I'm not a big hip hop fan, but I am a big NIN fan so I bought the record to support Trent's efforts. Crazy enough I think it's a great record, and one I'd have missed if they'd taken the traditional distribution route. I've been telling everyone I know to check it out not only to support the way they're distributing it, but because it's a damn good listen. I hope there's a lot of other people like me who give this a chance as well.

Hermia

A physical CD? Why?

NeoPoliticus

haha, smart move adding "I'm not concerned about that.I just want the music," because now i'm going to wait until I get home and cash my paycheck and pay for it.

Sean

This album is great and I'm so glad that Trent and Saul have gotten this right, as opposed to the gimmick that Radiohead did. They've released the album and they've released it properly. Let the customer choose the bitrate is a much better idea than letting the customer choose the price. I paid half as much for the Saul Williams album and got a much more complete product.

I'd be glad to support any band that decides to release albums like this, its the future of the music industry and its only being held back by a corporate entity which has built itself around the archaic concept of the CD store. Paying a retailer a 100% markup, plus creation and distributions costs seems like such a waste, not to mention how inconvenient it is to go to the store when it can be done online. The future is the Internet, embrace it or fall.

storm84

This is it! This is what I've been waiting for. A reasonable price for CD quality from artists I like where I know all my money is going to support them. The holy grail has just occurred gentlemen. I'm excited.

David Sikes

@ElectricTool: I was unaware of that. The last I heard they were shopping the album to the big 4. Good for them.

djshawn

@ElectricTool: That's for territories outside of North America. I think what DJShawn's mostly referring to is that it wasn't overly well known they were still planning a regular CD release on top of the digital only/$80 fanboy pack, major label or not. Also, they could still go with a Big Four label for the NA release, like EMI.

@rainfever: It's more about moving the business model of the music industry forward than a dislike of physical media; like I said, I still prefer CDs, personally, though for some that format seems irrelevant now.

matt buchanan

@DJSHAWN:

First off, I'm not a Radiohead fan so this is not really in their defense but a clarification. Their intentions of releasing the near-free online album was not based on anything revolutionary or "stickin' it to the man". It was out of experimentation as with everything else they do. As you stated, we all know they were planning on signing on a label and releasing a physical album in the future.
But you can't blame Radiohead for something the media hyped up and claim of leading the front lines against the music industry. That faux reference is mentioned every other music article at the moment so it's not the band's fault people are being conditioned to perceive they ever had such intentions. They're not responsible or obligated to "man up" or "explain" anything they haven't already.
As it goes with Trent, he DID say that he was sticking it to the man since day-one, and he's man of his words. I think we all need to understand who's really leading the charge here.

Escamotage

I'm confused, why are people unhappy with bands releasing their CD on physical media? I straddle the fence. I want what Trent is offering (free/$5 scheme) but i also want some physical representation of what I've purchased.

Feel free to educate me. Thanks.

rainfever

@DJSHAWN:

You do know that Radiohead have signed on with XL Recordings? The label is independent which means they're not part of the big 4 or the RIAA.

ElectricTool

The further things go in this direction the better.

johnnyrandom

I was listening to his songs on his myspace, this dude sucks.

gokor

@Trowble: Yeah, I wasn't even into Saul Williams before and I threw in the five bucks, at first because I love what they're doing here, but the album's pretty damn good to boot.

matt buchanan

This is the very first time reputable music has been delivered correctly, atleast that I know of. I refuse to buy from Apple because of their DRM and their crappy version of DRM-free. I want MP3's, I want to feel like I own what I buy, and I want it to work on whatever MP3 playing device I choose. I want high quality mp3's, I want entire albums, and I don't want to break my bank account. There is no way that five bucks with no middleman isn't more beneficial to the musician, and five bucks is the perfect price point for any cd. I paid my five bucks happily in hopes that not only does saul make a few bucks, but that other artists might take note of this, leave their crappy labels, and distribute their music the right way as well.

wharle

I'm givin' up 5 for the cause. A) they probably get the near the same amount they would get or more then from the record company from the sale B) It was damn easy to do C) $5 for an album is a great deal.

MJDeviant

@Mixiboi: I understand. However, when the Radiohead experiment broke to the public the buzz was all about the fact they were doing it all on their own, without the scary Big Brother record companies screwing things up. When this buzz made it all over the internet, Radiohead could have manned up and explained things a bit better. I still would have purchased the online version (yes, I paid $10 for it) but wouldn't have stood behind them quite so vocally.

And...it doesn't take one of the big 4 record companies to mass produce an album. Independent labels and artists have been doing it very successfully for years.

Yes...the Saul Williams album is pretty damn good. I've listened to the FLAC version twice and so far I actually like it better than In Rainbows... ;)

djshawn

I support Trent Reznor's idea so much that if I like the album I'll spend the $5 for the album. Try before you buy at a reasonable price.

Trowble

WTF, seriously who uses a cd player any more. Trent and Saul know how the masses want it and thats how they are giving it to them. I don't know shit about Saul but I'm going to buy his music because a CD is teh suck, just gets destroyed, and I can play an MP3 in everything I have.

