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Trent Reznor is failing artists as Apple Music’s Chief Creative Officer, says Tom Vek

By | Published on Thursday 23 June 2016

Apple Music

Tom Vek has taken issue with comments made by Trent Reznor about the previously reported redesign of Apple Music. In a new blog post, he re-iterates points made in an interview with CMU earlier this year, saying that digital music services are letting artists down when it comes to the visual presentation of their work.

In particular, Vek focuses on a quote from Reznor’s recent Billboard interview, in which he said of his decision to take up the role of Chief Creative Officer at Apple Music: “Every time there’s a new innovation, the musician is the one that didn’t have a voice at the table about how it’s presented. I thought, if I could make a place where there could be more opportunities, and it comes with more fertile ground, and music is treated with a bit more with respect, that interests me”.

“I totally agree with this statement but unfortunately it doesn’t tally up with Apple Music… at all”, writes Vek. “How do I as a musician have my voice at the table? What are the extra opportunities? Where is this fertile ground? Apple Music currently is basically exactly like any other streaming service out there – ie   you have no control about how your music is presented”.

Noting that the Apple Music redesign now sees the corners of album artwork rounded off, he adds: “I’m extremely precious about my artwork. I think of rounding the corners of my work like cutting a few seconds out of my songs. How do I have a voice about this? … Let’s concentrate on creating an actual artform, a format, a great end-goal for a digital album experience”.

“No fellow music artists I speak to are ever excited about releasing their music digitally, and creating something that does would have a huge impact on the industry”, he says. “Empower the artist and you’ll be amazed at the results”.

Read Vek’s full blog post here.



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