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When Trent Reznor released Niggy Tardust, 28,322 paid $5 for it, which was 20% of the total who downloaded the album freely. Were there any other albums he rele

by jmtame 15y ago

When Trent Reznor released Niggy Tardust, 28,322 paid $5 for it, which was 20% of the total who downloaded the album freely. Were there any other albums he released for $5? Granted, this was Saul Williams' album and Trent appeared on it; it wasn't a Halo album.

syeren 15y ago
GHOSTS I-IV (Halo 26) and The Slip (Halo 27) were both hugely successful.
- jmtame 15y ago
  I forgot he released those in that format, and you're right; he really hit some impressive numbers with that experiment: "A week after the album's release, the official Nine Inch Nails site reported over 750,000 purchase and download transactions, amassing over $1.6 million in sales." (Ghosts I-IV)
  - dillona 15y ago
    I bought both Ghosts I-IV and The Slip. I also spent $300 on the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo soundtrack that he put out last week. And I downloaded Niggy Tardust for free. I did this because I had never heard Saul Williams and wanted to support an artist who I had never heard of. But after listening to it, I honestly just didn't like it, so I did not go back and buy it. I wonder how many people were like me and downloaded it for free because of the experiment and Trent Reznor's involvement but didn't pay because it wasn't their style of music.
omouse 15y ago
Niggy Tardust was a collaboration wasn't it? A lot of people probably downloaded it to see how good it was. However, $141,000 is still a hefty amount. It would be nice if it were closer to $700,000 but I think it's good enough to live on and to produce the next album or two?
Fliko 15y ago
Saul Williams has always said he was very happy with the result despite 80% of downloaders taking it for free. Trent made a point later on the nin forum that allowing people to choose how much your product is worth really devalues it, but offering it at a cheap but fair price (say $5) doesn't devalue it. Personally I think the best model is setting a cheap bottom line that people can pay for your product, and letting them pay more if they feel it is worth more (adding extra stuff for the people who pay more is good too, like a physical copy of the CD for people who pay $20). You don't have to use your bandwidth to give it out for free, the pirates will do that and I think it's safe to say that if someone pirates your album they are probably going to turn into a fan (or be turned off).

by jmtame 15y ago

syeren 15y ago

GHOSTS I-IV (Halo 26) and The Slip (Halo 27) were both hugely successful.

jmtame 15y ago
I forgot he released those in that format, and you're right; he really hit some impressive numbers with that experiment: "A week after the album's release, the official Nine Inch Nails site reported over 750,000 purchase and download transactions, amassing over $1.6 million in sales." (Ghosts I-IV)
- dillona 15y ago
  I bought both Ghosts I-IV and The Slip. I also spent $300 on the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo soundtrack that he put out last week. And I downloaded Niggy Tardust for free. I did this because I had never heard Saul Williams and wanted to support an artist who I had never heard of. But after listening to it, I honestly just didn't like it, so I did not go back and buy it. I wonder how many people were like me and downloaded it for free because of the experiment and Trent Reznor's involvement but didn't pay because it wasn't their style of music.

omouse 15y ago

Niggy Tardust was a collaboration wasn't it? A lot of people probably downloaded it to see how good it was. However, $141,000 is still a hefty amount. It would be nice if it were closer to $700,000 but I think it's good enough to live on and to produce the next album or two?

Fliko 15y ago

Saul Williams has always said he was very happy with the result despite 80% of downloaders taking it for free. Trent made a point later on the nin forum that allowing people to choose how much your product is worth really devalues it, but offering it at a cheap but fair price (say $5) doesn't devalue it. Personally I think the best model is setting a cheap bottom line that people can pay for your product, and letting them pay more if they feel it is worth more (adding extra stuff for the people who pay more is good too, like a physical copy of the CD for people who pay $20). You don't have to use your bandwidth to give it out for free, the pirates will do that and I think it's safe to say that if someone pirates your album they are probably going to turn into a fan (or be turned off).