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Latest NIN album digital, DRM-free
Author: Gareth HalfacreePublished: 4th March 2008
The album is available in a variety of formats and at a range of prices - fans are spoilt for choice.
You may remember that Reznor was quite scathing of Radiohead's launch of a DRM-free digital copy of their album for whatever sum fans thought it was worth, saying he thought “there were some serious flaws with how they executed” the near-giveaway. Reznor's misgivings weren't entirely unfounded, with almost two-thirds of downloaders failing to offer a single penny in recompense to the band.
Even so, it would appear that Reznor thinks there is something to be said for reduced reliance on the record labels that, rightly or wrongly, are developing a reputation for greed in the eyes of consumers. Accordingly, the band has released the first nine tracks from the album completely free of charge, and in a nice high-quality MP3 format free from nasty DRM. For those who complain about the lack of 'extras' included with digital distribution, you even get a 40-page 'sleeve notes' booklet in PDF format along with a selection of wallpapers and icons. Not too shabby for £0.
Obviously the band is still hoping to make something from this endeavour, and the album will also be released the traditional way via Sony BMG. If you want to see the hard work of the band financially rewarded without lining the fat cat record industry's pockets, Reznor has a selection of added-value goodies available direct from the band.
First and foremost is the basic $5: for less than the cost of a meal in a fast food restaurant you get the full album in a choice of formats, including the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) and Apple Lossless for audiophiles to enjoy.
If you insist on getting something physical for your hard-earned, $10 gets you two CDs and a 16-page printed booklet. Sadly, you won't get your hands on the goods until April 8th (my birthday, co-incidentally) but you do get instant access to the $5 digital download option included.
If you would like to get something a bit more special, $75 gets you the two CDs from the $10 bundle in a stylish fabric slipcase along with a DVD containing the original studio multi-track uncompressed audio files for your remixing pleasure, and a Blu-Ray disc featuring the album in high-definition 96KHz 24-bit uncompressed stereo. Which is nice.
The true fan, however, will want to opt for the $300 “I Want Trent's Babies” bundle, which includes everything in the aforementioned along with four vinyl LPs and two limited edition prints signed by Reznor's fair hand. Nice.
It's clear that Reznor believes that the music industry needs to move beyond charging ludicrous prices for mass-produced CDs, and that by cutting out the middleman and offering 'extra-value' it's possible to earn a crust whilst keeping the fans happy.
Initial signs are good, with the server hosting the website buckling under the load; whether any of the traffic will actually be converted into paying customers remains to be seen.
This isn't the first time Reznor has toyed with unconventional distribution of music: he's gone on record in the past as claiming that the sharing of music on P2P networks actually helps rather than hinders artists, and made Saul Williams' last album, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust, available for free download or a $5 donation in a similar way to Ghosts I-IV. He has even hidden digital copies of Nine Inch Nails tracks stored on USB flash memory in club toilets and encouraged finders to upload the music to file-sharing networks. This is the first time, however, that he's jumped in with both feet.
Let's hope that Reznor's faith in the generosity of his fans is not misplaced: or at the very least that we all get mesmerised by the shiny things on offer and shell out for one of the added-value options.
What do you think: a brave new dawn for musicians and fans alike, or should we heed the warnings of the RIAA? Do you predict bread and water for Reznor and the gang, or will his gamble pay off? Perhaps you're planning on treating yourself to the $300 limited-edition bundle? Let us know in the forums.
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Comments (30)Stats: 0.112 seconds
Not a big fan of NIN, but 36 lossless tracks for $5 is more than reasonable. Hmm...
I do however believe the site is totally hammered right now as clicking on the free box then continue results in a VERY long load time and its still not actually loaded the next page.
That tells you something.
::EDIT::
BE AWARE:
If you order the CD's Shipping is $13 or so to the UK meaning it totals out at over $23, I've still paid for it as I want to support this kind of business model as I think it's fantastic, but if you don't like the shipping cost go for the download at $5 :)
NIN are great and deserve support. If this works they might set a trend. $23 is still only about £10 - which is a bargain for a NIN double-cd!
EDIT: The artwork is worth the $5 in itself, some stunning stuff.
holly crap!!!
I hope this takes off, its much better than the silly 30 seconds you get on iTunes and I am all for a bit of initiative from bands (and less money going to the RIAA!)
The whole album is a 36-track instrumental, according to their website.
If anyone's wondering why labels are evil, you should read this - http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/
Note - Courtney Love didn't write that speech, I can't divulge who did, but it wasn't her. Oh and I might as well take this opportunity to publicly state that Courtney Love is a C#@%!!!! (I speak from personal experience) Ahh...that felt good.
As for NIN, Trent lost my interest when he got off heroin. His whiney little voice was just about bearable when he had tortured lyics to sing...now, not so much. I'm going to give ghosts a try for two reasons - 1. He doesn't sing. 2. I'm a Dresden Dolls fanboy and Brian Viglione played drums on this album. You can read is blog about it here - http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=2663038&blogID=363525307
2xCD on order for myself, can't wait for the download to complete =]
Have to say the Deluxe pack has sold out rather quickly, but I guess with fans like NIN seem to have, it's not all that surprising. Slightly disappointed about the high shipping costs for a double disk, but still feel it's good value none the less as it's overseas shipping for me anyway.
Someone in a previous comment said something about 23$ still being a bargain or something similar. I think you've completely missed the point of this way of releasing if you only compare it to the stuff you can get from stores. It is and is not a bargain at the same time, as it's what you feel fits your needs and your wallet the best. You can't even compare it with much right now, since it doesn't relate to traditional record purchasing, and it isn't exactly like buying off iTunes or similar either as they don't offer anything extra.
Anyway, picking on that aside, great news and a really interesting "second try" at a digital release method. Hope it works out well and we start seeing more of these in the future!
this is the way it should be.
trent also releases the multitracks of his stuff, and sometimes free, look at year zero) so that people can make their own mixes. he truly is a musician's musician. and he is also all about the fans.
Granted because the servers were hosed I have yet been able to download my copy :( But thats ok, revolution isnt without its sacrafices :)
Go go Trent!
Glad I did mind as the download cut out on me almost instantly... Is it bad that after paying for the album I then immediately go off and torrent it just to avoid waiting?
Just had exactly the same happen repeatedly at 19% :( seems to be faring better through DAP though - I can't bring myself to use a torrent when there's a legit source that I've paid for...