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Creative Commons is something I find both extremely useful and extremely important. I hope to further discussion about it on the blog at a later date.

Trent Reznor, the creative inspiration behind much of NIN is an articulate, talented and open minded individual. He has produced what I consider to be some of the greatest songs of all time; Hurt, Year Zero, Survialism and has done so in a way that actually attempts to completely change the nature of modern music business models. Two of NIN’s recent releases Ghosts Vols I – IV & Year Zero are perhaps the most pivotal in the bands repertoire, not only offering fantastic music and critical reflection on society, but being released under a Creative Commons license and providing buyers with access to source files used in the recording process to encourage further experimentation and remixes.

Year Zero is a concept album based some time in the near future where the modern world has deteriorated into a state of dystopia paralleling many of wrongs currently evident in the world but on a greater magnitude. The album makes criticism of government policy and reflects on many of society’s ills. Many aspects of the album were innovative from the alternative reality game that accompanied the marketing campaign for the release to the thermal covering on the CD itself. The CD for the album features a thermo-sensitive material which appears black at room temperature but which reveals a binary code when heat is applied, such as when the album is playing. The binary code translates to exterminal.net, one of the sites involved in the ARG.

The album also included an insert for the USBM – United States Bureau of Morality – with a phone number to report people who should be inspected. Phoning the number results in hearing a pre-recorded message that states that you and your family are now flagged as potential militants. It’s all wonderfully unique and engaging stuff that just magnifies the greatness of the album.

A remix CD for the songs on Year Zero was then made available which featured new versions of the tracks by artists such as The Faint and Ladytron. This in itself was a great addition to my collection but Trent being Trent the whole point of the remix album wasn’t to cash in on modified versions of existing tracks but rather to give fans the opportunity to remix them for themselves. Year Zero Remixed also ships with a data DVD which provides all the sessions for Year Zero in GarageBand format and WAV files for all components so that fans could create remixes for themselves and upload these online. Something that few if any other bands have done or indeed would consider but NIN’s label independence means that Trent’s creative freedom can come to the fore.

Year Zero is a complex layered production and was followed up by further depth but this time in a purely instrumental context in the form of Ghost Vols I-IV. A collection of lyric free tracks that according to Trent accompany mindscapes and day dreams – a pretty good summation if I do say so myself. I have lost count of how many times I have lost myself listening to Ghosts, it is a great album to explore yourself in. The entire production is under Creative Commons so can be used with some limitations by other people, another positive statement from Trent in his realisation that charging people for music in the established sense is archaic and pointless.

NIN are currently taking a break from music production, which is a shame but perhaps a needed outcome taking into account how hard they and in particular Trent works at pushing the art form forward. I look forward to whatever he makes available in the future, in the mean time I have quality music to listen to and experiment with.