Music Archive

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Trent Reznor Makes A Nice Chunk Of Change From “Ghosts”

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on March 13, 2008Posted in: Music, Music Industry

trent reznor money hat
The Nine Inch Nails camp has reported that first week cumulative sales of all “Ghosts I-IV” SKU’s have totaled 781,987 units with total revenues of $1,619,420.

A pretty good haul for our buddy Trent if I don’t say so myself.

If we google first week CD sales numbers for the last three Nine Inch Nails records, (Year Zero, With Teeth, The Fragile) we can see that they each sold between 200,000-300,000 copies. (Apologies for not having exact numbers, my SoundScan access expired) Already an impressive feat for Ghosts as its first week numbers almost triple any one of the previous records.

“But what about the free downloads skewing the numbers?” you may ask.

At the end of the day, what matters most to the artist? Money. Ghosts‘ $1.6 million take goes ALL to Nine Inch Nails (yes, then they have to pay for bandwidth, manufacturing, distribution, and whatnot). Contrast that with the horrid cuts that major label contracts give to an artist on CD sales (normally $1-$2 per record sold, not including advance repayments). Say Trent made $2 per record for one of his last 3 records. At an average of 250,000 copies sold, he would take in $500,000 from first week sales. That’s almost one-third what he’s pulling in now from Ghosts!

If you were a major artist, which way would you want to sell your record?

Granted, time will tell if Ghosts will have staying power and continue to take in revenue. A big chunk of that $1.6 million was due to the $750,000 from the “ultra limited edition” that will never be sold again. However, my intuition tells me that the costs in recording this latest all-instrumental album were much less than a traditional nin album and that Trent probably already has a good return on his investment already.

It’ll be interesting to see how this model works with other artists or even a “real” Nine Inch Nails album. But from the looks of things, Trent is onto something here.

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Chad Kroeger Is Who We Thought He Was

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on March 10, 2008Posted in: Music

dlisted reports that Chad Kroeger of Nickelback fame revealed in an interview with Playboy that he can and has indeed sucked his own dick for a case of beer.

It is of my firm belief that Chad and Scott Stapp have an ongoing potty competition going on with each other. It’s the only rational explanation for this.

Your move, Scott.

Read about Chad’s “talent” [sun.co.uk]

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Trent Reznor Releases New Nine Inch Nails Album, Ghosts I-IV, Available Now For Free*

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on March 2, 2008Posted in: Music
*The first fourth is free

Out of NOWHERE, Nine Inch Nails have released their new album available right this second from the nin website.

Trent Reznor shows again why he’s the most innovative artist today in pioneering new business models for music. The album, a 36-track instrumental album collection called Ghosts I-IV, is available via six different SKU’s, from free to $300. The album is even released under the Creative Commons License, solving the earlier issues he had when trying to hold remix contests with fans.

From the press release:

FREE DOWNLOAD Ghosts I – The first 9 tracks from the Ghosts I-IV collection available as high-quality DRM-free MP3s (320kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged) including complete 40 page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack – various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.
$5 DOWNLOAD Ghosts I-IV – All 36 tracks in a variety of DRM-free digital formats (320 kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged; FLAC Lossless; Apple Lossless) including a 40 page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack – various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc. This version is also available from the Amazon MP3 store.
$10 2XCD SET Ghosts I-IV – 2 audio CDs in a gatefold digipak package with a 16-page booklet. To be shipped TBD. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in same choice of formats as $5 Download option. Download will include the 40 page PDF and the digital extras pack – various wallpapers, cons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc. This configuration will be released to retail in North America (April 8), Australia (April 5), the UK (April 8), Japan (April 5) and most European territories (April 8).
$75 LIMITED EDITION DELUXE PACKAGE Ghosts I-IV – Hardcover book holding 2 audio CDs, 1 data DVD of all 36 tracks in multi-track format (in .wav files readable by Mac and Windows), and Blu-ray disc featuring stereo recordings in high-definition 24 bit 96Khz with exclusive slide show. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in all formats and with all extras mentioned above. Also includes 48-page hardcover of photographs by Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan. Discs and art book both housed in fabric slipcover.
$300 ULTRA-DELUXE LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE Ghosts I-IV – Contains all elements from deluxe package, along with exclusive 4XLP 180-gram vinyl set, and two limited edition Giclee prints available exclusively in this package. Disc book, art book, and prints are all housed in a fabric slipcover. 4XLP vinyl set comes in its own fabric slipcover. INCLUDES immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in all formats and with all extras mentioned above. LIMITED TO 2500 PIECES, NUMBERED AND PERSONALLY SIGNED BY TRENT REZNOR.
$39 4-vinyl version will be available at retail April 8.

