Who says music can’t be free while creating value? Think twice, because NiN’s CC-Licensed album, Ghosts I-IV, has been one of the best selling albums of 2008! This while this album could be freely downloaded as Creative Commons release. This is clearly the evidence Creative Commons can cooperate perfectly together with other licensing; while NiN fans could have turned to any file sharing network to download the entire CC-BY-SA album legally.
Ghosts I-IV
Release timetable:
- 2 march 2008: Released without any advertisement or notice
- 4 march 2008: Extra servers were needed to handle the downloads
- 1 week later: 750,000 download and purchase transactions have been reported
- hitting #1 on Billboard’s electronic charts
- 8 april 2008: Physical albums available through double CD & 4 LP set
- 1 may 2008: Deluxe & Ultra Deluxe Limited Editions released
Release differences:
- Ghosts I: free, containing the first 9 tracks (official website | BitTorrent)
- Digital Release (Halo 26): $5, direct download, 40 page PDF book, digital extras, DRM free format.
- Double CD (Halo 26 CD): $10, two audio cd’s and 16 page booklet with access to the Digital Release.
- Vinyl release (Halo 26 V): $39, 4-LP vinyl set (heavy duty vinyl).
- Deluxe Edition (Halo 26 DE): $75, Includes 2 audio cd’s, data DVD with multitrack files, Blu-ray disk with albums in 96khz stereo, slideshow, 48-page hardcover photobook and access to the Digital Release.
- Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition (Halo 26 LE): $300, Includes everything from the Deluxe Edition including the 4-LP set and 2 exclusive limited edition Giclee prints. Limited to 2500 pieces, signed by Trent Reznor. (sold out!)
One of the reasons is that fans understood that purchasing MP3s would directly support the artists they like. Another reason for those sales is because of the extensive features added to the pack. I’ve always been a firm believer the contents create the setting; which they sure did by releasing 4 different physical packages ranging from $10 to $300 for the Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition which is a box with about eight exclusive additional features including two audio cd’s, a data DVD with multitrack files, Blu-ray disk with albums in 96khz, slideshows, 48-page hardcover photobook, direct access to the Digital Release, two limited Giclee prints and signed by the one and only Trent Reznor…
It has generated over $1.6 million in revenue in its first week and has received the critical acclaim and two Grammy nominations; so next time you’ll think Creative Commons hurts sales, think again about NiN! They’ve chosen an alternative distribution method which fits more to the common people, adapting to the new age of digital distribution. Maybe this could be the exact reason the music industry is afraid, of loosing control of the distribution market; because artists are still having troubles combining CC-licensing with draconian exclusive membership deals through their agency.
Thom Yorke, advices in the article about the Real Value of Music, “you don’t sign a huge record contract that strips you of all your digital rights, so that when you sell something on iTunes you get absolutely zero. That would be the first priority. If you’re an emerging artist, it must be frightening at the moment. Then again, I don’t see a downside at all to big record companies not having access to new artists, because they have no idea what to do with them now anyway.” When or how the music industry is going to understand this advice is another task, since the emerging digital distribution market has brought the cat out of the bag, how much our common sense really wants to pay for music…
Reznor explained his move by saying “It’s a stance we’re taking that we feel is appropriate … with digital technology, and outdated copyright laws, and all the nonsense that’s going on these days”. Jim Guerinot, the manager of NiN explained as “a reaction to what doesn’t exist today … It’s more just like, Hey, in a vacuum I can do whatever I want to do.”
NiN has reached two goals, reach those who weren’t familiar with the group by offering an open environment to get in touch with their works and give a reason to those who like the album and like to have more, supporting the artists directly. The Internet Distribution market has opened the last year as like we’ve experienced the .com age before! Aggregrators aid artists getting their album online through Amazon, iTunes, Amiestreet and other major music stores. Using CC-Licensing gave NiN the opportunity to increase the sales of their release.
It would be the ultimate question if this model could work for all, or those who already have their basic fundations set; although; Radiohead did a similar experiment with free downloads in October 2007. Their album, called “In Rainbows” was distributed as DRM free 160kbit MP3 format. Upon purchase, the fan could specify the desired price to buy the album directly through the website. At 3 december 2007 a limited discbox was available through pre-order and on 10 December 2007 the official digital download was no longer available at inrainbows.com. It was Radiohead’s first album available for download through the digital distribution market while it reached no.1 in the first Official U.K. Albums chart of 2008 at billboard. NME reported that “In Rainbows” created more money than their previous album “Hail to the Thief” while a further analysis of this report is available through enough cowbell.
Online distribution is a form of promotion and exposure. The physical distribution market is not alone anymore, forcing the music industry to walk other paths. Create a bling production with all the artworks, inlays, photo’s and other extra’s your fans crave and it will get sold. That’s one of the major reasons, I’ve been releasing my own productions in a similar way, through extra’s complementing the final product; because direct sales support the artist directly! Creative Commons is sure an aid in exposing any (new) artist around the block!
So, Music Industry, especially those who like to be in charge; smell the coffee, wake up! Artists are waiting for alternative ways to promote and distribute their music; getting in the billboard lists; without signing our lives away through exclusive contracts! Where is our support for alternative licensing schemes? It’s 2009 and we want our creative rights back!
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