Nine Inch Nails release new, partially-free album :: Music News :: Articles

This weekend, Trent Reznor released the latest Nine Inch Nails album—Ghosts I-IV, which he dubs "a soundtrack for daydreams"—into the raging torrents. Freed from the constraints of his former, longtime label Interscope Records, Reznor is practicing what he very loudly preached in the months preceding the end of his Interscope contract, offering the 36-track, instrumental album in a tiered pricing plan (and "multiple digital and physical formats") that begins at $0.

There are two digital-only options for entering Ghosts world: The free download includes MP3s of the nine tracks on Ghosts 1, LAME encoded at 320 kbps and DRM-free, plus a 40-page lyric book PDF and a "digital extras pack," with assorted graphics (perfect for spreading the gospel of Reznor through your favorite social networking venue); for $5, you get to download the entire 36 tracks (in multiple DRM-free formats), the booklet and the extras.

For those who crave a more tactile NIN experience, Ghosts I-IV will also be available as a 2XCD set ($10) and a 4XLP vinyl version ($39) on April 8; as a limited edition deluxe package containing two audio CDs, a data DVD, a Blu-ray disc with stereo recordings and a 48-page hardcover book of photographs by Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan ($75); and the ultra-deluxe limited edition package (which, with only 2,500 available, all numbered and signed by Reznor, is likely sold out already), which includes everything from the deluxe package plus 4 vinyl LPs, two giclee prints, and fabric slipcovers for everything (the deluxe packages, issued by Artist in Residence, will ship on May 1). All of the physical purchases come with an immediate download.

Already zooming past Radiohead with those highest-quality free MP3s, Reznor also posted Ghosts I immediately to various torrent sites, writing in a press release that "we believe BitTorrent is a revolutionary digital distribution method, and we believe in finding ways to utilize new technologies instead of fighting them." The album is also under a Creative Commons "Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike" license, meaning that fans are allowed to, nay, encouraged, to remix the original songs; a note on the Ghosts FAQ mentions that "an exciting partnership and experience regarding this release will be announced soon."

Enough of that info glut—for the streaming album, purchasing options (including a link to Amazon's MP3 store, in case the overloaded official site gets wonky) and more specific details than we can fit into one news story, visit the Ghosts website.

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