NIN - The Slip

[Jitters]

Trent is at it again.

Wow. (http://theslip.nin.com/) I'm just surprised he's putting this out so quickly after Ghosts.

[Miho]

Listening now. There are vocals on it! And this statement from NiN gives my respect to him: "all files are 100% DRM-free".

[Jitters]

I didn't download Ghosts because I figured I'd buy it but I still haven't done it yet.

I'm downloading Slip now and it's going to take a pretty long time. Ever notice how you enjoy music more when it's free? I'm sure I'll like this...

[Miho]

Of course. :) But because an artist has faith in his/her music to give it out for free, he/she also believes many people will buy said freely-distributed album. Trent Reznor is giving a big fuck you to record labels.

[checkyourprez]

NIN is really onto something.

1. What they are doing is really fucking cool. People remember that kind of stuff.

2. What they are doing is really fucking smart. Look these guys don't live in a cave. They know people are going to download their albums regardless. Why not try and beat people to the punch and offer it to them directly. Because there is no doubt this is where the future of music is going. He is just being an entrepreneur about it, instead of a dino.

(y) in my book.

[Jitters]

It's kind of a sticky situation but for certain groups free distribution could work out well for them. Musicians don't really make any profits off of copies sold anyway and they can still tour and make their profits the way they usual do.

On the other hand, if an artist is popular then they can push copies regardless but if nobody has heard of them then they can't exactly grind out a tour for profit. I don't think many people are going to go this route though and it certainly won't be overnight if it does happen.

[The Notorious LOL]

Trent Reznor has spent the past 20 years with providing the world with quality music. I mean, Pitchfork generally shits on his music which is almost a guarantee that he rules.

[ET]

Not to discredit this release, but Year Zero is probably the best album he's ever done. Yeah I'm borderline preferring it over The Downward Spiral and The Fragile.

You can't say no to a free album. It's pretty varied, actually. Although not the best introduction if you've never heard any NIN music (What rock have you been sleeping under???) it's got some good tunes.

[Jitters]

I'm in love with Discipline and Lights in the Sky. I always like those slow piano songs that he does and Lights is no different.

[DroppinScience]

It's kind of a sticky situation but for certain groups free distribution could work out well for them. Musicians don't really make any profits off of copies sold anyway and they can still tour and make their profits the way they usual do.

On the other hand, if an artist is popular then they can push copies regardless but if nobody has heard of them then they can't exactly grind out a tour for profit. I don't think many people are going to go this route though and it certainly won't be overnight if it does happen.

Yeah, the "free/pay what you want" download works well for established groups like Radiohead or NIN with an already built-in fanbase that has been around for a decade or more, but I don't think it'd work as well for new up and comers nobody has heard of.

[DroppinScience]

Trent Reznor has spent the past 20 years with providing the world with quality music. I mean, Pitchfork generally shits on his music which is almost a guarantee that he rules.

Well, they've written a positive review for NIN's latest.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/50566-the-slip

[ET]

It really depends on who's reviewing at the moment.

I don't understand how some reviewers claim that Trent "ripped Radiohead off". It's not like he let his contract expire, gave people a chance to pay for mp3s only or a $300 vinyl set, then turned around and signed another major label deal (that has caused members of the group a bit of turmoil), and then released a cd-quality version of the album later on to milk fans of another $10-$15.

Hey-ooooooo! (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/11/05/arts/600_week_tv.jpg)