Very early in a discussion with Trent Reznor, the front man for the band Nine Inch Nails, it’s obvious how highly he prizes his collaboration with musician Saul Williams on the album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust.Saul Williams and Trent Reznor(Credit: Atticus Ross)Reznor produced and helped bankroll
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The last person to leave the current record business won’t be the smartest and he won’t be the most successful, either. Getting out first and staking out the new territory almost always pays off.read more | digg story

10 acts that could possibly follow: Prince, NIN, Courtney Love, Daft Punk, . . . And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Chuck D, Sufjan Stevens, Pearl Jam, Underworld, Depeche Mode

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It’s over. The last major label to hold out on selling DRM-free MP3s, Sony BMG, is “finalizing plans” to sell music not locked down with DRM. It’ll be available sometime in the first quarter, apparently in time to get in on Amazon and Pepsi’s 1 billion song giveaway.read more | digg story

As of 1/2/08,154,449 people chose to download Saul’s new record.28,322 of those people chose to pay $5 for it, meaning:18.3% chose to pay.read more | digg story

You might think, if you didn’t work in the music business, that famous artists stand to make mad cash from popular albums on iTunes and other digital storefronts. Sadly, that’s not the case…read more | digg story

Isn’t giving the book away somewhat counterproductive to that goal? I don’t think so. Here’s why: the biggest challenge most authors face isn’t online piracy. It’s not people out there diabolically copying their works and distributing them for free. In fact most authors (including yours truly) suffer from a different problem entirely — no one has ever heard of them.read more | digg story