Nine Inch Nail’s lead man Trent Reznor made news recently with this quote when being interviewed by a reporter with
Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper.

A few weeks earlier, while browsing a rack at a CD store Reznor was angered to see the groups new album “Year Zero” retailing for $29. So when the reporter asked what he thought about file sharing and the high prices of CDs, he went off - “…I steal music too, I’m not gonna say I don’t”.

Reznor did say he doesn’t like the idea people get their music for free, but also lays most of the blame on the record labels greed and the ridiculous prices. You can read the entire interview on his  blog. While I’m not sure I’d agree 100% with Trent, you have to give him credit for saying what he believes.

A few days later he confronted a sales guys during a industry party and asks him why his CDs are 8 dollars more than some other’s, to which the sales guy replies that NIN has a “…core audience that’s gonna buy whatever we put out, so we can charge more for that.”. That’s when Reznor REALLY goes off - “That’s the most insulting thing I’ve heard. I’ve garnered a core audience that you feel it’s OK to rip off? F— you”.

Given the choice, the record labels would insist you buy a full album when you may only want one song. And the only download sites authorized by the RIAA use proprietary software that keeps you from playing your legally purchased music on different systems.

P2P file sharing networks allow users to freely download music and many users end up purchasing the songs they like without paying for the filler tracks. We hope the record labels catch on and that P2P file sharing helps bring about a change in the way the major labels distribute music in the future.