Download NIN-The Slip FREE!!

[azusa749a]

NIN is one up on Radio Head.

as a thank you to our fans for your continued support, we are giving away the new nine inch nails album one hundred percent free, exclusively via nin.com.

the music is available in a variety of formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. your link will include all options - all free. all downloads include a PDF with artwork and credits.

http://dl.nin.com/theslip/signup

I'm downloading it now.

[cuttime]

I certainly hope that it's better than "Ghosts". I'll check it out too, but I have had enough of the "ambient music to be ignored" stuff back, oh, with Eno about 30 years ago.

[kassonica]

Tis a cracker....

I really liked ghosts.

The slip is like a rockier version with words and screaming....

Kinda joking kinda not

[Matcher]

Wow..24bit too for dvd-audio. Kudos. The remix stuff looks cool too http://remix.nin.com/

[James Steele]

"Hi... I'm Trent Reznor. I'm already rich... already made my money... so I'm going to screw the smaller, struggling independent musicians just trying to break in, by helping reinforce the consumer perceptions that downloaded music should be free."

Thanks Trent.

[npatton]

"Hi... I'm Trent Reznor. I'm already rich... already made my money... so I'm going to screw the smaller, struggling independent musicians just trying to break in, by helping reinforce the consumer perceptions that downloaded music should be free."

Thanks Trent.

Yup.

[kgdrum]

i got ghosts the other day as an vinyl 4 lp package and it's incredible,I also have the remix lp set: great stuff!
Trent Reznor is so ahead of the curve as a musician that calls his own shots, has total product control,plays whatever he wants and makes a living$$
he has been raising the bar and changing the rules for a long time

[carrythebanner]

"Hi... I'm Trent Reznor. I'm already rich... already made my money... so I'm going to screw the smaller, struggling independent musicians just trying to break in, by helping reinforce the consumer perceptions that downloaded music should be free."

Thanks Trent. :D

I respectfully disagree – I think he really has a handle on the state of things.

Example: His recent self-released Ghosts I-IV really defined what I think is a fair structure, for everyone from those with a passing curiousity to die-hard fans:
- 9 tracks (of 36) for download; free: 320k MP3s (DRM-free)
- 36 tracks for download; $5: 320k MP3s, FLAC, or Apple Lossless (all DRM-free)
- Double CD in the mail + immediate download; $10
- Double CD + Blu-ray disc with hi-res mix + data DVD with multi-tracks + + immediate download: $75
- Quadruple vinyl, hand numbered & signed, only 2500 copies + hardcover book + all of the above; $300

I'm not usually a big fan on NIN, but I did like that album and I bought the $5 Apple Lossless download. That's the first album download which was priced appropriately compared to the CD, IMHO. There's no way I'm paying $9.99 for a download when the CD is the same or nearly the same price (for the kind of music I listen to, anyway) at better quality, with artwork, lyrics, and more, but I would pay $5 for DRM-free CD-quality files (with a PDF booklet and unique album artwork for each track). In fact, if there were more albums available in that format for $5 each, I'd buy 2, 3, or more, thus spending more on music than the original 10 bucks for that one download or CD.

While I do agree that a new-comer couldn't try the approach he is, I think that innovation by those that can afford to experiment is a good thing.

[James Steele]

From what was in the original post it implied that his lossless format stuff was FREE too.

Hey, even though I might think that Trent's stuff is dark and bizarre and whether it's simply a gimmick or creating truly disturbing and psychologically warped videos is really his thing... I will give him his due as cutting edge and setting the trends.

But to be honest, what pisses me off about guys like Trent who have already made their fortune, is they have absolutely no concern for the indy artist (people they once were) who are trying to convince someone to kick out a few bucks for their CD or a download. "Trent Reznor's album is free... why should I buy yours?" True... that's a superficial argument and there's all sorts of ways... yadda... yadda... I'm supposed work past that... but when big names give their music away, they do it because they have figured out a way it will benefit them (if nothing else, getting their name back in wide circulation), and they could give a rat's ass if it screws lesser known artists. It's sort of like when Mobil sets up a gas station on the same corner as a small indy station and then sells gas at a loss as part of a larger profit strategy. The indy station goes out of business.

Trent is doing what's best for Trent in the short term, which of course I'd expect nothing less. Why should he be concerned about the long term or the big picture? If the publicity ends up landing some of his music in the next blockbuster movie, he's golden. What does he care about indy musicians struggling to actually *sell* a few downloads or CDs? NOTHING.

Oddly enough, I have a friend who wrote the screenplay for a very popular horror genre movie some years back. Trent was being considered to do a song for the movie. In the end the studio passed as Trent (aka NIN) was already considered "old news" by then. Not saying I agree, but illustrating the incredibly short shelf-life of artists... even those considered "pioneers" or "cutting-edge."

From what I've heard, most artists like Trent have seen the writing on the wall, and are trying to position themselves into getting music into films which is ultimately much more lucrative. I think this is Mr. Reznor's priority... I may be wrong. But if, as a byproduct of his own personal business plan, life is made that much more difficult that much sooner for indy musicians, I labor under no illusion that Mr. Reznor, having already gained entrance to the club, gives a damn for the people that were in the position he once was in.

[blue]

But to be honest, what pisses me off about guys like Trent who have already made their fortune, is they have absolutely no concern for the indy artist (people they once were) who are trying to convince someone to kick out a few bucks for their CD or a download.

I don't know what NIN's overall goal is here, but I had the same thought. There are already a shockingly high number of people out there who think music should be free anyway. While it might be a longer term, loss leading marketing trick, to toss this album out there free of charge is sort of like giving up. Which would be fine, if everyone else had the resources (and exposure) available to do the same.

