Inazuma Kick!

Nine Inch Nails has been one of my favorite bands for around 2 years now. Trent Reznor (the bands’ founding member) is one of my musical idols, and I admire him greatly. Around half a year ago(?) Nine Inch Nails left their record label, Interscope(a subsidiary of Universal), and decided to release their music independently. They pretty much said that they were sick of the corporate monster ripping off NIN fans. For a long time, Trent has been a opponent of intellectual property laws such as the DMCA and has often encouraged the sharing of Nine Inch Nails’ music on the internet. For example, during the holiday season of 2006, he leaked the NIN live dvd Closure through The Pirate Bay, and posted on his blog “Happy Holidays! This one is a guilt-free download. (shhhh - I didn’t say that out loud).”

Well, lucky for us, Nine Inch Nails has done it again! Now free of their oppressive record label, they have self-released their newest album, The Slip; for free. You can get the album in a variety of file formats, ranging from an 80 megabyte mp3 file to a 1gb+ WAV file. Of course, those who wish to purchase a CD will be able to sometime in July. I think I will purchase a physical CD; both for collector’s sake and because I believe in supporting artists I love. I think it’s really great that they are giving both their fans and the first-timers a chance to choose whether to buy or not. Also, because they are self releasing the album, I am more confident that my buying the album is actually supporting the artist, and not just adding money to the pocket of some greedy CEO. Massive brownie points for Nine Inch Nails!

Oh yes, and before I forget: NIN also announced a new tour. I’ll be there on the 5th of september, no doubt!