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The Inevitable Rise And Liberation Of NiggyTardust! (view source)
Revision as of 15:25, 4 January 2008
, 15:25, 4 January 2008no edit summary
The album was released at 1am Eastern Time on November 1st 2007, with the abilty to preorder. People are given the option to either "directly support the artists involved in the creation of this music" by making a $5 donation or to download the album for free. If you choose to pay for the record, you are able to download in 192kbps MP3, 320kbps MP3 or FLAC lossless audio. If you download for free you recieve the album in 192Kbps MP3 format. All versions include a PDF with artwork and lyrics, and "all files are 100% DRM free, and can be played on any device. MP3s are encoded with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAME LAME v3.97] and love". The choice of distribution method garnered much attention and praise from the online community and was reported on by many websites. The number of downloads have not been released so it is unknown how many people downloaded or paid money for it, though Reznor said the following [http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071104/music_nm/reznor_dc;_ylt=Ah61sxYfjTC2yg7q1jy.z5xxFb8C in an interview]: "We do know the presale numbers, but we are keeping them a secret."
On NIN's official [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=11794012 MySpace ] and [http://www.youtube.com/ninofficial YouTube ] pages, a mysterious clip was uploaded with a black man (probably Saul Williams dressed as NiggyTardust) sitting on a chair. The video was probably uploaded for promotional purposes.
==Trent Reznor on ''Niggy Tardust''==
* Graphics and Layout by [[Rob Sheridan]]
* Sonic Torment: Saul Williams, Trent Reznor, [[CX Kidtronik]], [[Thavius Beck]], [[Atticus Ross]], [[Alan Moulder]]
==Saul follow-up and facts==
The following was posted on [[nin.com]] on 03 January 2008:
It's a strange time to be an artist in the recording business. It's pretty easy to see what NOT to do
these days, but less obvious to know what's right. As I find myself free from the bloated bureaucracy
of major labels, finally able to do whatever I want... well, what is that? What is the "right" way to
release records, treat your music and your audience with respect and attempt to make a living as
well? I have a number of musician friends who are either in a similar situation or feel they soon
will be, and it's a real source of anxiety and uncertainty.
I'd like to share my experience releasing Saul Williams' "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of
NiggyTardust" and what I've learned from the process. Perhaps by revealing of all our data - our
"dirty laundry" - we can contribute to a better solution.
A quick history: Saul makes a great record that I produce. We can't find the right home at a major
label. We decide to release it ourselves, digitally. Saul does not have limitless financial resources
so we shop around for a company that can fulfill our needs. We choose Musicane because they are
competent and are willing to adapt to what we want. The results are here: [http://niggytardust.com/ niggytardust.com]
We offer the entire record free (as in totally free to the visitor - we pay bandwidth costs) as 192
MP3s, or for $5 you can choose higher fidelity versions and feel good about supporting the artist
directly. We offer all major CCs and PayPal as payment options.
Here's what I was thinking: Fans are interested in music as soon as it's available (that's a good
thing, remember) and usually that's a leak from the label's manufacturing plants. Offering the record
digitally as its first appearance in the marketplace eliminates that problem. I thought if you
offered the whole record free at reasonable quality - no strings attached - and offered a hassle free
way to show support that clearly goes straight to the artists who made it at an unquestionably low
price people would "do the right thing". I know, I know...
Well, now I DO know and you will too.
Saul's previous record was released in 2004 and has sold 33,897 copies.
As of 1/2/08,
154,449 people chose to download Saul's new record.
28,322 of those people chose to pay $5 for it, meaning:
18.3% chose to pay.
Of those paying,
3220 chose 192kbps MP3
19,764 chose 320kbps MP3
5338 chose FLAC
Keep in mind not one cent was spent on marketing this record. The only marketing was Saul and myself
talking as loudly as we could to anybody that would listen.
If 33,897 people went out and bought Saul's last record 3 years ago (when more people bought CDs) and
over 150K - five times as many - sought out this new record, that's great - right?
I have to assume the people knowing about this project must either be primarily Saul or NIN fans, as
there was very little media coverage outside our direct influence. If that assumption is correct -
that most of the people that chose to download Saul's record came from his or my own fan-base - is it
good news that less than one in five feel it was worth $5? I'm not sure what I was expecting but that
percentage - primarily from fans - seems disheartening.
Add to that: we spent too much (correction, I spent too much) making the record utilizing an A-list
team and studio, Musicane fees, an old publishing deal, sample clearance fees, paying to give the
record away (bandwidth costs), and nobody's getting rich off this project.
But...
Saul's music is in more peoples' iPods than ever before and people are interested in him. He'll be
touring throughout the year and we will continue to get the word out however we can.
So - if you're an artist looking to utilize this method of distribution, make of these figures what
you will and hopefully this info is enlightening.
Best,
TR
== External Links ==