Countdown to Year Zero

[Maple Leafs]

As some may already be aware, a new Nine Inch Nails album titled Year Zero will be coming our on April 17. Any new album from one of the world's best bands is something to get excited over -- especially since this is the first time there hasn't been a five-year gap between full length albums.

But what makes the release somewhat more interesting to the mainstream is the unusual circumstances around it. The album itself is a concept album, which is uncommon these days but not unheard of. But this album has had a massive and complex marketing campaign around it. Hidden messages in t-shirts, bizarre web sites, USB drives hidden in bathrooms, a video filled with hidden messages and bible verses, and a billboard under a bridge in London which may or may not have been stolen.

The game seems to only be getting started, and nobody seems to have cracked the code of what exactly it all means. New web sites are being discovered at a rate of about one a week, and there are still plenty of unanswered questions. What do those 24.xx.yy numbers means? What's with recordings of screaming phone calls and sniper fire tacked onto the various leaks? And what's with the creepy image of the hand reaching down from the sky that keeps showing up?

(Trent Reznor himself has said that he doesn't consider it a marketing campaign at all, but rather a part of the larger album experience he's looking to create. Which sounds like exactly the sort of thing someone like him would say about what's pretty clearly a marketing campaign...)

Bigger picture, music fans have been screaming for years for some creativity from labels -- for them to go beyond the cookie-cutter marketing approach with the easy-to-digest single and shiny video. Is this an example of the next wave? Or just another artist on an ego trip finding a slightly different way to play with themselves for us?

This article is a decent summary of everything that's been going on so far...
http://www.reuters.com/article/enter...2?pageNumber=1

Reznor adopts unusual Web campaign for new album
Mon Apr 2, 2007 10:32AM EDT
By Michael Paoletta

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Trent Reznor could have just given a few interviews to explain Nine Inch Nails' new album, "Year Zero." But instead, he's using a multifaceted Internet scavenger hunt, and in some cases, his own rabid fans, to help gradually build the story of the project.

Dystopian, apocalyptic themes are pervasive on the album, due in stores April 17, echoing topics the group has explored since 1989's classic "Pretty Hate Machine."

Neither Reznor, his management nor representatives at his Interscope label would speak to Billboard about the campaign, which has encompassed everything from cryptic phrases on T-shirts to Orwellian Web sites to MP3s found on USB drives in bathrooms at NIN concerts. But a source with knowledge of the project says Reznor may very well perceive it all not as a marketing campaign, but as "a new entertainment form."

Indeed, the source says the campaign forms the body of the "Year Zero" experience: "It is the CD booklet come to life. It precedes the concept album and the tour. And it will continue for the next 18 months, with peaks and valleys."

The source continues, "No one has assembled the full story yet. The new media is creating the story as it goes."

"Year Zero" came to life in early February when Web-savvy fans discovered that highlighted letters inside words on a NIN tour T-shirt spelled out "I am trying to believe." Savvy fans added a ".com" to the five words and, voila, located a thought-provoking, eerie Web site. Other associated sites created by 42 Entertainment were soon discovered, including http://www.bethehammer.net, http://www.anotherversionofthetruth.com and http://www.churchofplano.com, where a dark future reigns supreme.

For instance, errant clicks on sites like anotherversionofthetruth.com result in interception by the Bureau of Morality, which will then e-mail warnings that the user is "A CONSUMER OF DISSIDENT MATERIAL . . . Any further attempts to view, consume, or distribute un-american (sic) content will result in the loss of citizenship increments and/or the imposition of fines, penalties, or imprisonment. You have choices. Make the RIGHT ones."

For further instructions on making good choices, the creepy note instructs the e-mail recipient to visit http://www.thepriceoftreason.net. And another mind game begins anew, with its own set of rabbit holes.

Within days of discovery of the sites, the blogosphere was rich with anxious NIN fans sharing their experiences on message boards.

According to one post, a male fan, allegedly by happenstance, found a USB drive in a bathroom stall during a NIN concert at the Coliseum in Lisbon, Portugal. This flash drive (yes, Reznor's idea) contained an MP3 of album track "My Violent Heart." Additional USB drives were purportedly found in Barcelona and Manchester, England; they included MP3s of album tracks "Me, I'm Not" and "In This Twilight," respectively.

Excited fans then began swapping and sharing these music files online. Another Web posting alleged that all this activity resulted in entertainment blog Idolator and other sites receiving e-mail from the Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA), demanding that they remove the MP3s from their sites. A representative for the RIAA, the lobby group for the major U.S. labels, confirms this seemingly mind-boggling move.

