Another month, another new Nine Inch Nails album — and this time it’s free.
Nine Inch Nails founder Trent Reznor released a 10-track, 43-minute studio recording, “The Slip,” through his Web site, nin.com, on Monday. It was made available for immediate download in four digital configurations, each of them free.
“Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years — this one’s on me,” Reznor wrote on the Web site shortly after midnight as he made the music available. He encouraged downloaders to share and remix tracks.
A CD and vinyl version of the album will be made available in July.
“The Slip” represents the fifth set of new material Reznor has released this year.
In March, Reznor released a four-volume set of instrumental music, “Ghosts I-IV,” through his Web site, at five different prices, including a free download of some of the tracks. After a week, he reported more than 700,000 orders and downloads, and revenue of $1.6 million.
The “Ghosts” announcement, also made without advance warning through his Web site, produced an avalanche of visitors and briefly crashed nin.com. Orders for “The Slip” appeared to go more smoothly. After submitting my e-mail address, I received instructions and was able to download the disc within minutes.
Picking up where the reflective “Ghosts” left off, “The Slip” starts off with an atmospheric instrumental before veering into hard-rock territory. A string of tracks driven by live drumming and shrapnel-tossing guitar allow Reznor and his band to blow off some steam. The assault eventually gives way to contemplative piano atmospherics (the somber, nearly whispered “Lights in the Sky”) and eerie instrumentals (“Corona Radiata,” “The Four of Us are Dying”). The album has a raw, unpolished feel that suits the circumstances of its sudden release.
The self-release strategy has renewed interest in Nine Inch Nails’ career and presents a striking vision of how artists may operate independently of the music business in the future.
In October, Radiohead experimented with officially sanctioned free downloads through its Web site by offering its latest studio album, “In Rainbows,” at a price of the fans’ choosing. Radiohead did not announce the results of its digital experiment, then released the album last January as a CD through an independent label (ATO).
Reznor has taken that download strategy a step further, which suits his suddenly prolific musicmaking. From 1989 to 2006, Nine Inch Nails released five studio albums. Now without a record-label contract for the first time in 18 years, Reznor has equaled that output in the last three months.
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greg@gregkot.com
