Nine Inch Nails the Latest Artist to Give It Away for Free

3 Comments

1. jenifer
   Mar 03, 2008 @ 14:32:40

   Just an FYI – You can get the first 9 tracks of this album for free, but if you want all 36 tracks it’s running $5. Still an incredible bargain if you like their music, but the entire album isn’t free.

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2. jmc
   Mar 03, 2008 @ 14:57:57

   I think Radiohead something similar to this a while back when they released In Rainbows independently. Their new album was free to download, with the hope that users pay by the honor system, paying what they thought the value was. My sister (who follows the music industry) reported back that the average amount “paid” was a relatively low amount, less than the average CD price. She wasn’t sure if it garnered new fans, or if it bolstered CD sales when the hard copy CD was available (1/1/08), or if it sold more concert tickets.

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3. jmc
   Mar 05, 2008 @ 16:51:05

   From my sister, who went for the $10 download (which includes two cds upon release in April):

   Holy shit, all 2500 of the limited edition box sets (which go for $300!) sold out! The $75 package includes the CDs, data DVD, BluRay with songs and slideshow, and artwork. What does the “ultra deluxe” package have?

   I don’t have any way to gage NIN fans, so it’s not clear to me if the “free” download sold more albums or not.

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