SoundTempest

Industrial rock/electronic group Nine Inch Nails has just announced the release of their new album, Ghosts I-IV, and are using a multi-faceted model of distribution to get the release to fans.

Much like Radiohead’s In Rainbows, or the Trent Reznor & Saul Williams collaboration The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!, Ghosts is available in high-quality, DRM-free MP3 format for only $5 via the band’s website. The download comes with a PDF of additional content. Fans can also pick up about 1/4 of the album (which has 36 tracks total) as a free download. However, these are not the only available purchase options.

A physical two-CD set with 16-page booklet and immediate digital download will start shipping April 8th of this year for $10. The “deluxe edition”, which sells for $75, includes a hardcover fabric slipcase, a data DVD with all songs in multi-track format, and a high-def Blu-Ray audio disc; however, it will not ship until May 1. Lastly, an “ultra-deluxe limited edition” can be had for $300: only 2,500 copies will be made (shipped on May 1), but each comes with a set of vinyl LPs and Giclee prints, and is personally signed and numbered by Reznor.

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Trent Reznor did not make secret his disappointment with how the Radiohead approach to NiggyTardust turned out. Sales were not as high as he had hoped - too many people went for the “free” option. It seems that he has adjusted his approach for his own personal album release, and I think that this new model is absolutely right on the mark.

I actually tried a “pay what you want” system for the release of my EP, The World Circuit. I told fans on my mailing list that they could Paypal me any dollar amount ($7.99 being the “list price”.) Most people paid the list price, some people paid more, a few people paid far more (over 2x), and a decent amount paid nothing. In the end, the average price paid was around $6.40. While it would not be wise to take the results of this experiment as scientific and representative of how any given fans of any band would act, they are still interesting.

NIN’s new approach makes more sense. Offering 1/4 of the album for free is a great way to hook people, and a $5 download is a great value for many people who may only be casually interested. By also selling products at $10, $75, and $300, Reznor is taking advantage of the fact that some fans are more dedicated and have more money than others. Maybe 90% of fans aren’t willing to pay more than $10 for a CD, but if one only sells a CD for $10, they are not taking advantage of the remaining 10% of fans that would pay more.

Of course, it’s not really “taking advantage” of fans in the negative sense, because the more expensive versions of the album come with more value. $5 more than the digital download gets you two physical CDs and a nice booklet. $70 more and you’ve got a deluxe package that some fans would really love. Everyone wins.

I am hoping that more bands will use this type of model when selling their music. It doesn’t devalue music, which offering it for free can, but at the same time appeals to people not willing to pay the standard “list price.” It should be interesting to see how other artists react to this development.