Trent Reznor is fucking awesome!! He has created something truly genious and inspiring. He will always be the best musician and artist to me.
The slip was an amazing CD, and i was so happy when my fiance bought it for me for christmas!!
I was unaware that it was downloadable for the cheap price of NOTHING!!

em i wanna end the trent is jealous of radiohead myth,during an interview he quoted some of the music he liked and included was radiohead.

Cant wait until “Chinese Democracy” comes and nobody buys it and they are FORCED to give it away for free

If Rolling Stone Magazine does not give Trent the Cover this year I will no longer subscribe to rolling stone. Period!

Thanks Trent! Nice to see stars thanking their fans and meaning it in such a way. That is very groovy.

At the of the 1990’s dutch band seanpenn put their music online for free. before anybody did!! so hail to the dutch!

1. Trent sings plenty good. This is rock; whether you like it or not, overall delivery often counts for a lot more, in general, that having a pristine, cultured voice. There’s plenty of rock hits out there where obviously even people with final say over the record produced - who were NOT the artist - didn’t even try to tune up or fix colossal blunders of people who sing worse than Trent with a cold.

2. Nice to see some people finally acknowledging that the reason Trent is popular is because his hits are POP… and not industrial, despite the cool noisy underpinnings of a lot of the stuff.

3. It is becoming obvious that the new best way to get your music to people is to just give it to everybody who has ears and wants to hear it. The problem is going to be, how are the people who can’t play a zillion shows a year, or giant arenas, going to survive on the $$ obtained solely from live shows and hopefully merchandise sold there - if they can’t play nearly as many live shows or giant arenas as guys like NIN?

I’m sure Reznor knows who Genesis P Orridge is and Radiohead does not.That by itself makes NIN better.

FFS, give this man the cover!

And for the record, I don’t even wanna hear that he’s jealous of Radiohead. What’s he got to be jealous about? He came up with a better system than they did. He made more money than they did. He gave fans something really cool and meaningful by offering different tiers of the album. If there is any salvation for the music industry, it will be in people like Trent Reznor.

Again: GIVE THIS MAN THE COVER.

It actually was.I don’t think they were a “band” per se, more of collection of dudes on synths and a drum machine with Orridge out in front. That dude scares me.

It actually was.I don’t think they were a “band” per se, more of collection of dudes on synths and a drum machine with Orridge out in front. That dude scares me.

Throbbing Gristle. Somebody please tell me thats not a real band name.

Prince, Radiohead, NIN, doesn’t matter who did it first, what is important is to suport this, we need to embrace this!

Thank you Trent for a kick ass album!

This album is so good it’s sick.

Holy Cow. Trent for President!!

The RIA is a political machine desinged to ripoff the consumer and Its so nice to see NIN giving them the finger. I am really excited to see Trent taking such a stand. What an exciting
political move to Save the “We the People” Trent Reznor for President.
This guy rock lets stand together, Generations X Y and REZZnor unite.

If everyone is so busy talking who will have time to listen? My Mom used to say that when you mouth is open your ears are closed and vise versa. *click* /puts on headphones and savors the fine fruits laid before her.

Trent Reznor will stand the test of time. He will be studied in music theory, music business, and music ethics classes when we are all dust. Just because something is deemed popular and makes the cover of some magazine does not mean it is of high quality. There has been a ton of music that was popular and now we get to watch those songs get played on a where are they now montages. It is about permanence in the musical industry, not being a footnote. Reznor is not a musical footnote.

What Trent did is a great thing! The Slip is an awesome album AND they released it in mp3, flac, HD and more. Pretty ridulous…completely awesome! Thanks Trent!

It’s a sad thing to read a blog like this, which does little to celebrate the release of an album by a talented artist. Instead, it becomes a “who’s the winner” argument. Perhaps it wasn’t Radiohead who did this first. Maybe it was Smashing Pumpkins. Or Offspring. But that’s hardly the point, and comparing any of these bands to each other artistically is an ignorant, immature thing to do. The bottom line is there are good bands out there who believe in more than just pleasing the outdated corporate structure, and are doing what they can to sidestep the process and deliver good music directly to their fans. It doesn’t matter who did it first, just that these particular artists, who all happen to be realitvely mainstream, are doing it. But as cliched as it may sound, it’s all really just about the music. And the Slip is a very good album. We should all just thank Trent, then maybe go read a book, or even go outside and leave the blogosphere for a while.

If you want to get *really* technical, Smashing Pumpkins didn’t release “Machina II” digitally at all. They pressed (I think) 25 vinyl copies and gave them to their friends/supporters with their blessing and instructions on how to rip the songs from vinyl to MP3s. So when the songs ended up online all over the place, it wasn’t because SP made it happen.

If you want to get technical, I believe The Smashing Pumpkins beat everyone to the punch with the free download of the album “Machina II: The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music”, which was released September 5, 2000.

