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Trent Reznor: YouTube Is Built On the Back Of Stolen Content (theguardian.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Singer and record producer Trent Reznor has become the latest artist to attack Google's video service YouTube. "I find YouTube's business to be very disingenuous. It is built on the backs of free, stolen content and that's how they got that big," said Reznor in an interview with Billboard. Reznor was not speaking purely as an artist, however. He is also chief creative officer at Apple Music, the streaming service launched by Apple in 2015, which is one of the key rivals to YouTube in the digital music world. "I think any free-tiered service is not fair. It's making their numbers and getting them a big IPO and it is built on the back of my work and that of my peers. That's how I feel about it. Strongly," said Reznor, widening his criticism to other rivals like Spotify in the process.

6 of 428 comments (clear)

  1. The ego... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Never mind all of the car reviews, device reviews, musical gear reviews, prank shoes, and tutorials people watch on there............no, it's all about "his" stolen music.

    1. Re:The ego... by Wain13001 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The same music he used to literally tell people to go online and steal when he was performing his concerts.

  2. Competitor slags rival product. News at 11. by sjbe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "I find YouTube's business to be very disingenuous. It is built on the backs of free, stolen content and that's how they got that big," said Reznor in an interview with Billboard. Reznor was not speaking purely as an artist, however. He is also chief creative officer at Apple Music, the streaming service launched by Apple in 2015, which is one of the key rivals to YouTube in the digital music world.

    I find pretending to be on the side of artists against Google when you are drawing a paycheck from one of their biggest competitors to be "very disingenuous".

    Of course I don't find Apple Music to be much of a rival at all to YouTube so this may be much sound and fury signifying nothing. Apple pretending to respect the intellectual property of others is a bit rich.

  3. "I don't like other content" by backwardsposter · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...said competing content provider.

    In my opinion, Youtube shows that people would create content without all of this artificial scarcity bullshit.

  4. Re:Aw, Poor Trent... by Jawnn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It might be too late. Apple got him and now they're telling him he doesn't look ridiculous dressing like a middle-aged Goth.

    OMG, if only I had mod points... Well played, sir, well played indeed.

    And to Trent... Look, I have a great deal of respect for you as an artist, but you are full of shit on this issue. Most of what you call theft is "fair use". The rest of it is unauthorized use, not theft. You were not deprived of something you already possessed. And no, you weren't deprived of any significant amount of revenue either. No, you really were not. You should stop drinking the RIAA kool aid and face the fact that not everybody who ever wanted to listen to 30 seconds of your music is going to pay for it if they have no other option.

    Get over it, princess.

  5. Re:Stick to making garbage music by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Trent has been purchased by Apple, and they are just realizing value out of owning him.

    Apple has declared war on 'free content on the internet' and are striving to make everything of significance cost money. They can't do this without tearing down every other business model, and as always at Apple (going all the way back to the Apple II clone/compatible makers who they ran out of business, and the multiple 'Windowing System' makers who they ran out of business, handing the platform ownership to deep-pockets Microsoft in the process) lawyers will be wielded against anybody who doesn't do things 'The Apple Way.'

    People act like there isn't a reason some of us fucking hate Apple.