The New NIN: Ghosts I-IV

[MARV]

The site is down now because of the staggering amount of traffic the 32 track, $5, independently released music set is attracting.

http://ghosts.nin.com/

Pretty groovy release strategy. I met Reznor backstage after a Ritz (NYC) show years ago (1990?), during the Pretty Hate Machine tour. Totally laid back. Offered me a beer and a seat. I remember all these teeny bopper girls surrounding him and how patient he was with all of them, LOL.

[i][b]Nine Inch Nails Gets Creative With Radiohead-Style Release[/b]

Trent Reznor has been telling the whole world how happy he is to be free from his record label. Now the Nine Inch Nails mastermind has unveiled a post-label strategy that takes Radiohead's In Rainbows concept further by leveraging BitTorrent and releasing songs under a Creative Commons license that permits purchasers to remix the tracks.

The full version of the new Nine Inch Nails album, Ghosts I-IV, contains 36 songs split into four volumes. Reznor (and/or his representatives) uploaded the first volume into BitTorrent, where it can be downloaded free.

The entire 36-song version can be purchased digitally (in the MP3 format) for a mere $5 from Amazon MP3 or the band's website, NIN.com. At this point, the site has slowed to a crawl due to the tremendous response to Sunday's release -- Reznor says they're adding more servers to cope with demand.

Taken as a whole, this is a remarkably extensive release that leverages BitTorrent distribution and word-of-mouth promotion in a way that would be impossible with most record labels. By embracing the best things about digital and physical releases, Nine Inch Nails has advanced the dialogue that Radiohead began with In Rainbows.

As with the Radiohead experiment, dedicated fans looking for something more substantial than a zip file full of music tracks can choose to spend more on a box-set version of the album -- or buy inexpensive CDs.

If you want a physical version of the album, $10 gets you Ghosts I-IV on two CDs; $75 gets you a limited-edition package (two CDs, download code for MP3 or lossless files, 16-page booklet in deluxe digipack, 40-page PDF, data DVD with the multitrack files and a digital extras package). For a whopping $300, the true NIN superfan can pick up the "ultra-deluxe" limited-edition package (two CDs, data DVD and Blu-ray discs with multitrack files for remixing, 48-page book of photos, digital extras pack and four 180-gram records). There will only be 2,500 copies of the ultra-deluxe package released, each signed by Reznor.

As more artists' label contracts expire, we can expect more releases like this. If Monday's slow load time of NIN.com is any indication, Reznor's plan has already been a success.

By Eliot Van Buskirk March 03, 2008[/i]

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/03/nin ... nails.html

[Bitter Almonds]

<p align="justify">I may not like his music, but I like the notion of famous artists taking control of their work and giving their fans direct access by cutting a lot of the middle-men. I might buy the 10-dollar cds.

[Max Murdoc]

I met him back in the early 80's at a bar we both used to drink at "Cedars" in Youngstown Ohio. I didn't like him much back then, his ego barley allowed him to fit through the door but what he's doing now has impressed me quit a bit. I think I might just get the $75 package for my son.

I hope all musicians stuck on major labels follow Trent and Radiohead's lead and jump ship when the contracts end. Isn't Bowie doing something like this also?