Trent Reznor has voiced his displeasure with Kanye West and The Weeknd, believing them to be nothing short of plagiarists. The Nine Inch Nails frontman told BBC Radio 6 Music spoke about the "polite lighting package" they pioneered during their live stage performances. Instead of reflecting upon his influence, Reznor decided to criticize those he felt borrowed his aesthetic without giving proper credit, namely Kanye & The Weeknd.
"I remember us watching a string of bands on Coachella from the comfort of our couch. And every band has a video playing behind them. And every band is synced up with a convenient, polite lighting package, you know?" he told Lauren Laverne. "And I saw Kanye West blatantly rip off—and the Weeknd rip off—our tours production-wise, which I'll say without any hesitation. And they know."
Reznor admitted that as a collective, his group has decided to abandon tech-heavy productions, and go a much simpler route in their live show presentations. As Pitchfork seems to have pointed out, both Reznor and Kanye employed the same set designer. The man they chose, Matthew Phillips is renown for coming up with the iconic Pyramid structure Daft Punk use to tower over their audiences.