In a new twist to online record-releasing, Nine Inch Nails posted part of "Ghosts I-IV" on its Website for free last night, but is charging for the complete package.
Costs for the complete album -- in either digital or physical form -- range from $5 to $300.
Downloads of "Ghosts," released at 6:00 p.m. PST last night, caused the band's Website "to slow to a crawl," according to a posting by NIN singer Trent Reznor. "We've been adding more servers to accommodate the unexpected demand and we expect to be running smoothly in the next few hours."
"Ghosts" is an experimental album featuring a range of eclectic collaborators, including the guitarist Adrian Belew, producer Alan Moulder, NIN keyboardist Alessandro Cortini and NIN graphic designer Rob Sheridan, among others. The tracks are a series of "spontaneous, impulsive soundtracks to daydreams with no agenda," created within a "self-imposed 10-week time limit."
The move marks another foray from a major artist into the realm of independent music-making and releasing without the aid of a record label. Like Radiohead, which left EMI Records and offered its new album "In Rainbows" for free over the Web, Reznor recently left his label, TVT. (That label subsequently filed for bankruptcy.) And also like Radiohead, Reznor is offering a tiered pricing structure for his work.
Fans can download the nine tracks of "Ghosts I," along with a 40-page PDF file and goodies such as wallpapers and icons, for free. All 36 tracks of "Ghosts I-IV," are available for $5. Physical editions include a $10 two-disc set, a $75 version with a DVD and hardcover book, and a $300 "Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition Package," signed and numbered by Reznor, that adds four vinyl discs. There's also a $39 vinyl-only package to be released April 8.
"More volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the future," according to a press release.
PHOTO: Trent Reznor, EOnline.com.