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253 Comments
- blockbot, on 11/01/2007, -1/+105I love this model, creativity should not be hoarded by some suits!
- Morca007, on 11/02/2007, -1/+100Oh my lord, FLAC?
And the mp3's are encoded using LAME 3.97!?
It's as though someone who cares about quality is actually in charge... - hollyminkowski, on 10/30/2007, -0/+80This is what the RIAA is really afraid of.
Want to twist the knife in the RIAA's chest? Then go buy these albums and encourage others to do the same. - BlindSet, on 11/01/2007, -2/+72From "The Spiral"
NiggyTardust!
As many of you know, I've been working closely with Saul Williams on his new record. We've spent many hours together in hotel rooms, busses, backstages and studios around the world working on something we knew was great. This is the most involved I've been with any project outside NIN since Antichrist Superstar, and I've been impatiently waiting for the chance for you to hear it. Well... guess what?
The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! has arrived! After my own recent dealings with record labels we decided to release it directly to you. Head over to http://www.niggytardust.com for all the details. Register now and you can download the record November 1st. Working on this project was a real pleasure. Saul was interested in breaking boundaries / crossing genres / defying expectations and we learned a great deal from one another in the process. When asked about the sound of the record, I've had to resort to "... I really don't know HOW to describe it." That's a good thing more than ever these days.
A word on the way we've chosen to release this. There are obvious similarities in how Radiohead just released their new record and the way we've chosen to. After thinking about this way too much, I feel we've improved upon their idea in a few profound ways that benefit you, the consumer. You obviously will be the judge of this in the end. One thing that IS very different in our situation is that Saul's not the household name (yet!) that Radiohead is, and that means we need your support on this more than ever. If you like what you hear, spread the word.
I hope you enjoy the music,
TR - UncleBadTouch, on 10/30/2007, -0/+34I love seeing more bands cutting out the middle man. They're the creative ones, they deserve the lions share of the profit. Not some corporate douchebag.
- goonsquad3, on 10/30/2007, -1/+33The man himself even gave us a track to sample: http://thepiratebay.org/tor/3858980
I'm really excited for this album! - AndrewDB, on 01/10/2008, -5/+33I've said it before but I'll say it again.. Reznor for President 08, if not President, lets just get him in charge of the RIAA.
- AK10, on 10/29/2007, -0/+27Yes but if an artist was signed to a label which only gives them 15-30 cents per CD sold, and if one in a hundred people pays $15 for the download they are already approaching the same income.
- KentiVarna, on 06/15/2009, -1/+28the scale of the web makes this such an easy decision.
- Frostman3D, on 11/02/2007, -1/+26HAHAHAHAHA ***** YOU RIAA!
You brought this ***** on yourself. - johnnrotten, on 10/29/2007, -1/+25Bravo Trent and Saul. Here's to the future of music and the internet. This model will hopefully be the way of the future for artists and the music consuming public. Hopefully it will demonstrate that yes, an artist can make a living at creating music for a public that is willing to financially support their desire to rock out. For now and forever.
- robszol, on 10/27/2007, -0/+24OK I bought it, $5 is as much as a sandwich at school. I think it may be worth it considering how much I like Trent Reznor. Let's hope it wasn't a waste...but hey it's only $5 right! RIGHT!?
- themostoriginal, on 10/29/2007, -1/+24Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails, he is the only real member. He just assembles a band to play shows when he's on tour.
- chobbney, on 11/01/2007, -1/+24FLAC? Yes!
I'm buying this on principle. - acroyear2, on 10/29/2007, -1/+23I just sent an email to a friend about this upcoming album and he asked me if it's a joke...
sigh - khedges1, on 10/30/2007, -0/+18Basically, this is the musical version of shareware and limited-features demo software. "Pay what you like (or nothing at all); if you want more features (the box-set), we'd love to sell you the full version." The difference between software and music is that downloading free or cheap music helps increse the fanbase.
