I'm really starting to love Nine Inch Nails

Up until a couple of months ago when Nine Inch Nails released their Ghosts albums (I blogged about it here) I hadn't even listened to a single NIN track.  Now they have earnt some of my hard-earned cash that I am really happy to have given it to them. I understand that from each CD sale that an artist makes through a music store they earn not much more than $1.00.  Their record companies, wholesaler, retailers, management etc are hoovering up the rest of the cash. But not Nine Inch Nails.  They are giving away much of their music and offering options to buy special merchandise and higher quality audio in the hope that it will attract audiences to live concerts in the future.
A NIN media release recently quoted
"Nine Inch Nails' 36-track instrumental opus Ghosts I-IV, released March 2 via NIN.com, has amassed a first week total of 781,917 transactions (including free and paid downloads as well as orders for physical product), resulting in a take of $1,619,420 USD.
"These figures represent the most relevant and contemporary metric for measuring how Nine Inch Nails' music is reaching its fans," said NIN manager Jim Guerinot.
As previously reported, the $300 Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition of Ghosts I-IV immediately sold out its run of 2500. The $5 Download, $10 2XCD set and $75 Limited Edition Deluxe versions are still available at NIN.com. The $10 2XCD SET will be released to retail April 5 in Australia and Japan, April 8 in North America, and April 7 in the UK and most European territories. A $39 4X vinyl version will be available at retail April 8. Ghosts I-IV has been released under the Creative Commons license."
And now Metallica, originally one of the most ardent crusaders against online music file-sharing have changed their tune.  They now appear to be planning to follow the lead of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails - The Age wrote about it recently here
Big record companies like Sony BMG, Warner, EMI and Universal must be starting to worry about their futures.  Their biggest loss to date was when Madonna left Warner after 25 years to sign a US$120 million 10 year deal with a concert promoter.  Now big name bands are releasing music for free on the internet?  I say the writing is on the wall...

Nine Inch Nails present "The Future of Music and the Internet"

Looks like Trent Reznor, front man for Nine Inch Nails has come up with a business model that will help artists break free of the blood sucking record companies and the RIAA 'nazis'.  Radiohead got things started by releasing their latest album totally free, asking listeners to pay whatever they thought was fair.  Not a bad start but a bit risky?

Nine Inch Nails have used this concept to come up with a way of distributing their album that is pure genius.

Ghosts I-IV is a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain.

Trent Reznor explains, "I've been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn't have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I'm very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts."

I have never really listened to Nine Inch Nails so I am currently downloading the Free Download to see what I think of them.  If it is something that appeals to me then the $5 download will be a given.  And I'll bet that $5 is a hell of a lot more than Nine Inch Nails would have made if I had bought their CD at a record store.

Who knows?  I might become a big fan and the $75 Deluxe Edition will be mine next time they release an album!

Click here to choose from five ways to wake up the music industry! - http://ghosts.nin.com/main/order_options

What is that song - wait.... my iPhone can tell me!

The coolest hack is now available in the installer and it works like a treat.  Simply open the program, hold your iPhone near a speaker and it will tell you the artist, song and even the album that the song appeared in!  Here are a few screen grabs from my iPhone to show you a couple of the results.  (You can tell it is mine by the music and the iFartz application!)