Nine Inch Nails Frontman Was a Member of OiNK
Written by enigmax on October 31, 2007Following the bust of the OiNK BitTorrent tracker, most of its 180,000 members are keeping their heads down and trying to stay inconspicuous. However, Trent Reznor, frontman of Nine Inch Nails isn’t worried: “I had an account there” he said. “it was like the world’s greatest record store.”
The driving force behind the Nine Inch Nails isn’t frightened of talking about file-sharing. Back in May 2007 he admitted to sharing himself: “I steal music too, I’m not gonna say I don’t” he said.
Now Trent has gone public and admitted where he did a lot of sharing - OiNK.
In an interview with New York Entertainment he sent his clearest pro-sharing stance yet. When asked what he thought about OiNK being shutdown, he had this to say:
“I’ll admit I had an account there and frequented it quite often. At the end of the day, what made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world’s greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could ever imagine, it was there, and it was there in the format you wanted.”
Everyone knows that OiNK was free to use and this fact was backed up by Trent: “If OiNK cost anything, I would certainly have paid, but there isn’t the equivalent of that in the retail space right now.”
Leveling criticism at professionals who are failing to make a better job of music distribution than OiNK and failing to create a brand which people like to be associated with, Trent explained: “iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don’t feel cool when I go there. I’m tired of seeing John Mayer’s face pop up. I feel like I’m being hustled when I visit there, and I don’t think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc.”
Trent says he prefers Amazon to iTunes but says none of them address the issue of pre-release leaks, calling it a ‘difficult puzzle’. “If your favorite band in the world has a leaked record out, do you listen to it or do you not listen to it?”
The quality uploaders at OiNK get a mention too: “People on those boards, they’re grateful for the person that uploaded it — they’re the hero. They’re not stealing it because they’re going to make money off of it; they’re stealing it because they love the band.”
Underlining the fact that sometimes people pirate because they aren’t getting what they want from the music labels, Trent finishes up: “I’m not saying that I think OiNK is morally correct, but I do know that it existed because it filled a void of what people want.”
And what people seem to want is OiNK replacement sites - and that’s what they seem to be getting.
Need any invites Trent?
Previously: What Waffles? The Hydra Lives On
Next: Mininova Closes Distribution Deal for TV-Show
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There was a guy on OiNK with the username “TrentReznor”.
I sent him a PM asking, “Are you really Trent Reznor?” Jokingly, of course. He said no, but winked that he wouldn’t be surprised if TR was on there.
Now I wonder if that _was_ him. That would be a hilarious way to hide.
Awesome news, anyway. I’m eagerly awaiting the Saul Williams album he worked on.
Trent Reznor is quite weathy. Isn’t it a slap in the face of economic principles for him to be pirating music, as well? Sharing is one thing; being stingy is another.
I hope he plans to release his next album free of charge.
This is really cool! Haha, it really makes you think. kk
On an extended note, while the principles of intellectual property rights may very well be subjective, subjectivity does not void you of accountability if you sign-up with a label that practices these principles, and release said intellectual property thereunder. In other words, I’m sure Trent Reznor only believes in intellectual property rights when it’s convenient to him.
I gotta say I don’t like NIN but Trent Reznor is the man. He actually gets it.
i wonder if he downloaded his own music seems how the format was much better than he could find anywhere else!
still hunting an invite!
lyingfromyou2006@yahoo.com
fucking awesome i hope he will be at what.cd
Awesome.
kudos to this guy, most police had an account as well, i bet anything on it
I couldn’t help but notice the “need an invite trent?” at the end. I don’t get it, there were people who uploaded 100+ gigs, who STILL haven’t been updated yet, except him since he’s a celeb he can get in?
Trent Reznor is my hero.
#2 He supported free music by letting people use the studio tracks for remixes that seems pretty kick ass to me.
Hardly a big surprise that celebs/musicians/media use such sites.
I know from experience some of them are the biggest pirates going. ;-)
IRONY.
Trent comes off snobbish, much like many oink users.
Trent Reznor has money, yes. But do not fret, I’m sure he has plenty of money set aside every year to support artists he likes and to make music-related purchases.
Grendel: said the pot to the kettle. Are you suggestion that because he is wealthy that him downloading is any different. He CHOOSES not to support the record industry.
he is well off for monay but maybe he used it to upload his own music (maybe rare or hard to find NIN material or music from his own collection) and used it to get listen to music before deciding to buy it. so pretty much the same as most users on it. OiNK and all sites dedicated to sharing files isnt about stealing music its about sharing music. im pretty sure that most people who are fans of bands after downloading the music will buy it too and even end up becoming fans from downloading music and then buy a cd or ALL that bands albums once they become a fan. there are many bands around today who have their records for sale in shops or on major record labels now and do big tours who wouldnt of even got out of their old town playing in bars if it wasnt for file sharing. has anyone else noticed the wider selection of different artists in major record shops now compared the selection there was 5 years ago?
I’d prefer if he’d refrain from using RIAA-speak and not misuse the well-understood term “stealing”. Nobody has to appreciate file-sharing but demonizing something by false accusations is not going to help your position. In fact, people will stop listening once they realize you don’t understand what you’re talking about.
[quote comment="200493"]Grendel: said the pot to the kettle.[/quote]
My actions do not vicariously justify those of Trent Reznor. I have nothing to do with his decision to download music.
Please take the time to read over my original comment to understand my position more clearly.
[quote]Are you suggestion that because he is wealthy that him downloading is any different.[/quote]
Please read over my comments again.
@final: Yeah, it is pretty lame that someone famous would be seen as more worthy. In the same respect though, if he is promoting the face of p2p and helping the cause then perhaps he is worth more.
It would be hard to judge but in the end everything is just a popularity contest. Who knows if he had good ratio or if he uploaded his own content. Maybe that “Need any invites Trent?” would help to answer those questions.
Artists should make enough money that they can survive comfortably. Beyond that, people start making music for the purpose of money, as opposed to the purpose of making music.
Money is trying to rape music.
Some people seem to misunderstand what Trent is saying. He didn’t love OiNK because he could download for free, but because it simply beat the crap out of any other way of getting music, particularly those offered commercially (CD stores, iTunes) — “the world’s greatest record store” is a perfect description.
Just like him I have no problem paying money for music. Of course I do want to support the artists creating the music I like, but the current distribution schemes the music industry offers are simply so antiquated (neither mp3 sticks nor cell phones nor iPods play CDs) or inconvenient and expensive (why bother with the iTunes store and in the end even pay more than for a CD?).
It could all be so wonderful: Make all music freely available for download and provide an easy way for people to donate for the stuff they like. Only problem: It makes the middle man (i.e. the music industry) almost superfluous, which is why we probably won’t see this anytime soon.
PS: If anyone has a spare invite for a now-homeless ex-OiNker, my address is erna_hausemann@yahoo.de.
Why not reopen OINK (the REAL pink OINK, OINK eats waffles for breakfast!) as a ‘hydra’(see previos article) with 4 or more backup locations? or like OINK1 and OINK2? Supersafe countries where corporate copyrights and record companies have no leverage? Waffles is a good start! I am very sure someone somewhere is making it happen!
OMFG!!!3333!!! does this really surprise people? Artists need free music too :’(. In the electronic scene many popular producers are members of all the big filesharing boards, and most watch how these people like and dislike about there tracks. They are of course the biggest fans, because we keep up with there productions.
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