Digital releases. Video contests. General shunning of record in record industry traditionalism. It’s a head to head race of creativity and reinvention, resulting in a media- and fan- frenzy.
Who will win? All of us. Because no matter who copied who and what comes next, we will all benefit. These two bands are breaking into new territory, and using their known status as a testing ground that could result in a complete overhaul of the music industry, that will ultimately save it. Not only will bands that follow get to survive, but fans like me will have more to choose from.
And, in a sense, this is a close comparison to what is going on in the Democratic Primary race right now. Obama and Clinton are in a horse race, but in the end, both would result in White House firsts, and a good regime change. We’ll either have the first black president, the first woman president, perhaps a moderate Republican, and we definitely won’t have to deal with Bush anymore. Either way, we all win.
And that’s what makes this whole thing exciting. We all have our personal favorites, the ones we are rooting for, but in the end, we know that it will all be better than what we’re stuck with now. Stodgy record companies and trigger-happy presidents, move over. The fat lady has sung.
Another thing these two have in common- Lollapalooza. Please make Outside Lands next.
1992: I’m twelve years old, and I’m sneaking MTV late at night. My parents did not like me watching MTV-…
There had to be nine of these. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined everything that would happen…
It was to be the final show. I slept like a baby in Philly, woke up late, and it was…
Many of you know that NIN is very near and dear to my heart. I’m happy to be able to…
My quick letter to this organization that calls themselves ‘Keep America Safe‘ who recently said offensive things about two of…
Let’s just say that Nine Inch Nails has been like my lover…perhaps my best friend….for a long time. NIN has…
It was one of the craziest decisions I’ve ever made. I had decided to not go to the rescheduled NIN…
With the amount of shows I travel to, it was bound to happen at some point. Canceled. The C word.…
Last night, the unthinkable happened. When Trent Reznor told us that there would be special guests and surprises on this…
I decided to approach this show like I was going to see any other band. I went to dinner, and…
1992: I’m twelve years old, and I’m sneaking MTV late at night. My parents did not like me watching MTV-…
There had to be nine of these. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined everything that would happen…
It was to be the final show. I slept like a baby in Philly, woke up late, and it was…
Many of you know that NIN is very near and dear to my heart. I’m happy to be able to…
My quick letter to this organization that calls themselves ‘Keep America Safe‘ who recently said offensive things about two of…
Let’s just say that Nine Inch Nails has been like my lover…perhaps my best friend….for a long time. NIN has…
these b(r)ands are capitalizing on their existing fame to make a smooth transition to the neo-recording industry. it’ll be interesting to see how unknowns will “make it”. will it be on concert revenue alone? one thing is for sure, we (consumers) are all winners, especially us live music junkies.