The fanbase-growth effect also applies to the comic industry. A few years ago, Phil and Kaja Foglio could barely make ends meet self-publishing their quarterly "gaslamp fantasy" comic Girl Genius. (They're self-publishing because they want to tell their story their way, without interference from publishing executives.) Then they put Girl Genius on the Internet as a webcomic (http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php), and published only the annual graphic-novel compilations. (They sell cool swag, too.) Now they've expanded their readership from 9,000 readers to over 100,000 and are making FIVE TIMES as much money. (They just gave a full presentation on this at the annual ACM computing conference, which is my source for the numbers.)
Although the Foglios' work is beautifully-crafted and unique, and they've won awards from the industry, they certainly don't have the name recognition of Radiohead (or Trent Reznor). So it isn't about being famous and everyone knowing what to expect. Fans introduce friends to the online comic, and consistent quality with reliable MWF updates hooks them. I don't know how many people just read the free webcomic, but a lot more fans are buying the "dead-trees" collections to get a better reading experience than pixels on a monitor. (They even have fancy hard-cover versions.)
I don't see why it wouldn't work for bands who play good music but aren't necessarily famous, or are just well-known in their hometown. Bands can also make money touring, and people are likelier to buy tickets if they're already fans. So I think this new music publishing strategy has a good chance of working for any band that plays good music, even if they're fairly obscure... for now.
I'm not sure if I'd like this album, but I'm tempted to pay $5 just to support the new model and stick it to the RIAA. - Travisty2012, on 10/31/2007, -2/+18How do you pirate something that is available for free? Plus, their website was pounded and hard to get to the first couple of days. I'm sure people used BitTorrent as it was the quickest way for them to get it. Plus, Radiohead said to pay what you thought it was worth. How the hell am I suppose to form an opinion of what it is worth before I hear it? How about I get it from BitTorrent, listen to it, then go to the site and pay them what I thought it was worth and download it again after the servers had a chance to recover...
- HeathInk, on 10/29/2007, -1/+18Word is 1.2million over 48hrs - all at an average of 1 pound a pop. I'd call that a success.
- neckfire, on 10/27/2007, -0/+15And love... Don't forget the love.
- HeathInk, on 10/27/2007, -1/+15There's some truth to that - however social networking sites like myspace and last.fm have made it so much easier for independent or new & unsigned artists to find an audience, and for audiences to discover more diverse and international flavours.
- noots, on 10/26/2007, -1/+15all that needs to be done now is to create the right mindset for internet users. We all know "technically savvy" people understand the consequences of this method, but less computer illiterate people will just see it as an advantage to get some free music.
It needs to be drummed into people that this cause is worth "fighting" for and that it should be an unwritten law that if you actually like the music after downloading it, give the artist a few bucks. - andregriffin, on 10/27/2007, -1/+15Already pre-ordered. I love saul williams, and an album of his that is mainly produced by trent reznor will be epic.
- MonkCanatella, on 10/27/2007, -6/+20Buried as innaccurate. They're not following in Radiohead's footsteps. It's the other way around.
- Jibberwalk, on 10/27/2007, -1/+14I always assumed RIAA employees would be more mature than that.
- Dorepoll, on 10/27/2007, -0/+13Black person rapping does not equal gangsta rap.
- zdislaw, on 10/27/2007, -0/+13A couple of ways that I noticed:
1. The purchasing process is more straightforward and not as irritatingly designed
2. The songs are encoded at a much higher quality - Livebold, on 02/20/2008, -0/+12Saul Williams is the real deal guys. If you have never heard him read his poetry then you are missing out. He is a geniune diamon in a sea of cz's. Get this album.
- Ignitedude, on 10/27/2007, -0/+12Trent sure knows what he's doing, and man are some record industry types going to be spitting bile.
- neckfire, on 11/02/2007, -0/+12Mmmm.... this is how I want to get my music- lossless FLAC . Plus it makes me feel like I just snapped a vertebrae or two when I stepped on the record industries neck. $30 cd's my ass.
- WaterDragon, on 10/27/2007, -2/+14The title of this article should have been:
Musician who wrote "...I wanna f**k you like an animal" makes the RIAA into his Bitch! - WaterDragon, on 11/02/2007, -0/+11Some people will pay. Not everybody is a cheap-ass slacker who doesn't like the musicians they listen to :-)
- kmotiv1, on 10/27/2007, -0/+11Everyone who is always complaining about the RIAA:
This is our chance to actually make a difference. Show them that we do not need them anymore. Make this album a commercial success. - TomP, on 10/29/2007, -1/+12Just bought it for $5 :D
- WaterDragon, on 10/30/2007, -1/+11YEAH! TWIIIIISSSSSTTT IT!
