As long as it feels valid to me and feels sincere, I’ll do what I do under the moniker of Nine Inch Nails if it’s appropriate. I would hate to think I would ever be in a position where I’m faking it to get a paycheck. – Trent Reznor
Anyone who’s an executive at a record label does not understand what the Internet is, how it works, how people use it, how fans and consumers interact – no idea. I’m surprised they know how to use e-mail. – Trent Reznor
Wal-Mart went on a rampage years ago insisting all music they carry be censored of all profanity and ‘clean’ versions be made for them to carry. – Trent Reznor
I’ve attended many concerts where I felt let down and I was wishing it would be something else. Not that it’s their duty to please me, but at the same time, I think a lot about what it’s like through the eyes of the consumer, the fan. I want not to pander to the audience, but to be aware of them. – Trent Reznor
My dad and I are best friends. He’s pretty much responsible for the way I turned out. He would provide a little artistic inspiration here and there in the form of a guitar, stuff like that. – Trent Reznor
I’d rather not get into what I’m talking about lyrically. I think it’s impossible not to demystify a song when saying what it’s about. Music and art can be damaged severely by too much information; I say that as somebody that has participated in that. – Trent Reznor
I doubt I’ll ever pay someone to do a remix again, because there’s some amazing stuff just coming out of bedrooms. – Trent Reznor
I’d much rather be worrying about playing that note in tune, and picking out the best way to arrange the song, rather than thinking about pricing for the download. It’s not art. – Trent Reznor
I would love to be looked at some day – and I’m not ever saying I’m at this level – but I’d love to be mentioned in the same breath as a Bowie or an Eno. Those are the people that I admire artistically, their career trajectory, the integrity throughout their career, the bravery of their career. – Trent Reznor
Nine Inch Nails was born out of Cleveland, Ohio, with me and a friend in a studio working on demos at night. Got a record deal with a small, little label, went on tour in a van, and a couple years later found that somehow we touched a nerve, and that first record resonated with a bunch of people. – Trent Reznor
I think it’s easy to make impenetrable music that nobody can get, and you can hide behind that sometimes. – Trent Reznor
I like the idea of subversively communicating with people… so that you make people see things in different ways. – Trent Reznor
When I’m on stage, the songs that we’ve chosen to play from the back catalog are things that still resonate with me, and matter to me. And the songs that I couldn’t be a part of, we don’t play anymore. – Trent Reznor
I found that when I was putting my own music out, with my Twitter feed as the pure marketing budget, I’m preaching to the choir. – Trent Reznor
I was excited by the process of Pandora, which I still think is a decent product. Not as great in actuality as it sounds. After the first hour, its weaknesses start to show up. – Trent Reznor
My advice today, to established acts and new-coming acts, is the same advice I’d give to myself: pause for a minute, and really think about ‘What is your goal? Where do you see yourself?’ – Trent Reznor
When your culture comes from watching TV every day, you’re bombarded with images of things that seem cool, places that seem interesting, people who have jobs and careers and opportunities. None of that happened where I was. You’re almost taught to realize it’s not for you. – Trent Reznor
I think the whole aspect of social networking is vulgar and repulsive in a lot of ways. But I also see why it’s appealing – I’ve had that little high you get from posting stuff online. But then you think, ‘Did I need to say that?’ I’ve explored that enough to know to stay kind of quiet these days. – Trent Reznor
I thought I’d reached the bottom a few times, but then I’d realise there was another 30 floors of despair below that. – Trent Reznor
When I was growing up, the people who liked the Beatles, I didn’t like, so I didn’t pay attention to them. – Trent Reznor
Nine Inch Nails is like building an army to go conquer. We build it, then we play, and we have to play so much to validate building it, financially. It leads to getting burn-out because a tour that would be fun if it lasted three weeks has to last 15 weeks. – Trent Reznor
