The changes may have been blowing in the wind since Napster, but today we are seeing the dust begin to settle in the battle between fans and the music industry. It's looking more and more evident that the fans have won with the success of In Rainbows and Trent Reznor's various projects since Nine Inch Nails left Interscope last year, and Mike Masnick, who tracks the evolution (or devolution) of the music industry at Techdirt, has put together a presentation that uses Reznor's release methods as a blueprint for financial success.

The mantra he presents is that connecting with fans + giving them a reason to buy = cash money, and the argument looks convincing:

A future without DRM, lawsuits, collective licensing, or copyright?! Could it ever be?

From what Masnick has to say, it looks like keeping your fans happy and engaged is all it takes to make bank, and that sounds like justice to me.

[Hypebot]