Some Random Dude

Yikes. I didn’t know that about Radiohead’s album. Regardless, consider it baby steps to change. Unlike Trent Reznor and Saul Williams, Radiohead is still bound legally to their record label, managers, etc. If you recall, it took years of legal battle and major balls for NIN to say ’screw the RIAA and labels, we’re going solo.’

I hope Radiohead, NIN, and Saul Williams start a trend and exodus away from these companies. Then again, who doesn’t want a shiny Grammy or spankings from an old crusty record executive when a band’s album doesn’t do well?

I think it’s pretty common knowledge that no real artist creates to be handed golden statues.

Those ridiculous over-hyped, commercialized, self-important love-fests will hopefully die along with our current model for purchasing music.

Good point. How many music awards show are there now? It’s almost pornographic and gratuitious. Lets pat each other’s backs for a job well done. We just took millions of dollars of kids’ money with half ass noise marketed as ‘real music.’

MTV, AMA, Grammy, Kids choice, etc etc…..

Does it have any meaning anymore? (Not that it ever did.)

They never did have meaning. That’s the problem.

[...] the kind of thing that, I read, Radiohead should have done with their In [...]

I love niggy tardust! Its a great album, i paid the 5 bucks and it was well worth it!as for in rainbows paying what you want for it seems kind of stupid, set a price 5, 10, 15$ or free and give different content (like saul did), and paying a thousand dollars for a radiohead album? WTF

Radiohead is not under the gun from any label, they’re unsigned at the moment (IIRC). I think they pulled this move for two reasons: 1. they might not get another chance at this type of experiemnt 2. they have incredible leverage in any signing negotiations with record labels.

They’ve helped reestablish that the labels are dependent on the artists, not the other way around.

What I didn’t expect was some of the backlash from less famous artists with record deals. I don’t have the quotes in front of me, but I think some feel as if Radiohead is driving the value of music down… seems to have some parallels with pitching in design.

I downloaded Niggy Tardust.. last night and have to say that this is an awesome album!!! I didn’t pay for it but I’m definitely going to download another copy and pay my $5.00. I’ve never heard of Saul Williams but I’m a big Trent Reznor fan. If I am not mistaken wasn’t Reznor an Oink member? If you haven’t got this album do yourself a favour and get it right away.

jessie - I agree, although I personally would have loved to pay more for the Niggy Tardust album.

josh - I definitely agree, moves like this set the relationship back the way it should be - the labels are there to help the artist, nothing more.

Jeffrey32 - I’m really glad you gave the album a shot and decided to pitch in the $5. Isn’t it nice when the consumer actually has a choice?

Niggy Tardust is a great sounding album, although not as trailblazing as Trent could have made it. I recognize way too many NINisms throughout. Still, I can’t stop listening to it. Saul Williams needs to expand on his technique a bit more, but he’s still a great writer and has become a much better singer. I bought the album and indeed it is worth much more than 5 bucks.

I will say this of Radiohead however, and this goes for any artist who decides to go with the smarter Niggy Tardust selling model: I’d love these albums on vinyl. Fuck CD. Let’s bring the vinyl back, besides, it sounds better ;p

I hate these types of reviews. They are meaningless and trivial. Why is it always a contest with critics. Who won? They are both great ideas and pretty much are saying the same thing. Personally I think the Radiohead format is a better one. Why should there be restrictions on how much you should pay or not pay.$5 or $0. If you are going to offer it for free then setting a $5 fee for those that want to pay seems completely arbitrary and random.Why even offer it for free? $0 or pay what you like makes more sense. What you have to consider is that not all currencies are equal and living standards vary. $5 american to some kid in africa, could represent a weeks wage or even a months wage. You get the point. With the Radiohead format. You pay what you can afford in that currency, cause 5lbs is a lot more than $5. After all, this it the net. You are now marketing and distributing to the world from one single source. So there must be some leeway for people that don’t live in North America or Europe to be able to purchase such items at what they feel is a reasonable price by their living standards. Radioheads approach is a more democratic format. Niggy Tardust offers it for free but with a guilty note attached to it that you are not supporting the artist. So why even offer it for free when clearly Trent Reznor and Saul Williams want to be supported for their efforts, as they should, but in that case just say “it costs $5, pay up!” and don’t offer it for free.

I don’t have a problem with the ‘pay what you wish’ portion of the model - I have a problem with releasing this album in a progressive way, only to release the same album with extra tracks on CD through the old (and broken) model.

I would love to pay more than $5 for Niggy Tardust, as I mentioned in this article - I just think it is slightly disingenuous to offer up a digital-only album only to release it through CD later.

[...] model. In the interim, two other notable artists have released work on the pay-what-you-want model, Trent Reznor and Saul Williams’ Niggy Tardust and comedian Steve Hofstetter’s The Dark Side Of The Room. Taken together, these three [...]

Im well aware of both these releases, I bought the flac’s of Niggy Tardust, and quite like the album…
But what I want to know was, how it it go for Saul/Trent? Did the experiment have a good result.

That’s a good question Wolfric, I haven’t seen any information about how Niggy Tardust did financially. It certainly didn’t get the same hype as Radiohead’s album, but I’m not sure what that means for sales.

I completely agree with the whole Radiohead thing. Yes, it’s cool that they released their CD for any price, but it’s not cool that they re-released it later , with more tracks no less, causing the true fans, most likely, re-buy the CD.

And though Saul and Trent are not getting quite the publicity that Radiohead did, all is not lost. The more we talk about it, blog about it, comment about it on forums or whatever, the more people will know.

i guess the whole thing about it being unfair to release the mp3 format first and then a full blown cd, you must understand that the label is radiohead’s own. I believe it was more of an experiment, and now we may see a more progressive model as radiohead understands that the online method is very much so viable. I guess people were bummed out i they paid for the online version like a regular cd and then the true, higher quality cd came out. The first few times around, i couldn’t stand the saul williams album, but i will try it again soon.

well, it seems that the label may very well be an arm of the record industry. my bad.

[...] that you can buy. This money goes directly to the artist, the way it should be. Trent has been experimenting with new business models and ways of making money from music, and sharing publicly on how each of these experiments have [...]

I don’t think what Radiohead did was more about experimentation rather than being really bullheaded about it. I think they also felt it was a bit pretentious to only allow their record to be bought online. I mean, some people do like to go to a store and buy it. As weird as that is to me
Mr. Music’s last blog post..Radiohead On Conan O’Brien Last Night

This is THE BEST album i have heard in such a very long time !

please support Saul Williams on this venture

get out there and see him perform

got my ticket

can not wait

Well now Niggy Tardust will be released as a CD w/ Bonus Tracks [Sony/ RED]… http://mvremix.com/urban_blogs/2008/05/23/saul-willams-niggy-tardust-to-be-release-in-stores/
Additionally “A limited edition vinyl pressing may also be purchased and contains a free download on the album.”

Saw Saul live in Melbourne and this man is such a gifted poet, artist and musician. Amazing collaboration with Reznor, and given that much of his prior work was also heavily industrial-sounding, it really works as a progression of his music. Props to him for taking a risk in self-publishing this album.

I’d also encourage anyone to listen to and buy his first two albums, Amethyst Rockstar and Saul Williams.. both very different from this release but equally solid. Amethyst rockstar showcases his poetry perhaps better than the other two releases.

I notice NIN have also released a couple of free albums recently on the net; “Ghosts I-IV” and “The Slip”. The first is experimental, soundtrack stuff; the second is a more commercial sounding release. http://theslip.nin.com