Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor doesn’t like how the culture of the music world has changed and feels technology is to blame for how listeners now value it.

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In an interview with IndieWire about his soundtrack work alongside bandmate Atticus Ross, Reznor says that, outside the bracket of Nine Inch Nails, the pair have flourished as composers because they’re “working in service to something, where we’re not in control of the whole thing, and we’re working intimately with a director or small team to try and help realise a collective vision, solving that riddle without the burden of ‘how’s it going to be marketed?’ and all the things.”

He adds, “What we’re looking for [from film] is the collaborative experience with interesting people. We haven’t gotten that from the music world necessarily, for our own choice. You mentioned disillusionment with the music world?  Yes. The culture of the music world sucks. ”

“That’s another conversation, but what technology has done to disrupt the music business in terms of not only how people listen to music but the value they place on it is defeating. I’m not saying that as an old man yelling at clouds, but as a music lover who grew up where music was the main thing. Music [now] feels largely relegated to something that happens in the background or while you’re doing something else. That’s a long, bitter story.”

Reznor and Ross have composed music for films such as Challengers, Bones And All, Queer, and the forthcoming Tron film which will land in October 2025. It has also been newly announced that the pair are scoring Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, the next video game from Neil Druckmann (creator of The Last Of Us) and Naughty Dog studio.

Check out the trailer below:

Reznor has already spoken out against the streaming industry before. Interestingly, he helped to develop Apple’s music streaming platform, and though he enjoyed working with the company, it made him realise he wants to remain an artist first and foremost.

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