TRENT REZNOR MAKES $1.6 MILLION IN FIRST WEEK WITH GHOSTS

According to Billboard, Trent Reznor has added to his already posh fortune of $750,000 in two days since we last reported about the new Nine Inch Nails album Ghosts last week. The new numbers include all formats and sales configurations of the new album, not just the 2,500 copies of the limited $300 edition which sold out almost immediately. From Billboard:

The online release of the new Nine Inch Nails album “Ghosts I-IV” resulted in just under 800,000 transactions in its first week, totaling $1.6 million in revenue, the band revealed. Orders include free and paid downloads, as well as online orders for physical products like various limited-edition vinyl releases, CDs, and a dual-CD box set. NIN will not release traditional sales figures to SoundScan.

Of course Trent (like Radiohead) has benefited from years of major label marketing dollars, and of course there were costs associated with producing the items, especially those in the super-special-limited edition. But still, that is one hell of a take, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that an established artist no longer needs a major label to help them out. Obviously this isn’t the answer for establishing a new band, but it’s still food for thought. Major labels ought to be very fearful of what their established artist can now do — or they can wise up and do the same.

-VN