Not content with giving away the first 9 tracks of Ghosts I-IV a while back (read blog), Trent Reznor, otherwise known as Nine Inch Nails, has done it again. The new album, called The Slip, was released this week and is available for free download from the Nine Inch Nails website. The difference this time is that the album has been created solely as a thank you to loyal fans for their past and present support. In fact, Trent Reznor has posted a blog comment on the official NIN website saying, "thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years - this one's on me."

The 10-track album is available in a variety of audio formats, which are, high quality VBR MP3, Apple Lossless (M4A), FLAC, and 24/96 Wav (higher audio resolution than CD); incidentally, a Bit Torrent client is needed to download the higher resolution recordings due to the large file sizes.

Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have both shown that it is possible to exist as a successful band without a major record label as long as a large fan base exists. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has certainly acknowledged this through the release of The Slip album and his words of gratitude towards his fans.