Like Radiohead before them, NIN have proved that people really are dumb enough to pay for a record they can get for free:

Nine Inch Nails’ 36-track instrumental opus Ghosts I-IV, released March 2 via NIN.com, has amassed a first week total of 781,917
transactions (including free and paid downloads as well as orders for physical product), resulting in a take of $1,619,420 USD.

“These figures represent the most relevant and contemporary metric for measuring how Nine Inch Nails’ music is reaching its fans,” said NIN manager Jim Guerinot.

NIN’s label The Null Corporation will not be releasing traditional sales figures to soundscan.

As previously reported, the $300 Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition of Ghosts I-IV immediately sold out its run of 2500. The $5 Download, $10 2XCD set and $75 Limited Edition Deluxe versions are still available at NIN.com.

The $10 2XCD SET will be released to retail April 5 in Australia and Japan, April 8 in North America, and April 7 in the UK and most European territories. A $39 4X vinyl version will be available at retail April 8.

Over the weekend, users claiming to be “the official profile for NIN” began popping up on popular torrent sites. As it turns out, they weren’t lying.

After breaking with Interscope, NIN decided to take the distribution of its music into its own hands and released its latest album, Ghosts I-IV, via its official Web site.

Of course, Radiohead took a similar route with their latest album In Rainbows, which was available digitally on a suggested donation basis before it was given a proper, physical release earlier this year.

It seems more and more that labels are becoming less necessary, but keep in mind, the bands that have been able to pull stuff like this off are once that are already pretty well established. As much as we all think they rock (and they do), Radiohead and Trent Reznor are already pretty well off; there are still plenty of bands out there who need to suckle at the music industry’s teat before they can strike out on their own. At least, if they want that flashy automobile. Hybrid, of course.

Yesterday Trent Reznor released Ghosts I-IV and we gave you an overview of the variety of way you can purchase the new material.
Well - looks like Reznor just made a quick $750,000 - in about a day - by completely selling out of the Ultra-Deluxe package.
According to the site:
Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition Package
We have SOLD OUT of the 2500 Limited Edition Packages.

Next up is the $7,500 Radiohead limited edition deluxe box set of In Rainbows.

Listen to Ghosts I-IV right here:

Download it or buy it here.