If you want to get technical, The Smashing Pumpkins beat everyone to the punch the free download of the album “Machina II: The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music”, which was released September 5, 2000.

If Ripoffspring did it first,it’s the first time.

Well done NIN, Prince, Radiohead, hell even offspring, for their efforts. Instead of debating who was first, shouldn’t we back all artists for doing this instead of diving camps on who is “cooler.” Drop the pretense of music and just enjoy. Its about time we support them and not the labels!

If you want to get really, really technical, the idea of giving an album away for free was first publicized in 2000 by the Offspring. These guys were huge supporters of file-sharing when it first started and decided to publicly endorse it. They even wanted to give away their “Conspiracy of One” album for free before its release date that year. But their label threatened to sue and the band then threatened to counter-sue, so in a settlement they agreed to give away one song for free.

all you die hard nin fans opinion will matter as soon as you stop relying on RS for your music news. you complain about the hills girls being on the cover yet you still value the magazine’s opinion. Sure there are a few critics still worth reading from time to time but their coverage of todays music scene is too narrow and safe because so is their audience’s. if you want a place to find out about todays real music scene its called pitchfork media. educate yourself

and yes it is kind of ironic because i am on the site too but thats just cuz i still like to read peter travers.

Prince give away for free 5 million albums in 2004 and 3 million more a year ago.

He was the first mainstream and signed artist to go INDIE too, so there you go.

He deserves the credit.

NIN rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just stop Radiohead whiners…you know Trent deserves the credit and not Thom Yorke. As far as the music, NIN is just a louder and more aggressive outfit and Radiohead appeals to people who are a little on the effete side. Radiohead is cool n all but it just doesn’t have that punch…and TR is one of the best live singers around.

Throbbing Gristle. Now thats a name I have’nt heard in a long time. As far as them being an influence for NIN,I suppose so, but really Throbbing Gristle had little use for song structure and was just a lot of electronic noise.And yeah, that freak is a woman now.

Genesis P Orridge…Ummm…is’nt he a “woman” now? yecchhh.

“Artists don’t get rich off of album sales, record label executives do.”

Hey look, more finger pointing without any real evidence to back it up. What a shock. Truth is, while most execs in the music biz make six-figure salaries, all that money from the artists goes almost directly into the companies they represent. Then the surplus is spent on representing all the sh!tty bands on the label. The music execs I’ve met in my time have, for the most part, been quite nice people with surprisingly good taste in music (despite what ends up on the radio).

“A Million times better in every possible way?” Radiohead released that album in a myspace quality stream. “Pay as much as you want”.

“A Million times better in every possible way?” Radiohead released that album in a myspace quality stream. “Pay as much as you want”.

I think NIN owes alot to Throbbing Gristle. Long live Genesis P. orridge!

Why does rolling stone not put Trent in the cover? Trent is a wonderful artist and has done so much for music!

great for us! a NIN 5 days after finish? cool… on the other hand… jodorowsky? art for a few? yeap, another ignorant in the net… please… go read a book, dont “show“ your “huge“ culture… dude…

Are you guys comparing Radiohead and NIN?

Man, fans use to be suporters not tabloids!!Each band rock’s in their own way.

“Art is’nt for everybody, art is for small group of people”
-Alejandro Jodorowsky

Are you guys comparing Radiohead and NIN?

Man, fans use to be suporters not tabloids!!Each band rock’s in their own way.

“Art is’nt for everybody, art is for small group of people”
-Alejandro Jodorowsky

Uh Johnny i hate to inform you of this but the 8-octave vocal range is a myth. It is impossible for a human being to have an eight octave voice. Just need to clear that myth up.

Can’t you see TR doen’t want to be on the cover of this shity “music industry” magazine!!!

Can’t you see TR is not on same level of the shity artists that have been on the cover of this magazine.

“The slip” is a great album, and I’m already addicted to it.

Thanks Trent

Joe quit being such a noob. Radiohead’s In Rainbows destroys both albums Trent released on the net.

But still with that said his recent “slip” to the fans is pretty entertaining.

Thanks so much for giving your fans so much

the email came back to me 10 mins after i sent it 10mins after that i was listening to it on my mp3 player.
sounds good.
thanx trent+co

I agree, TR is really deserving of the cover. something along the lines of “the man changing the record business.”

Didn’t he say some shit about Radiohead (who is a million times better in every possible way) when they did something JUST like this? As everyone else said at the time- he’s so jealous of them.

Trent Reznor is a true artist who, without a doubt, knows what it means to create art for arts sake.

So, when Radiohead did something along those lines RS and every other outlet had a song by song within 24 hours. NIN does this the second time around in about 2 months and both times this does not happen. Makes one wonder. And both NIN pummel Radiohead’s release in ground on top of that. SO please, RS, follow up and do a review and put the man on the cover. It’s been almost 10 years.

