Nine Inch Nails Uploads New Album to BitTorrent Sites

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Nine Inch Nails has released its new album, Ghosts I-IV, online and in a somewhat Radiohead-eque way. You’ll recall Radiohead released its In Rainbows album with “you” naming the price. Nine Inch Nails doesn’t go quite that far, but it’s still the sort of experimentation more bands should be trying with digital distribution becoming more popular.

Here are the ways you can get it:

• $0 - get Ghosts Vol. I which is 9 high-quality DRM-free MP3 files and the PDF of the album notes. This can be downloaded from both the album’s site as well as via BitTorrent sites.

• $5 - get all 36 tracks of Ghosts I-IV and a 40-page PDF booklet. These tracks are available in a number of formats.

• $10 - get Ghosts I-IV in a 2 CD set. This physical version will be available April 8th, but if you order via the site you can download all the tracks immediately.

• $75 - the deluxe edition package including the 2 CDs, 1 data DVD with all the tracks in various formats, and a Blu-ray disc filled with ultra high-quality audio.

• $300 - everything in the $75 package plus 4 LP vinyl (!) records and two limited edition Giclee prints. Limited to 2500 pieces, numbered and signed by Trent Reznor.

The BitTorrent method, of course, is only possible since the band no longer feels constrained by a record label. In fact, the band says in the torrent release notes:

Now that we’re no longer constrained by a record label, we’ve decided to personally upload Ghosts I, the first of the four volumes, to various torrent sites, because we believe BitTorrent is a revolutionary digital distribution method, and we believe in finding ways to utilize new technologies instead of fighting them.

Insert applause here.

Trent Reznor, the band’s front man hasn’t been shy about his own use of BitTorrent. Back in May 2007 he admitted to file-sharing:

I steal music too, I’m not gonna say I don’t. But it’s tough not to resent people for doing it when you’re the guy making the music, that would like to reap a benefit from that.

It’s interesting that Nine Inch Nails even admitted how difficult it will be to keep the full 4-volume set off of BitTorrent. Further in the release notes for the torrent, the band says:

Undoubtedly you’ll be able to find the complete collection on the same torrent network you found this file, but if you’re interested in the release, we encourage you to check it out at ghosts.nin.com, where the complete Ghosts I-IV is available directly from us in a variety of DRM-free digital formats, including FLAC lossless, for only $5.

We Say: Hopefully people won’t abuse this offer as many did with Radiohead’s release. This is precisely the sort of thing it would be great to see more bands (and someday studios?) do, and we should encourage it.