Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails urges Australian fans to pirate his CDs
Angry-man there, Trent Reznor, from Nine Inch Nails (and that brilliant duet with, cough, David Bowie), can be officially renamed as Piratey-man. Yes, Piratey-man. I’m sure his HARDCORE SCREAMINESS would appreciate the new nickname. Following on from his outburst in China last week where he urged Chinese fans to download his music for free, he’s taken his pro-piracy attack to the sunny beaches Down Under.
During a concert in Australia, he spoke out against Universal Music Australia who are pricing his latest album at $30. “Has the price come down? [crowd: no] Well you know what that means. Steal it. Steal away. Steal, steal and steal some more and give it to all your friends and keep on stealing. Because one way or another these mother f—ers will get it through their head that they’re ripping people off and that’s not right.”
Coming from Australia myself, I can’t remember a time when CDs weren’t always priced at AU$26-$30, so I’m unsure why he’s unhappy about Universal pricing his CD so. It converts to around £10-£14, so is exactly what the UK pays, however Americans are accustomed to paying approximately US$12 per CD, which is about 50% what Australia is being charged.
Of course, there’s many reasons for the different pricing, including the average wage in each country, cost of living etc, but it’s very interesting to see he’s urging fans to pirate his CDs rather than give money to Universal, thus gaining more money for himself. Well, Trent, I’m sure most of us are only too happy to oblige…
(via Wired’s Listening Post)
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