While Radiohead was recieving buckets of  "THE FUTURE IS NOW" download hype, Trent Reznor and Saul Williams quietly pulled their own In Rainbows, only better. Saul Williams's "The Rise and Fall of Niggy Tardust" was available for free at 192kbps, and for a measly $5 you got 192kbps, 320kbps, and FLACs. Now Reznor has stepped up his label-free release game even further. His new project, entitled Ghosts I-IV, will be available five different ways.

For $0, you get 192kbps MP3s. For $5, you get 320kbps, FLACs, and Apple Lossless, plus a PDF of artwork. For an extra five bucks you get two CDs, all the download options, plus "digital extras" like wallpaper and icons.  If you drop $75 you get the two CDs, a DVD of the download options, a Blu-Ray of 96khz/24bit audio, and a hardcover book of photography. Finally, for three hundred bucks, you can snag all of the above plus 4xLP 180g vinyl.

In an age of limitless options bottlenecked by record execs with zero imagination, Reznor is certainly leading the way in terms of creative packaging. These options show a clear understanding of what informed music fans want, in addition to some much needed fresh thinking. As for the music, I really have no idea what it sounds like.