Joe

First off, only after a few weeks of getting Ghosts, Trent does this, which is just awesome. It’s a very cool album. Who else would work so hard on an album and then do this???

One, He can sing for the weirdo who said he can’t. Two, Everytime a band does this free give away thing it always helps them out financially down the road. Cool that he’s doing it but…It’s just too bad there has to be a publicity stunt for an album by a veteran artist to get noticed. More power too him but I miss the days of old. oh well.

Just listened…. great work. Thanks, your creativity and generosity is much appreciated~

Vincent,
I’m pretty sure Trent has been on the cover about 3 times. September 1994, March 1997 with David Lynch, October 1999. Although I would agree he is definitely overdue for another one.

FLAC quality for free? Trent, you are awesome.

Fucking great album! Thanks Trent

Artists don’t get rich off of album sales, record label executives do. Artists make their money from live performance and merchandising. Every artist who has distributed free music over the web (Wilco, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, and many others) has seen an increase in revenue where it really matters: the box office and the merch counter.

Smashing Pumpkins only released MACHINA 2 for free over the internet because Virgin didn’t want to release it and Billy was pissed, not because he WANTED the fans to have it for free.

In all honesty, I think one of the main reasons Trent hasn’t been on the cover hasn’t been because of Rolling Stone ignoring him, per se.

Trent’s a very strong willed character, and is deeply rooted in what he does, especially in terms of his personal opinions regarding the music industry in general.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if RS had at one point tried to get him on the cover, and he simply said “Thanks, but No Thanks.”

This IS the same guy who abandoned the MTV Video Awards back in ‘05 because he couldn’t play “The Hand That Feeds” with G.W. Bush behind him, after all…

How cool is this?

In just 3 years, Trent’s released 3 albums and a DVD. In addition to that, he’s given fans an unprecedented look into his creative process by releasing most of those tracks in Garageband and other formats for remixing. I can’t think of another artist who’s done that.

And now this? His artist output and forward thinking never cease to amaze me.

Darryl….a B-Side kind of band? That’s funny, thanks for the laugh.

NIN are no good because Trent “can’t sing”..???

Are you serious? Almost all of the greatest albums released feature people who “can’t sing”.

Go back to your Mariah Carey cds if you think 8-octave range is the be-all end-all of artistic worth, you douch.

Then again - every now and again life cuts you a break. Got the album - thanks guys!

I’m in agreeance with those saying Trent is far more deserving to grace the RS cover than 2/3 of the artists they feature month to month. That’s a subtle hint drop there guys….

Jerf:

Your comment should be deleted for going OFF topic.

This isn’t about Who Has Done It First. It’s about Who Is Doing It. What difference does it make if SP did it first? Trent is giving back to his fans in a big way with even more great music.

Can someone please explain to me why Trent hasn’t gotten a cover story in RS since 1999 while the “stars” of “The Hills,” who haven’t really done anything, get to be on the cover? I mean, the distribution method for “Ghosts I–IV” and surely make him more than worthy of it.

The download doesn’t seem to be working for me. I sent my e-mail hours ago but it hasn’t come, not even in the spam folder. If someone would be nice enough to e-mail it directly to me, it would be greatly appreciated! My e-mail is cofereatsfood@aim.com

Hey RS,,,,,could we have a new picture of Trent, just once???? This photo has nearly burned an image on my screen.

1 percent of trent reznor’s satisfaction is coming from the fact that he has created this album in the span of a couple of months with robin finck, who was with axl for years and never released a damn thing to show for it

Darryl: Are you serious?!?! Saying that Trent can’t sing has got to be one of THE most ridiculous statements I have ever heard. And I have heard some dumb things in my life.

kno1:

the smashing pumpkins did it in 2000 with machina II. completely free, over the internet. i applaud trent’s generosity, but hes not the first person to do this. neither is radiohead.

long live the mighty sp!

It’s an honor to be a NIN fan, always has been.
I, along with at least hundreds of eager fans, waited up for Trent’s clock to hit midnight… which is my case was 3am… because we just couldn’t wait.

Thanks, Trent!

Trent plays such angry music and yet he’s probably the nicest guy in rock, doing this for his fans. Really awesome of him to do this.

NIN have always had one huge problem. Trent can’t sing. That is kinda a problem when you are a band. Anyway I like their music but his horrible singing has always, and always will hold this band back to being a B-Side kind of band. Sorry but it’s true.
Darryl Orr Trail, B.C.

Oh well, I guess I will just have to wait till July. Those free NIN downloads never seem to work for me. Like they say: you get what you pay for.

I can’t think of one other artist who would do something like this for thier fans. Its nice to see someone who has risen in the ranks as one of the all time greatest artists of our time, and has not let the fame and money get to them. Trent Reznor is like a god to his fans and he takes good care of them.
Till the end-NIN will always be playing on my player.
-KNO1-