Nine Inch Nails: Here, Have Some More Rubbish Music For Free
May 6th, 2008 at 16:00 by Stuart Heritage
Nine Inch Nails have always been pioneers, first in making rubbish music for sad idiots and now in innovative distribution methods.
Following an experiment with some self-indulgent noodly-doodly instrumental tracks earlier this year, Nine Inch Nails has decided to give its new album away to fans for free, without even an option to pay anything, until it comes out on CD when you suckers will have to cough up.
This move by Nine Inch Nails obviously has its critics, who claim that giving away music for free devalues it to the point where it becomes worthless. But these critics are plainly fools - the music of Nine Inch Nails has always been kind of worthless to everyone except for panda-eyed 13-year-olds with BO and a low-level interest in self harm. This just levels the playing field out a bit.
These days, there’s no demographic more discriminated against than the music buyer. Why, just the other day we actually bought a physical CD copy of an album from HMV and the town mayor had us burned as a witch. After all, who’d want to actually pay for music these days when so many acts are throwing their songs at you for free?
It’s true - Coldplay have done it, Radiohead have done it, The Charlatans have done it, even dear old Cliff Richard has kind of done it if you squint and forget what the concept of something being free is. But it looks as if the band spearheading this free music revolution might just be Nine Inch Nails, which is either good or a bit nondescript depending on whether you’ve ever secretly fantasised about running through your school with a shotgun or not.
You see, Nine Inch Nails have made such a fortune from their songs about wanting to fuck animals and Johnny Cash being all sad that they’re now free to do whatever they want. A couple of months ago this meant that you could download some of a Nine Inch Nails instrumental album for free, with the option to pay if you liked the sound of their nuclear power station visitor education centre ambient soundtrack widdles enough to want to hear more.
Now, though, Nine Inch Nails have gone one better - they’re letting you download an actual album for free. A whole album. With no option to pay anything. An album of songs with words and stuff. Admittedly they’re Nine Inch Nails songs, so they’re not really worth getting excited about, but beggars can’t be choosers. The New York Times reports:
In an unusual nod to the popularity of free music online, the rock act Nine Inch Nails is offering its new studio album, “The Slip,” through its Web site, nin.com, for nothing. In a post on the site, the band’s leader, Trent Reznor, said, “Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years — this one’s on me.”
This new Nine Inch Nails album won’t be free forever, mind you - it’s coming out on CD in July, and you’ll actually have to pay for that - but the freeness of the album will help Nine Inch Nails’ new tour because a) this free music thing has boosted interest in the group and b) the band can now charge six billion dollars a ticket for the tour to compensate.
But whatever you think of Nine Inch Nails’ music - and, admit it, you think it’s rubbish - you have to marvel at the potential implications of this move. Perhaps other bands will follow them and give their music away for free. Perhaps this will even transcend music. Perhaps eventually, say, pizza delivery outlets will start giving their stuff away as well.
Let’s hope so, because giving pizza delivery boys false addresses then hiding in a bush, clubbing the delivery boys unconscious and then stealing their pizza really takes a chunk out of our Saturday nights.
Read more:
This One’s on Trent Reznor - NYT
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May 6th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Now come along, we all know since Trent got clean he has nothing to do with himself other than release self indulgent twaddle to all those idiot 12 yr olds who all want to screw him senseless. He needs to get laid (but not with a 12 yr old for legal reasons).
May 7th, 2008 at 6:26 am
ha…you are such a pathetic tool…nin is only relevant to 13 year olds? I’m 36. have 3 kids, like good music, and i’m sure make more money than you and are smarter than you (obviously)….you have to be the saddest piece of fucking shit this new music has exposed.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Actually, at work today/yesterday I was wondering why I like NIN so much when I think it’s crap. I haven’t got an answer beyond “I like crap music” and that makes me sad.
Incidentally, calling someone “the saddest piece of fucking shit” for having a different opinion is like stabbing Trent in the face. He is he saddest shit.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:46 am
The only NiN songs i like are Dead Souls that was used in the film The Crow and Hurt. All the others sound like they used a casio keyboard for the drums.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:31 am
“and i’m sure make more money than you and are smarter than you (obviously)”
I ARE SAMARTER THAN U BECAUSE I LIKE SHITTY MUSIC MADE BY AN EMOTIONALLEY STUNTED TWERP WITH THE ARTISTIC SENSIBILITY OF A 15 YEAR OLD WHOS MOM GROUNED HIM
May 7th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
‘Hurt’ is good when Johnny Cash does it though.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
jp-
Since you have failed to display any intelligence in your post,
exactly HOW is it obvious that you are smarter than Stuart?
The only thing obvious from your post is that you are emotionally
stunted. You somehow equate your earnings with either intelligence or taste
while failing to demonstrate either and suffer from the misguided notion
that somehow having three children makes you smart.
In short: You are a Classic Dipshit. The kind of knob who thinks that
what he dumps in the collection plate will buy him an unobstructed
view in the Great Hereafter. I beg you, please stop having children.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
When the highlight of an album is that it’s free and you can download it in various file sizes, you know you’ve been conned in the same way menus are ’special features’ on a DVD.
Fact is, if The Slip was good I’d pay a tenner for it, even if came out on a rickety old mono cassette.
It’s all well and good that this distribution mechanism is being used, but do you care about whether you can get a book in hard or paperback or as an e-book? No. You care about the content.
The artist who hails distribution and no interesting content is simply covering for poor art. People may argue with me, but I speak the truth.
May 9th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
“ha…you are such a pathetic tool…nin is only relevant to 13 year olds? I’m 36. have 3 kids, like good music, and i’m sure make more money than you and are smarter than you (obviously)….you have to be the saddest piece of fucking shit this new music has exposed”
Now where exactly did I use the word RELEVANT? And have you ever heard of taking the Piss? Possibly not, seeing as you can barely string a sentence together. I mean “and are smarter than you?” Can you not form a sentence using the correct terminology? FYI I’m older than you, definitely earn more money, have been a fan of NIN since they started but think Reznor needs someone to tell him he’s crap every so often. Not every song you understand, but some of them. As for my comment about 12 year olds, go to a gig and see for yourself. I feel sorry for your kids, you’re obviously a blinkered idiot whose knee jerk reaction is to use the word “fucking” in your post. Grow up!