Who knows what kind of impact this will have on the music business as a whole. I do commend artists for ditching "The Man" and trying new models, but the attempts made by Radiohead and NIN are certainly not going to work for the vast majority of artists out there.

[Matcher]

Oddly enough, I have a friend who wrote the screenplay for a very popular horror genre movie some years back. Trent was being considered to do a song for the movie. In the end the studio passed as Trent (aka NIN) was already considered "old news" by then. Not saying I agree, but illustrating the incredibly short shelf-life of artists... even those considered "pioneers" or "cutting-edge."

From what I've heard, most artists like Trent have seen the writing on the wall, and are trying to position themselves into getting music into films which is ultimately much more lucrative. I think this is Mr. Reznor's priority... I may be wrong. But if, as a byproduct of his own personal business plan, life is made that much more difficult that much sooner for indy musicians, I labor under no illusion that Mr. Reznor, having gained entrance to the club, gives a damn.

I listen to some artists that have contributed to the movie soundtracks on top of their music career. Massive Attack, The Crystal Method and Bt come to mind first. The way I see it, the first two "do their thing", but Bt is able to re-discover himself and keep fresh. Let's look at some of his movie scores. The Fast & The Furious had some cool electro stuff in it, but he also did sheets for classical percussion players using car parts as instruments. With Monster, he won the surround maverick of the year award. He used interesting techniques like placing five mics inside an acoustic guitar and recorded circuit bent instruments. In Look, which is a movie shot exclusively with surveillance cams, he wrote music for a fax machine and a type writer, for example. All of these are very different projects and have different demands and give the artist space to move creatively. If he had done 3 movies like The Fast.. he would have been defined by that work and probably viewed as un-hip soon. He also writes for orchestras and conducts, so when it comes to scoring Bt is the only guy from the music scene who delivers IMO.

[carrythebanner]

From what was in the original post it implied that his lossless format stuff was FREE too.

My last post about the tiered pricing referred to his previous album, Ghosts I-IV – you are correct that his new album The Slip is being released totally free in a lossless & DRM-free format (in fact, with an option for 24/96 WAVE files).

Hey, even though I might think that Trent's stuff is dark and bizarre and whether it's simply a gimmick or creating truly disturbing and psychologically warped videos is really his thing... I will give him his due as cutting edge and setting the trends.

I actually come from the same rust-belt cornfield county in western Pennsylvania that Trent hails from, and I can say that the darkness in his stuff is not without merit ;)

But to be honest, what pisses me off about guys like Trent who have already made their fortune, is they have absolutely no concern for the indy artist (people they once were) who are trying to convince someone to kick out a few bucks for their CD or a download.

It's hard for anyone but Trent Reznor to say what his real motivation is, but I think that what he's doing, rather than making things harder for indie artists, actually proves that you can exist outside of the mainstream successfully. If you're an independent musician and are in-the-know with today's technology (digital delivery, et. al), it shows that, while you won't have the momentum that someone like Trent Reznor does, you don't necessarily need the Big Four labels to produce, distribute, and market your music.

"Trent Reznor's album is free... why should I buy yours?"

Well ... point taken. I'd like to say that more people would see through that sort of logic, but I'm not so sure I give Joe Q. Consumer that much credit.

I'm supposed work past that... but when big names give their music away, they do it because they have figured out a way it will benefit them (if nothing else, getting their name back in wide circulation), and they could give a rat's ass if it screws lesser known artists.

I think an important detail, for both Ghosts I-IV and The Slip, is that the songs (and their accompanying multi-tracks) are creative commons licensed to facilitate new creations. Sure, it gets his name out there (the CC license he picked is a non-commercial, attribution, share-alike license), but it gives a lot of people an interesting way to interact, contribute, create something new, or just really dig into the sounds on a new level. The value of that is not to be left out of the pitcure, I think.

[James Steele]

I do commend artists for ditching "The Man" and trying new models, but the attempts made by Radiohead and NIN are certainly not going to work for the vast majority of artists out there.

Of course not, but they don't care about "the vast majority of artists out there." They care about themselves.

Again, it may very well be that this is trying to hold back the inevitable, but ANYTHING that contributes to the devaluation of music in the eyes of the public is not good.

The role of "The Man" is not static... it changes. I think it's ironic that many of these artists who are now "giving away" their music, were able to make a name for themselves while they had all the advantages of the old business model. I think they ought to be holding the line on this, rather than selling other musicians who either don't wish or can't afford to give away their music down the river.

[kgdrum]

what I think is brilliant marketing on Trent Reznor's part is he has some downloads for free ,he also encourages people to download his works and remix and send back to his site, he sells $$ cd's to people who want an actual disc and for people like myself who want the vinyl LP (and actually paid $34 to $45 a set). he sells to me .
he has figured a way to get his music out there..........while he ,makes $$ and caters to many different levels of consumers from down loaders for free to fans who gladly support formats that offer better resolution as well as paying for his work .I tip my hat to any artist who has the brains and vision to be able to make a living while making his music on his terms.not something many people have been able to figure out.
in my book thats Brilliant.
KG

[James Steele]

It's hard for anyone but Trent Reznor to say what his real motivation is, but I think that what he's doing, rather than making things harder for indie artists, actually proves that you can exist outside of the mainstream successfully.

... provided you have already existed inside the mainstream successfully like Trent has.

My point in all of this is that when "well-known" artists give their music away, it may work to their advantage be cause they ARE "well-known." But in most cases, they became "well-known" by benefitting from the old business model prior to massive music downloading piracy, with record companies that had significant promotional budgets and staff working on their behalf. It's easier to survive in the new system, when you came up in the old one.