan base ? Like NIN or Tool - with QUALITY !

As long as music industry exists, quality doesn't count at all, it's all about the image. That's why shit like american idol singer get make it in America and I think that sucks...

[cheekbrown]

You gotta play gigs, lots of them. The more gigs, the more fans. The old business model practiced by the major labels has us thinking backwards: we want the fans first, then we'll perform for them.  No, we perform, we connect with fans, and we BUILD our fan base. When we build our own fan base, the majors cannot take them from us.

[AlexFolland]

@dirkadirka151 Thing is, he didn't start out with millions of albums sold. NIN has been doing following this successful and simple business model since day 1.

[swu880]

@swu880

The way u establish a strong brand is by sellin it! And how do u sell it? hmmm can u answer this very simple question?

where does the million come from in the first place? did he just magically wake up one day & have a million copies of a song sold? lol- its all about the brand & the name- and HOW you can get a name. That is what masnick is tryin to explain to you- yet u dont seem to get it.

[swu880]

@dirkadirka151

How did he have a brand in the first place? what exactly is a brand huh? u dont seem to understand this very basic priori de facto. aka where did it come from? what is the 'brand' that you speak of?

Basically the brand is all about the name. your brand = your skill, your strengths, weaknesses, capital goods, accumulated knowledge, training, relationships, etc etc etc

[MusicSpeaksVolumes02]

At the heart of it all, it's very simple. Trent honestly cares about his fans, he wants to make sure that he is taking care of his fans.

[dirkadirka151]

@swu880 Um yeah. Here's the mystery: Which is a stronger brand, a millionaire who has already sold millions of albums over a decade before paying others to develop a strong/unique web presence.... or you or me. I love Trent, but he'd have to be an idiot to mess up this business plan that's described in the video. How it's relevant to your average musician... no way whatsoever. This is as helpful as watching MTV Cribs is to your average person looking to build a house.

[swu880]

@swu880

That is how u build ur brand

[swu880]

@swu880

But in order to maintain a fanbase, that is what trent is getting at here- ur brand must reflect the ability to appease & reach out to customers & give them a reason to pay you- not the other way around.

Respect & appease the customer & the customers will in turn tend to respect you- that is the way u establish a good image

[swu880]

@dirkadirka151

yeah its called a brand

Do u know what a brand is? a brand is your name- its your abilities, your achievements, your skillset, your faults, your strength- its YOU.  The brand is the reason why anyone ever bothers to go eat at a restaurant. The brand is the reason why anybody bothers to go to see a medical doctor vs trying to treat oneself. The brand is the reason why people (not includin socialists) pick out university to attend - its all for the name

[dirkadirka151]

@swu880 If NIN was a new local band you wouldn't be hearing this. He's had more than a decade to accumulate fanboys who will eat whatever he comes out with. Talent is part of it, but image is most of it. Go to one of their shows and you'll see the role that image plays in the lives of his fans. If he were an up and coming local artist, no one would support him and he would suffocate. It's why there hasn't been a non-industry created icon since the early 90's.

[dirkadirka151]

I wish that were true, but it's not. How often do you go out to see local bands in your own city? How often do you buy their merch? How often do you drag your friends to shows? If often, do you think you're in the majority? even Trent wasn't signed because of his ingenuity. That's one city. 30 of those bands are good. 3 of them are unique and talent enough to matter elsewhere. 27 of them are derivative crap, but talented. No one supports any of them. It's a national trend.