After successfully releasing the last Nine Inch Nails album in 100% digital format with a variety of pricing levels ranging from free to $300, Trent Reznor has decided to go all out and give away the band's new album, "The Slip" for free. You can download all ten tracks in a variety of DRM-free formats, including MP3, FLAC, M4A lossless, and even 24/96 WAV.
This latest move proves one of two things:
- It's possible to give away your music for free and make money by touring, and asking fans to pay for premium content.
- Trent Reznor has made so much money from music that he can affort to give away his songs for free.
While we'd really like to think that numbe one is true, there's no doubt that the second option is absolutely true. In other words, this is hardly a business model that's going to work for most struggling musicians. But it's encouraging to see the direction that some popular artists are taking when they're freed from the shackles of the major record labels.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-05-2008 @ 2:37PM
Josh said...
Didn't Reznor make something like $3 million off of Ghosts? That right there should more than cover all costs for these two albums (considering most of Ghosts was done in Logic Pro) and support the band members for a while. A free album here and there is nothing. Especially when he has released 7 full albums in the last year.
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5-05-2008 @ 4:34PM
harry said...
Ya, he knows that if people really like his music they will support him by buying the album. Seems like most do judging by those facts about how much he made. Anyhow,thanks for the reminder on this album. I knew it was coming out, just forgot when.
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5-06-2008 @ 6:21AM
Skapig said...
But you have to consider that it is practical NIN and Radiohead to do this and make a major profit off of their efforts because they have the benefit of past exposure through the major labels. That doesn't go away, so a band can go off after repaing the benefits of the major label marketing machine (though its pretty sad these days) and do well on its own.
Speaking as a concert promoter, I can tell you that releasing free music is a very smart way to hook an audience. It makes entry easy for new listeners and pleases the existing fans. It doesn't all have to be free. Some works and you can make money off of smart touring, merchandising, and premium content. These days, the key is to take full advantage of the tools out there on the Internet.
That being said, you must remember that not all labels are alike. There are ones that don't suck like most of the majors. They exist for good reason. More often than not artists suck at marketing/selling their material (NIN has obviously doing it right). That or they would rather spend the time focusing on their music. Labels may provide established avenues of promotion or may have a strong following in a particular niche. Each one is different, so circumstances vary.
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5-06-2008 @ 4:58PM
S4Rs said...
If all the major bands followed in Reznors footsteps, then the big labels out there would spend more of their time and money on the little guy. Most labels say we will pay for a week of recording time, print the discs and then take 95c to the 1$ from all the sales. and you have to arrange all your touring and pay for all of it out of your own pocket, thus ride around the country in a van with a hole in the floor. Labels should be pushing talent up to Reznors level and then release them like a dove with a new repaired wing, not spending their money giving ashlee simpson some pre-made songs to sings and print as her own.
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5-06-2008 @ 9:45PM
Jeebus said...
It's 1.
Most decent bands can make a living of concerts.
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