Brilliant. Trent’s definitely learned from the Saul Williams experiment.

By creating a tiered distribution model, Reznor satisfies different level of consumers with aplomb. He gets the mass-market/non-fans with the free 25% of the album. If they like the music, buying the entire album digitally is a very reasonable $5 investment. If they don’t like it, not as much bandwidth is wasted on them as giving away the entire album. It also creates a bigger incentive for people to pay up. For people who want a badge of honor/lossless recording/CD for the car a 2 CD set is only $10. While it’ll be a little bit before they ship, they still get the instant gratification of a digital download along with digital art bonuses. For the true audiophiles/remix artists/fans, the $75 edition has every possible file format (including Blu-ray!) you could want along with a nice hard art-package. Finally, for the extreme fans/collectors, he’s got a truly unique limited edition offer. Hell, there’s even a vinyl version if you’re a record snob/Bob Lefsetz.

Combining digital with physical offerings in affordable options makes too much sense. It’s a wonder no one hasn’t done it before. To top it off, there was no “street date” with this release. A new NIN album was a given, but no one had any idea it would be this quick and this sudden. The usual process of leading with a radio single, announcing dates and “building hype” is completely shattered. Taking a cue from Steve Jobs at Apple, Reznor announces and distributes AT THE SAME TIME. What an idea! Why the fuck won’t more artists/labels see this? Nothing is more annoying to a fan than seeing/hearing new material from their favorite artists and not being able to buy/consume it the second it comes out.

The only blemish on this release thus far is that the webstore seems to be absolutely hammered to hell right now. I can barely load the page, much less buy or download anything. Did we not learn anything from the In Rainbows initial fiasco?

Discounting the technical difficulties, though, this, my friends, is how it is done. It doesn’t even matter if the music sucks, I wouldn’t want to buy music from my favorite artists any other way from now on.

Read the full press release after the jump

Buy/Download Ghosts I-IV [ghosts.nin.com]

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What I’m Listening To (February ’08 Edition)

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 27, 2008Posted in: Music, Music Picks, Reviews

It’s that time of the month again. Here are my top 5 favorite records I’ve been listening to in February.

The Airborne Toxic Event – ?

http://www.myspace.com/theairbornetoxicevent

Track to start with: Sometime Around Midnight

If there’s one song you listen to all month, make it The Airborne Toxic Event’s Sometime Around Midnight. It’s been on repeat on my Winamp ever since I bought it off Amazon the other week. Sometime Around Midnight starts off with a symphonic string melody that fades into a soft guitar introduction. As the vocals and percussion come in, the song gradually builds a crescendo of sound into an intense, almost Arcade Fire – Intervention-like swell into head bobbing, belt-it-out bliss.

No, the album isn’t called “?”, the title just hasn’t been revealed yet. This Los Angeles quintet’s quickly garnered a lot of buzz recently amongst show-goers and local radio stations. Singer Mikel Jollet, has a smooth baritone voice that reminds you a fair bit of Morrissey with a splash of Win Butler intensity in there to keep you in check. Only four recorded studio songs have been released thus far and they showcase the band’s spectrum of sounds, from Franz Ferdinand-like danceability on “Does This Mean You’re Moving On?” to contemplative melodies (“Wishing Well”) to simply… epic (“Sometime Around Midnight”).

