Pitchfork

"Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I - IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain.

"Trent Reznor explains, "I've been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn't have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I'm very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts."

Like Saul Williams' Reznor-assisted The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! and that other album by that one band, Ghosts I-IV offers several tiers of pricing. Who would've thought the radio station pledge drive method of fundraising would be the future of the music industry, eh?

For free you get the first nine tracks of Ghosts in "high-quality MP3 files" that are "100% DRM-free" and "encoded with LAME at 320kbps". (Yeah yeah, insert snotty joke about every Nine Inch Nails record since The Downward Spiral being encoded with lame here.) You also get "a 40-page PDF book covering the whole release" and a "digital extras pack, with wallpapers, icons, and other graphics for your computer, website, profile, etc."

For five bucks, you get "all 36 tracks in a variety of digital formats" plus the PDF and "digital extras". This option is also available on the Amazon.com mp3 store, via TuneCore.

Ten dollars gets you all that plus two CDs "in a six panel digipak package with a 16 page booklet" that will be shipped on April 8.

$39 gets you the 4XLP vinyl version, which will be available in stores April 8.

$75 gets ya "Ghosts I-IV in a hardcover fabric slipcase containing: two audio CDs, one data DVD with all 36 tracks in multi-track format, and a Blu-ray disc with Ghosts I-IV in high-definition 96/24 stereo and accompanying slideshow." (The data DVD is designed for remixing, btw.) You also get a 48-page book of "photographs by Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan - visual aesthetic accompaniments to the music from the recording process and the outside world." Plus the download stuff, of course. The goods for this one ship May 1.

Ooh, pretty:

And for $300, you get the "ultra deluxe limited edition package", which includes everything you get for $75, plus "an exclusive four-LP 180 gram vinyl set in a fabric slipcase, and two exclusive limited edition Giclee prints in a luxurious package." This baby is limited to only 2500, and each one is--OMIGOD--signed by Reznor himself. It also ships May 1.

Even prettier!:

More fun facts:

The album is being released under a Creative Commons license. Nice!

In addition to Reznor, the album features musical contributions from Brian Viglione (the drummer from the Dresden Dolls), producer Alan Moulder (who has worked with NIN before, as well as My Bloody Valentine, the Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode, the Jesus and Mary Chain, and many others), producer Atticus Ross (NIN, Korn, P!nk), Alessandro Cortini (NIN, modwheelmod), and legendary guitarist Adrian Belew (Bowie, Zappa, King Crimson, Tom Tom Club).

Read another note about the project from Trent here.