This is an extraordinary presentation by Michael Masnick on the pheneomenon on Trent Reznor and the Nine Inch Nails, and how to make money in music without calling upon the state. It is an amazing presentation that is all about marketing and innovation, breaking old models and experimenting with new ones. You might say that the story is about entrepreneurship, which copyright has discouraged in the music business for 100 or so years with deleterious consequences for the entire industry.
Now, anyone who knows me would know that I’m probably the least likely person to listen to a single note of this band; not my thing at all. However, the general lesson here of innovation applies regardless of the genre in question. Whether the music is rock, country, baroque, Mahler (yes, a category all its own), or medieval or Gregorian chant, there is no escaping the need for innovation and marketing.