Meanwhile, another tour T-shirt contained a highlighted Cleveland-area phone number that, when dialed, played a snippet of lead single "Survivalism." The song currently ranks at No. 2 on the airplay-based Modern Rock chart.

By late February, a "Year Zero" trailer was made available at http://www.yearzero.nin.com. Near the trailer's end, an extended arm, known by fans as "the Presence," appears. The Presence is a recurring theme throughout the campaign and is featured on the album's cover.

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.

With his unveiling of "Year Zero," Reznor may, whether he realizes it or not, 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."

[Karlifornia]

It will be either a non-issue or really, really lame..the marketing campaign, that is. Just put out the music, Trent.

[NoMyths]

I'm not sure I'd call Trent Reznor a band.

[Young Drachma]

Kids who really believe the Matrix exists, will dig this.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by NoMyths

I'm not sure I'd call Trent Reznor a band.

and certainly not one of the best bands at that.

[Ksyrup]

Trent Reznor does the musical Blair Witch Project. I hope this one has more TEETH-UH! than the last one.

[Groundhog]

I've never owned or listened to a NIN album, and have only heard their songs that have gotten airplay on the radio. For some reason I've never felt that I've missed out on too much.

[cartman]

Better not leave any of this viral marketing material in Boston, otherwise another panic attack will ensue.

OMG, IT'S A RICIN USB DRIVE

[Ksyrup]

His first album was truly revolutionary, the follow-up EP was great, and then after that, meh. Now that's he's pushing toward his mid-40s, every time I think of him I think of these lyrics:

The music of rebellion
Makes you wanna rage
But it's made by millionaires
Who are nearly twice your age

[MikeVic]

I'm looking forward to the release, but I haven't been following all this marketing stuff. If I like the CD, I'll go back and read through all this.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by NoMyths

I'm not sure I'd call Trent Reznor a band.

This would have been devastatingly insightful 10 years ago when NIN actually was a one-man production.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

His first album was truly revolutionary, the follow-up EP was great, and then after that, meh. Now that's he's pushing toward his mid-40s, every time I think of him I think of these lyrics:

The music of rebellion
Makes you wanna rage
But it's made by millionaires
Who are nearly twice your age

"I want to f*ck you like an animal" is still applicable. I mean, aren't giant tortoises still animals?

[st.cronin]

Foetus > NIN

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

His first album was truly revolutionary, the follow-up EP was great, and then after that, meh.

Pretty Hate Machine was revolutionary, but Downward Spiral was "meh"? Really? Or do you just have the order flipped around?

I really liked The Fragile although I know a lot of people didn't. And I liked With Teeth a little more than you did but it was definitely a disappointment.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

I've never owned or listened to a NIN album, and have only heard their songs that have gotten airplay on the radio. For some reason I've never felt that I've missed out on too much.

They're one of those bands that you can't really "get" from radio singles. Most of the albums (except the last one) don't really have stuff that works as a single so they end up having to force it with anything that has a verse and course. Heck, The Fragile was half instrumental stuff.

You have to be willing to put in some effort to get into NIN. And I don't mean that in some sort of "whoo, look at me, I'm so cultured" kind of way, because people do that make me want to stab them. There's only so much time in the day to listen to music and can't pay attention to everything. But I've found that NIN albums are usually well worth the effort, with the exception of With Teeth and maybe Broken.

[Ksyrup]

Downward Spiral was an appropriate title. He took too much time between releases, what with the multiple EPs and remixes and stuff. For me, by the time DS came out, I was way over him.

His career mirrors that of Korn, for me. Important first release to the evolution of music in the 90s, mediocre follow-up, then a bunch of sub-par, grasping for relevance releases. As bad as With Teeth was, at least it didn't include a cover of Word Up.

[Ksyrup]

See, I loved Broken, but that's probably because I'm a metalhead. We took the first step in embracing PHM despite the lack of guitars, and he reciprocated with an EP for us. That was cool. Happiness in Slavery still kicks.

[Passacaglia]

I'm more in line with ksyrup. I listened to Pretty Hate Machine, Broken and Fixed -- listened the heck out of those. Just never got into DS, and after it, I pretty much stopped paying attention (although I'm not at all a metalhead).

Slave screams!