Trent > God

Also, they will make more $$ this way than the other way.

jason46

@Mixiboi: It is not just that they shopped the record. They gave a sub-par product without revealing what you got before the big day. Also they got people to buy a limited edition $90 box before revealing a standard CD release. They asked you to spend more to "support the experiment" without full disclosure of the additional distribution channels.

I like Trent Reznor's subtle but significant improvements to the business model.

FWIW the Saul Williams album is AWESOME. Free, not free, hype or no hype.

noamjamski

@djshawn:

Sadly, not the whole world can download a album, and not everyone has an MP3 player.

So Radiohead had to play with the people who can mass produce CDs....Or they leave hundreds of thousands of fans out of the loop.

Mixiboi

I downloaded both the Radiohead offering and the new Saul Williams' album for free (no 43c processing fee, I got it from the main website too). I will buy both on CD when they are issued.

Lizard_King

thanks!

EQC

@EQC:

Yup, free = free, at least for the 192kbps version. I'm downloading it right now. Not my normal cup of tea (I'm guessing), but if I like it, I think I'll plop down $5 for the FLAC version to support this way of distributing/releasing music.

Franklin Comes Alive!

Does "free" really mean "free" this time...or will there be a 43c processing fee like many folks ran into for the radiohead album?

Not that I "can't afford" 43cents...but having to bust out a credit card or provide any personal information is enough to dissuade me from downloading. If I could hand some guy 43 cents in coins I'd probably try downloading the album...

Of course, I haven't really bought (or downloaded/pirated) new music in any form for several years anyway, so I might not exactly be "the norm."

EQC

The album is great too! If you like Saul Williams, I recommend a film called "Slam".

LoopTrack

A free taste test, and if you really can hear the difference and like the music, a fiver will take care of that. Thats the way to release music to the world. I do agree that they still need to have a hard copy version available via the regular distribution channels.

drtaylor

I have faith that Trent and Saul will actually stick to their guns and keep this release and the next NIN release truly independent. I, along with others, felt a bit betrayed by Radiohead when we learned that they just came up with a damn good marketing scheme...the whole time they were shopping the album to the major labels. Yeah, yeah...I know that the uber fans and message board lurkers knew that in advance. The rest of the general population, myself included, bought into the hype hook, line and sinker...

djshawn

Bring it on.

wbremner

@NeoPoliticus:

Because some people would rather not have to back up their purchases. While it is fantastic that they are releasing this in FLAC (the only way to buy music digitally, IMO), I would still always rather have a copy on CD. I will never download music if it is also available on CD, and not having something on CD in favor of a lesser digital rip would probably affect my decision to purchase it. When flash terabyte chips become the norm and I can store all 1300 of my CDs on a handheld player as FLAC or uncompressed WAV files with room to spare, only then, perhaps, will the future take hold.

Most digital audio codecs have taken audio backwards in terms of quality, while video moves ever forward with HD DVD and BluRay, OLED displays, etc... Our audio should be getting better with 24bit 96khz releases, not iTunes default 128kbp garbage.

Skorpius

@Gokor: The album sucks pretty hard too, but apparently that's not what matters, it's the "Grand Experiment", and the lemmings are all lined up.

I downloaded the album and gave it a good listen, intending to go back and pay if I found that it was at all worthwhile. I know, and really like, good music. This ain't it. Instead, I'll be deleting it to reclaim the space. Sorry folks, not blindly going with the herd on this one....

Mandatory_Field

Hey, how about a good band that distributes all their music for free?

[quoteunquoterecords.com]

jmxzero

@Skorpius: you're in the minority of purchasers. The future is low cost, easy access music, FLAC v. MP3 will play no role in the battle for the masses. Its price point and availability. I agree lossless is great. There is nothing like relaxing listening to some great music on a great stereo, but Ill happily settle for some MP3s on my iPod while lifting weights at the gym. hehe

xtc46

@neopoliticus - maybe by the time flash terabyte comes you will actually be able to a) pass an abx test @ 320 mp3 (or even 192) b) have a player with a decoder that makes more of a difference than the format. I love digital music snobs...

h00ligan

$5 is a price I'm willing to pay for an album. No need to pay for all that packaging and distribution costs.

Way to be, Trent.

vystral

@ Skorpius ... agreed 100%. I always buy music on CD. Until digital music reaches a standard with equal quality to CD (FLAC is not standard, not yet), then I want to rip as I see fit.

When you look at CD sale prices lower than the digital equivelent, you have to wonder why the cost difference is higher for digital distribution. No inventory costs or monufacture costs included, digital SHOULD be cheaper. HOWEVER, it is often not.

Lizard_King

@Skorpius: 24 bit 96k Stereo? How about 24 bit 192k surround! It wouldn't apply as much with mixing bands, unless you wanted the effect of sound refracting off something behind you... I would mix all my stuff surround if it was a common enough listening environment for the general public. I do have hope though: Things used to be only be mono at one time!

johnnyrandom

Ugh, this is tough. I like the direction this is going. I like some of Saul's older stuff. I like some of NIN's older stuff... but, I wanted Saul here and it sounds like I got NIN instead. I don't think they'll be getting my $5 this time.

noire