Online Odyssey Stoking Interest In New NIN Album

Ironically, with its numerous pirated downloads available, the whole album has not leaked yet. According to a source, the only leaks are the ones Reznor approved himself. And whether he realizes it or not, Reznor may be building a new option for presenting music that augments the existing CD/tour scenario. “It’s not about slapping something on top of an existing experience,” the source says. “It must be its own entity. Make the experience as immersive as possible for fans.”

Even the RIAA ecosystem can show signs of creative thinking.<—a402453ab7751fdb11338bc569810d72—>

Just announced, a new game from the creators of Guitar Hero.
Guitar heroes unite; ‘Rock Band’ is coming | Crave : The gadget blog
The emphasis on collaboration goes well with the whole participatory culture and musicking trend in today’s industrial societies.

EMI is the first of the Big Four to jump on the DRM-free bandwagon.
EMI, Apple partner on DRM-free premium music | CNET News.com
Makes perfect business sense:

Nicoli cited internal EMI tests in which higher-quality, DRM-free songs outsold its lower-quality, copy-protected counterparts 10-to-1.

They still charge a premium but the tracks are encoded at a higher bitrate (which is often correlated with better sound quality).

Many people, including Steve Jobs and the Canadian Music Creators Coalition, have been calling for the end of DRM. EMI’s move is a bit less gutzy but it does sound like a move in the right direction, at least from a technological standpoint. Let’s hope Universal, Sony-BMG, and even Edgar Bronfman’s Warner Music will follow suit.<—d8a0b9e0e6800061e3d8af2c4fa06434—>