[Dixielandjazz] New Trend?

[Stephen G Barbone]

Giving the music away. Wow. Hope this doesn't become the wave of the  
future.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone
www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband

May 6, 2008 - NY TIMES - By Jeff Leeds
Nine Inch Nails Album Is Free Online

In an unusual nod to the popularity of free music online, the rock act  
Nine Inch Nails is offering its new album, “The Slip,” through its Web  
site — for nothing.

In a post on the band’s Web site, www.nin.com, the band’s leader,  
Trent Reznor, said, “Thank you for your continued and loyal support  
over the years — this one’s on me.”

The album, which became available for download just after 3 a.m.  
Eastern time on Monday, appears to represent the first time a  
superstar act has distributed an entire album without any opportunity  
for people to pay for it. Its release comes two months after the band  
issued the instrumental album “Ghosts I-IV” and allowed fans to obtain  
a portion of it for free or the entire recording for $5. Before that,  
the British rock act Radiohead broke with convention by offering its  
2007 album, “In Rainbows,” online under a tip-jar-style setup in which  
people could name their own price — including zero.

Mr. Reznor’s new offer could serve as another test of how the easy  
availability of free music online affects subsequent CD sales and  
other money-making opportunities. “The Slip” will not be sold on CD or  
vinyl until at least July, according to representatives for the band.  
But the free digital version could stoke interest for Nine Inch Nails’  
recently announced concert tour. Already, radio stations have shown  
interest in “Discipline,” a song from “The Slip” that was released  
about two weeks ago.

As with the “Ghosts I-IV,” the new album is being released with a  
Creative Commons license, an unconventional type of intellectual- 
property license that allows the copyright holder to specify which  
rights it does and does not reserve. The band is allowing fans to  
share or remix the music for non-commercial purposes.

The record industry, which has suffered a protracted sales slump, has  
experimented with a handful of ventures built on offering music for  
free while generating revenue from advertising sales. And free music  
is becoming part of many big acts’ publicity campaigns. Last week, the  
British rock act Coldplay, signed to the music giant EMI Group,  
announced that it is offering “Violet Hill,” the first single from its  
upcoming album, for free for a limited time.

Not everyone seems convinced that such giveaways will emerge as much  
more than a promotional gimmick — not even Radiohead’s Thom Yorke. He  
recently told The Hollywood Reporter trade paper that his band’s pay- 
what-you-want offer was a one-time thing. “I don’t think it would have  
the same significance now anyway, if we chose to give something away  
again,” he said. “It was a moment in time.”

But Jim Guerinot, the talent manager whose clients include Nine Inch  
Nails, suggested otherwise. “I think free has been very important for  
a long time,” he said. He noted that Nine Inch Nails itself oversaw  
the leaking of certain tracks from its last major-label album, 2007’s  
“Year Zero,” as part of a reality game designed to excite fans. Since  
the now-independent band controls its own recordings, he added, it can  
“acknowledge what the marketplace is already showing us: free exists  
whether you want to acknowledge it or not. Let’s acknowledge that, use  
it and do something with it.”