- TransmitThis, on 11/02/2007, -0/+10will order it for Free (mp3)
have a listen and then if its good I will be going for the Flack version @$5 - result - JoeVet, on 10/26/2007, -0/+9FLAC losses. He's improved the concept by making the full sound available, not just a lower bitrate sample.
- inactive, on 10/26/2007, -0/+8Why's that?
- burnsdr, on 10/27/2007, -0/+8RTFA? Not only will it be available in "poor quality MP3" it will also be available in FLAC which is competely lossless. It will also come with a PDF with the cover art/linear notes.
- La9os, on 10/27/2007, -0/+7im willing to bet you paid $0 for radio heads album too.
- Araxen, on 10/27/2007, -0/+7It's only $5 you cheap *****.
- Philter, on 10/27/2007, -0/+7Either way it's likely more money going straight to the artist than if it had gone through a label.
- daedalus1982, on 10/28/2007, -0/+7thank you for putting succinctly something i was afraid i'd mangle. dugg, /signed, and qft my friend
- burnsdr, on 11/02/2007, -1/+8Grow the ***** up. Yeah, it was really cool when I was 15 to talk about how "rap=crap! lulz" but get some culture, PLEASE. There are talented rappers. It DOES take talent to produce a record. It DOES take talent to make beats. Lyrical flow is something that is hard to accomplish, and there are even some rappers out there that have something to say and instead of writing commentary or writing poetry, they do it through rap. There are ***** rappers out there without a doubt...D4L, I'm looking right at you. However if you expand your horizons a little and open up your mind a bit, you may find that you can at the very least respect it as an artform and maybe, just maybe, you might even *gasp* like it?!
- diffraction, on 10/26/2007, -0/+7Certain genres of music will do better than others on the internet.
- alertdamasses, on 10/26/2007, -0/+7I'm so happy to be a fan of both these artists. They are both valued voices. Music Revolution here we go!
- SpencerMc, on 10/27/2007, -0/+6From the website info section:
"My Dearest Friends and Fans,
It is my greatest honor to present to you The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!,
my new album produced by Trent Reznor and mixed by Alan Moulder. The wall of sound that we've created is tagged with such graffiti that a passerby would seek out doors and ways to ENTER. Once inside a world defined by dreams come true they'd find aligned with the simplest act of sharing what we treasure. Most people aren't aware of the world of art and commerce where exploitation strips each artist down to *****. Each label, like apartheid, multiplies us by our divide and whips us 'til we conform to lesser figures. What falls between the cracks is a pile of records stacked to the heights of talents hidden from the sun. Yet the energy they put into popularizing smut makes a star of a shiny polished gun. The ballot or the bullet for Mohawk or the mullet is a choice between new times and dying days. And the only way to choose is to jump ship from old truths and trust dolphins as we swim through changing ways. The ways of middlemen proves to be just a passing trend. We need no priests to talk to God. No phone to call her. And when you click the link below, i think it fair that you should know that your purchase will make middlemen much poorer...
NiggyTardust!
love,
Saul"
He made a simple letter explaining the business model into a beautiful lyrical piece. I'll be checking this album out based solely on this. - DangerMouse9, on 10/27/2007, -0/+6Oh yes, because running a conglomerate of corporations would give him enough time to create music.
If you want to change the RIAA, boycott them. Get rid of your MTV channels and VH1 channels and any other music channel. Get your friends to do the same. And by boycotting them, that means not downloading ANY of their music or buying any of their music used.
Stick with your convictions, don't condemn them then turn around and download their music. - azprofessional, on 10/27/2007, -0/+6Saul Williams raps about political upheaval and rights. If you got gangster rap out of that you are a 100% dumb as a post.
- TheDreadDiggerD, on 10/26/2007, -0/+5Don't worry, they don't mind "loosing" your money. You need to spend it on education.
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