Nine Inch Nails know how to work the web and they know their fans well. Trent Reznor, with his band had released their latest album, The Slip, officially available online to be downloaded at nin.com.

The band Nine Inch Nails is known for their shenanigans on the web as they promote and distribute their music. Although Radiohead might not wish to repeat their give away stunt, but Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails look like they are embracing this new style of distribution.

They had faked the leak of their tracks on the internet before the actual release of their album Year Zero, part of their viral marketing stun. They release the album Ghost with several versions of it, a totally free version, the pay to download version, physical CD version, CD with extra version and the super-ultra-deluxe version with blu-ray disc. In the past the band also had release a Garage Band version of their tracks, free for other to remix.

This time with their latest album The Slip, they release the entire album all free to download, with several audio format to choose from. You could choose between high-quality MP3 files, FLAC lossless audio, M4A Apple lossless audio or in better-then-CD-quality high definition WAVE format. All DRM free.

The better and higher quality audio file sizes are big. They had choose to use bittorent as a method of distribution. Yes the same bittorent that the record industry is fighting against.

Bittorent is a technology, a tool. It has nothing to do with piracy. Get that straight.

If you are a true Nine Inch Nails fan you might already have The Slip on your playlist. If you had never heard of Nine Inch Nails, download and have a listen, it’s wont cost you anything. This is why this works. When musicians make their work available freely and not being controlled by some big soulless money making corporation, their music could reach more people.

Yes I do think musician could still make mad cash even if they release their entire album free online. Fans who support their musicians will buy the CDs, they collect them. If they are good, people will come to their gigs and concerts. Fans will buy merchandise.

Don’t fight the Internet and file-sharing, those could be your best tool to help you spread your music more.

Nine Inch Nails is doing what artists in the music industry should be doing as their distribution model for years. Nine Inch Nails are one of the few music artists comfortable being on the Internet. Most music artists and their record label companies generally fears the Internet and have being fighting a crusade against it being a distribution medium.

Trent Reznor, the person most people blamed for the web shenanigans Nine Inch Nails have being causing on the Internet lately, have been vocal about his thoughts on record companies and their relationship with musicians. He has been experimenting with alternative methods of getting Nine Inch Nails’ music out directly to its fans, most of the time it involved the use of the Internet.

One example in particular was the previous Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero and the commotion it has caused on the Internet (blogs, forums and digg). It starts with a supposedly leaked track form their new unreleased album, a mp3 file in a thumb drive found by a fan in a bathroom is Lisbon where Nine Inch Nails was performing at that time. Next spectral analysis picture of the track shows an image of a hand. Then a series of strange website starts to pop out. The fans are all over this enjoying every moment as thing gets unveils before them. Nine Inch Nails end up leaking most of its track from Year Zero, free of charge. No doubt this was a elaborate viral marketing plan and a good one..

Apart from that, Nine Inch Nails is the only band that I know which releases multi-track, GarageBand format of their music freely for anybody to remix it. This might be the closest form of ‘open source music’.

Their new album Ghost I-IV is available in a few different package ranging from free to USD$300(which was sold out in just one day). With the free download you get the first 9 track of the total 36 track, available in high-quality, DRM-free MP3s including a complete PDF of some awesome artwork, visuals to complement the music. To download all 36 DRM-free tracks only cost you USD$5. Two CD set with 16 page booklet will cost you USD$10. There is a USD$75 deluxe edition package that offers a hardcover fabric slipcase containing, two audio CDs, 1 data DVD with all 36 tracks in multi-track format, remix it as you like, and a Blu-ray disc with Ghost I-IV in high-definition 96/24 stereo and accompanying slideshows. The USD$300 ultra-deluxe limited edition package is already sold out.

Ghost I-IV music isn’t quite the typical Nine Inch Nails. It is all instrumental tracks put together pretty much sounds like a couple of guys experimenting and having fun in making music. It is obvious that Trent Reznor plays a large role in the sound. Ghost I-IV has a spooky feel, very horror-game-ish, at times feels mystical in certain ways. It’s hard for me to pick a favorite track because the music blends together smoothly that the whole album feels like it one whole long awesome song.

Well Ghost I is free to download, have a listen, may be you can come out with a better description of the music.

Torrent Freak reports that Nine Inch Nails also had released Ghost I full album on Bittorrent.