[Maple Leafs]

I can definitely understand not liking Downward Spiral. I like PHM, and even though I thought Broken was a bit of a let down (might have liked it more if it was a full length album), I thought Fixed was pretty cool. I'm just surprised to hear PHM described as revolutionary. It was pretty poppy even for its time. I'd argue that Downward Spiral was far and away the more creative and experimental album, even if it doesn't necessarily work for everyone.

The long waits between albums if kind of annoying (anyone else find it just a little ironic that Trent's always taking shots at Axl Rose over the Chinese Democracy delays? As if 14 years is a joke, but five years is perfectly reasonable.) But I actually like the remix stuff. Further Down the Spiral had some really cool stuff on there. Since a lot of the remixes are done by other artists, I hope they're not what causes the delays between real albums.

[Ksyrup]

Are you kidding? PHM bridged the gap between hard rock and electronica. That was a hugely influential and groundbreaking album for its time. DS was, if anything, just a more commercial version of that sound (adding in some guitars), seeing as though by the time DS was released pretty much everyone had come to accept PHM. Believe me, in the hard rock/metal community, PHM was the dividing line for a lot of people. Half of us got it, and half of us hated it because it couldn't "rock" without guitars and wasn't real music because it was just one guy creating everything on a keyboard, not a band, etc.

[Subby]

NIN = NoMyths Isa Nitwit

Can't wait for this...thanks for posting that stuff, ML...

[Ksyrup]

BTW, your countdown could be 4 minutes if you really wanted to hear it. It's out there. I'm not sure what's more appealing, this or the new Linkin Park.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

BTW, your countdown could be 4 minutes if you really wanted to hear it. It's out there.

Of course it is. At least part of the idea here is that it could actually be worth getting the "real" album for once instead of a bittorrent.

[Ksyrup]

I don't see those as mutually exclusive; I usually get both. Probably not this one, though, unless I hear tremendous things about it.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I don't see those as mutually exclusive; I usually get both. Probably not this one, though, unless I hear tremendous things about it.

So I'm confused... do you like NIN's recent stuff or not? You've been very ambiguous.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Of course it is. At least part of the idea here is that it could actually be worth getting the "real" album for once instead of a bittorrent.

I don't see how any of this makes it worth getting the "real" album. Am I missing something?

[Ksyrup]

I don't own anything he's released since DS. I heard With Teeth and hated it, and I don't even remember what he put out before that since I wasn't interested in hearing it after DS.

I got over early 90s music very quickly and have rarely listened to it since 1996 or so. NIN was one of those bands I really enjoyed early then quickly lost interest in, along with the whole grunge sound (mostly). Looking back, the 90s was a pretty crappy decade for music IMO and I kinda lost active interest in the music scene for the middle part of the decade, only getting back into it thanks to the internet around 1998-99.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

I don't see how any of this makes it worth getting the "real" album. Am I missing something?

If you're interested in the stuff that's surrounding the album, it's probably a safe assumption that there will be plenty of stuff in the actual CD materials that plays into it.

In other words, it may be the first time in history that the "but you get cover art and liner notes" argument actually convinces a single person to buy a CD.

[Ksyrup]

I'm not sure I'd go that far. People have been doing stuff with artwork and such for years to get people to buy. Just in the past couple of years, look at the Tool artwork with the magnifying glass, or the dual System of Down releases that fit together to create a double album. In the big picture, this is hardly unique. And as far as creating viral ad campaign, it might be novel for music, but certainly not for similar media like movies and books.

[NoMyths]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

This would have been devastatingly insightful 10 years ago when NIN actually was a one-man production.

Having seen him live with one incarnation of the rotating cast of musicians that work with Reznor, I feel comfortable in assuring you that NIN is not a band. But your attempt at devastating clarification is appreciated.

[Butter]

I thought Pretty Hate Machine was meh, but found Downward Spiral to be a masterpiece. Just proving YMMV.

[rkmsuf]

what better year zero or coke zero

thanks

[Maple Leafs]

Hm... You can listen to the actual album streamed online at: http://yearzero.nin.com

Haven't seen this done before, is it common these days?

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Hm... You can listen to the actual album streamed online at: http://yearzero.nin.com

Haven't seen this done before, is it common these days?

Not REAL common, but it's not unheard of.

[Ksyrup]

Yes, it's fairly common. Some artists will put up select songs, others the whole album, etc. It varies. Mostly the bigger artists who, I assume, are looking to show a big sales number for the first couple of weeks to justify their existence.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Yes, it's fairly common. Some artists will put up select songs, others the whole album, etc. It varies. Mostly the bigger artists who, I assume, are looking to show a big sales number for the first couple of weeks to justify their existence.