Operator Please – Yes Yes Vindictive [AU Import]

http://www.myspace.com/operatorplease

Track to start with: Just A Song About Ping Pong

Five-piece band from Australia, these kids are lots of fun. Operator Please takes the exuberance of The Go! Team and focuses it with the brattiness of The Donnas and the confidence of Shirley Manson.

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Prodigy From Mobb Deep Is A Trend Setter

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 27, 2008Posted in: Internet Phenomena, Music

I saw over on Nah Right that Prodigy’s latest blog post delineates in exquisite detail his numerous contributions to the rap community.

A few of my favorites:

#2 RAPPING WORDS THAT DONT ALWAYS RHYME

#12 PROTOOLS,,,,STARTED USING IT IN 98

#19 WEB SITES, I HAD INFAMOUSSTORES.COM AND WAS WRITING BLOGS BACK IN 99 LONG BEFORE IT BECAME POPULAR IN HIP HOP TO HAVE A WEB SITE.

#23 MAKING EXPOSING THE ILLUMINATI, SECRET GOVERNMENT AND HIDDEN TRUTHS THAT NEW HOT SHIT…

#26 I COULD JUST KEEP GOING BUT NOW I’M TIRED… HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY TREND SETTING, LOOK AT WHAT I BRING TO THE TABLE.

For what it’s worth, P, I have never ever questioned your trend setting. You bring to the table a delicious feast of fresh and innovative actions that define the zeitgeist of the 21st century.

(Full list after the jump)

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The Music Industry, It’s FANNNNNNTASTIC! [Rock On]

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 12, 2008Posted in: Books, Music, Reviews

Did you know the average American reads 1-4 books a year?*Given that I probably read 0-1 books last year (but probably 20,000 blog posts), one of my resolutions for 2008 was to read more books. In my quest to defeat mediocrity, I’ve conquered a few books in the past few weeks, most recently Dan Kennedy’s new music industry bio, Rock On: An Office Power Ballad.

The book is not so much a biography of Kennedy’s life as a whole, but a snapshot into the 18 months of his life as a creative video marketer for Atlantic Records circa 2002. Having never worked in the industry before, Kennedy’s perspective as an outsider depicts an industry of excess, complacency, and hilarity. In fact, many of his initial encounters mirrored my own initial impressions when I started working in music. The internal monologue of “Oh shit I am standing next to (insert big name music star here)! Pleaseletmesaysomethingnaturalbecoolbecool” that he writes is spot on with how I reacted when I was a wide-eyed initiate in the music industry. A lot of the humor comes from Kennedy’s written “thoughts” and they had me lol’ing in my chair quite a few times.

There’s not much of a coherent plot, but that’s fine. Rock On is basically a collection of anecdotes from Kennedy’s tenure at Atlantic. If you’ve never worked in the business before, it’s an eye opening tale about just how ridiculous the inner workings of the industry are. You have executives in corner offices who don’t even show up to work because the whole reason they have their jobs is because they signed a big artist 25 years ago and have been riding the coattails ever since. $50,000 office desks, fat expense accounts, cluelessness, artist hypocrisy, two and a half hour lunches, corporate sycophants, high employment turnover are all things you’ll read about. All that glamor, glitz, coolness that you’ve attributed to the music industry in your mind is brought crashing down to earth in what amounts to an episode of The Office.

The funny thing is, everything Kennedy writes about working at a major label seemed natural to me at the time. In fact, I probably had less of a jaw-dropping reaction to a lot of the anecdotes than most people will when reading the book. If you’ve worked in music before, you’ll know what I mean. Nevertheless, Rock On was a very entertaining book that I read in two sittings one day. Recommended if you like music and/or office humor.

Buy Rock On from Amazon.com


*statistics are from googling “the average american reads how many books a year” and checking out what the first page gave me

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Audiosurf Releases Friday On Steam

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 11, 2008Posted in: Music, Video Games

When I heard Audiosurf would be coming out in February, I just kinda assumed it was going to be the end of the month because that’s usually how these things work.

Au contraire, mon frère.

