New (FREE) Album from Nine Inch Nails
May 8th, 2008 by kraftyLadies and gentlemen, we are living in exciting and scary times, and I’m not just referring to American politics or the global warming crisis. As you may have been hearing over the past year now, the music “Industry” is on very rocky terrain. The RIAA is continuing to harass alleged copyright infringers through the colleges they attend, but people (like the state of Oregon and law students in Maine) are beginning to fight back, and with inspiring success. Meanwhile, well known and established artists have been breaking free from the confines of major labels and achieving success independently, something I’m sure more than a few execs are losing sleep over. First we saw Radiohead unleash a veritable earthquake when it released its new album, “In Rainbows,” for a donation of choice on their website, completely bypassing the normal industry channels and practices. Then a few months ago, Nine Inch Nails released their instrumental album, “Ghosts I-IV” on their website for a nominal fee. This was recently followed up with a free download of a new single from a forthcoming album, which they had also distributed themselves to radio stations around the country to do with as they pleased.
Now we have that brand new album from Nine Inch Nails, “The Slip,” available for free download. Released just a few days ago on May 5th, Trent Reznor announced the album with a short post on nin.com: “thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years - this one’s on me.”
I have one word word for all this: awesome.
Its become all too clear over the past decade that the recording industry had become just that: an Industry. Think mechanized assembly lines attended by robotic arms, giant smokestacks billowing pollution into the air, a faceless entity only interested in the bottom line and net profit. Think Ford or GM. Think Phillip Morris. Think Exxon Mobil. This was how our music was being produced by the major labels. The soul had gone completely out of it, and as I’m sure most of can recall, it was all too apparent. Radio, naturally, followed suit.
But, my friends, at last I am optimistic and enthused- it would seem the dinosaur really is being taken down, at least for this stage of the cycle. Real musicians and artists are out there now, empowered with the tools they need to reach their audience directly, doing things on their own terms. This means more money for the true talent, and, hopefully, less garbage from the manufacturers. Independent labels are achieving mainstream success, which means music outside the boundaries of the established genres will continue to thrive and succeed, will continue to excite us and make our hearts and mouths sing.
Things are gloomy in the world, friends, but here at least is something to be happy about. Here is one Goliath being taken down by many Davids, each working independently, striving for different yet similar goals: freedom, autonomy, quality, happiness, fulfillment, and the brushing away of the dark clouds overhead which are constantly threatening rain.
Go check out the new NIN album, “The Slip.” It may not be their best album to date, but what it represents is well worth the listen. And hey, its free.