Not REAL common, but it's not unheard of.

ok, so which is it

[Butter]

Streaming an entire album is not that common, despite what Karo says up there.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Yes, it's fairly common. Some artists will put up select songs, others the whole album, etc. It varies. Mostly the bigger artists who, I assume, are looking to show a big sales number for the first couple of weeks to justify their existence.

Yeah, I know individual songs are posted all the time. But I can't remember seeing a full album posted two weeks before release.

[Drake]

Didn't U2 stream all of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb like a week before the official release?

[Ksyrup]

I meant that the concept of streaming prior to release is fairly common, but it ranges from clips to a few songs to the entire album. I can't give you an exact percentage because I'm generally not in need of the stream to hear something prior to release, but it's not unheard of. The more typical thing you'll see these days is streaming on a band's myspace site, which is usually limited to 3 songs, but they'll rotate them so you can hear the entire thing before it comes out.

[headtrauma]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

Foetus > NIN

Agreed. And Foetus was doing what NIN was doing about, oh, a decade before NIN was.

[Maple Leafs]

I'm not really familiar with Foetus. Any recommendations on songs to look for to see what they're about?

[st.cronin]

Hole, Nail, and Thaw, released in the mid-80s, was probably the height of Thirlwell's creative powers.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by cartman

Better not leave any of this viral marketing material in Boston, otherwise another panic attack will ensue.

OMG, IT'S A RICIN USB DRIVE

*snicker*

SI

[sterlingice]

Just to chime in, as I rarely do with music but I did like NIN for a time. I really liked Pretty Hate Machine and some stuff from Broken, Fixed, and Downward Spiral.

However, when "Closer" kindof exploded, basically because a ton of people loved the fact that there's a song they had to overtly bleep on every radio station and, well, if you're a teenager- that's the kind of stuff that's "cool", well, it seemed like that was the beginning of the end there.

Can't think of too much after that I liked and I'm kindof the anti music snob- I actually enjoy more popular music and never really worry about stuff getting "overplayed" because I listen to sports talk most of the day, anyway. But it just seemed like after that, we started getting the "I can crap in an album and sell this because I now have an idiotic fan base" so the music really started getting way out there.

The first track I heard off of this album just sounds like random white noise instead of the controlled and "musical" white noise that marked some of the earlier stuff.

SI

[Maple Leafs]

Well, having heard the new album a few times I think it's a good one. Definitely far, far better than With Teeth. As a concept album, and along with all the other stuff they've been doing to support the story, I think it really works. I'm not sure how well it will work on it's own -- it may come off as a tad repetitive and/or preachy. The last three songs in particular will be really hit-and-miss for people -- I think they work great, but I can definitely see some people finding them really over-dramatic and maudlin.

By the way, as expected fans have been finding a ton of hidden stuff on the album. So far there are at least two hidden voices that lead to new web sites, as well as two cases of morse code messages hidden in songs.

[wade moore]

I have never understood the fascination with NIN. Like many have said, the first album or two were creative and different, but meh since then. They're highly overrated by a pocket of music fans.

[Cringer]

Not sure if this gets me excited for the album, but I have been hearing for a couple months this will lead to a movie. These web sites definetly have me interested in a movie.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I have never understood the fascination with NIN. Like many have said, the first album or two were creative and different, but meh since then. They're highly overrated by a pocket of music fans.

Well, I can definitely see someone not liking The Fragile. But to imply that NIN stopped being creative or different after their first few albums is just wrong. The Fragile, if anything, was too creative and different. On the other hand, With Teeth wasn't especially creative and it was pretty clearly the worst full album they've put out.

The Fragile was a huge success critically -- it was Spin's album of the year, and Rolling Stone had it in their top five. Now to a large extent that was a reflection of what was going on at the time -- 1999 was the year of Britney and Backstreet and critics were probably so anxious for anything that wasn't bubblegum pop that they over-rated The Fragile. Commerically it did OK. But then of course NIN took their usual five year break, and the public moves on to other things. I still think it was a great album but in hindsight it's impact was pretty minimal compared to Pretty Hate Machine or Downward Spiral.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Cringer

Not sure if this gets me excited for the album, but I have been hearing for a couple months this will lead to a movie. These web sites definetly have me interested in a movie.

I hadn't really spent much time on the web sites until recently. To be honest, the Year Zero storyline combines too things I'm not a fan of -- science fiction and anti-government parnoia. But I have to say that the quality of the storytelling here is pretty solid. Some of the sites are really well-written.