I just got word that Audiosurf releases on Steam this Friday for only $9.95 ($8.95 if you pre order it before then). A demo will also be released if you’re undecided on getting it. If you missed the boat on this game, read my recent Indie Game Spotlight on it.

To sweeten the deal even more, the game comes with the soundtrack to Valve’s Orange Box, including the lovable Portal credits song, “Still Alive.” On top of this, the game also has achievements as one of the first titles to take advantage of Valve’s new Steamworks package.

Support great indie developers and affordable digital distribution!

Excuse me while i fire up Steam to preorder it.

Audiosurf on Steam [steampowered.com]

Audio-surf.com

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What’s Wrong With This Heidi Montag Video?

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 6, 2008Posted in: Internet Phenomena, Music



A nummy Twix bar to you if you can spot what’s wrong with the above video for Heidi Montag’s new song “Body Language”.

(answer after the jump)

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Bob Lefsetz Thrusted His Arm At U2 3D

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 5, 2008Posted in: Movies, Music

Music industry hyperbole-sensei, Bob Lefsetz viewed the new U2 3D movie on IMAX recently and has wasted no time in imparting his CAPS LOCK LADEN opinion to loyal Lefsetz Letter readers.

Don’t go to the Website, don’t watch the trailer, stop reading this right now and get your ass to the THEATRE!

Apparently he enjoyed it.  So much so that he did what is quite possibly the pottiest thing a human can do at a movie theater:

I thrust my arm in the air and sang along even though Felice and I were the only people in the theatre!

Much love to Felice who was probably shaking her head at lil’ Bobby.

That being said, I’ve viewed the film myself and I must say it was simply amazing.  3D films have an unfair stigma of being cheesy/corny/gimmicky, but this film is certainly none of those things.  It’s the closest experience to actually being at a live music concert.  Now, that may seem like a trite statement, but I mean it in full earnest.  The 3D effects in the film are tastefully done, so much so that you almost don’t even notice them there.  It just feels natural.  Yet you’ve never experienced something like it before.  That, my friends, is a true mark of innovation.

I’ve seen U2 four times and each time I waited 8 hours in front of the venue in order to get a prime spot in the pit for the show.  Does the movie match that experience of the concert?  Of course not, there’s just no way to replicate the vibe, the intensity, the MUSIC of being there in person.  But you could argue the experience of the movie might exceed that of being in the nosebleed seats, and Lefsetz, in fact, does mention this.  I got goosebumps and chills while viewing the movie as if I was at a real U2 show.

While I can’t bring myself to slather on anymore hyperbole, I will say that Lefsetz is right about this one.  Whether or not you like U2, do yourself a favor and go see this film.  You won’t regret it.

Read Lefsetz on U2 3D [lefsetz.com]

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Benn Jordan Infringes His Own Label’s Copyrights

By
Andy Yen
– Posted on February 2, 2008Posted in: Articles, Music

So the hip thing to do these days is releasing your album for free online and operate on a “pay if you like it” business model. But what if you’re not a big, established artist (Radiohead, Trent Reznor, etc.) with the moneyhats to pay for bandwidth and other digital distribution costs?

You pirate your own music.

At least, that’s what Benn Jordan (aka The Flashbulb) has done with his newest album, Soundtrack to a Vacant Life. Jordan’s taken the liberty of uploading his own album to a couple of torrent trackers, including renowned oink “replacement”, what.cd.

Why did he do this? According to his blog:

Well, they’ll be there in 24 hours anyway, and this way I can:
1. Be sure that people aren’t getting fakes.
2. Be sure that people aren’t getting bad rips (soooo many people have asked me about the “static track” on M³)
3. Be sure that people know where they can buy the album, or, “donate” to the artist by including an html file with a personal message.

Benn’s reasons certainly make sense from a practical standpoint. Any new album is going to find its way onto these torrent trackers soon after release, it’s just inevitable. And having information on how to buy the album from sanctioned sources is certainly better than having no information at all when your music is pirated. But is this a good business move for his fledgling record label?

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