Just in case downloading it for free was a little too much trouble, Nine Inch Nails will be releasing The Slip as an actual CD later this month. Here’s the release, complete with tourdates and everythang:

Nine Inch Nails’ The Slip, currently available only as a free download at NIN.com, will be issued July 22 as a limited edition physical CD/DVD through the band’s own Null Corporation label.

The CD version of The Slip will be limited to 250,000 copies worldwide, each in an individually numbered six-panel digipak that includes a bonus DVD of performances filmed during rehearsals for NIN’s upcoming Lights In The Sky tour, as well as a 24-page booklet and exclusive sticker pack.

The gatefold vinyl contains one 180-gram vinyl LP and a 24-page booklet, and is neither limited nor numbered.

The Slip is 10 new songs written and performed by Trent Reznor with Josh Freese, Robin Finck and Alessandro Cortini. Justin Meldal-Johnsen will round out this NIN lineup for the upcoming tour, dates of which are as follows:

07/25/08 - Pemberton, BC - Pemberton Festival
07/26/08 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena at Seattle Center
07/28/08 - Edmonton, ALB - Rexall Place
07/29/08 - Calgary, ALB - Pengrowth Saddledome
07/31/08 - Winnipeg, MAN - MTS Centre
08/02/08 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center
08/05/08 - Toronto, ONT - Air Canada Centre
08/07/08 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
08/08/08 - Worcester, MA - DCU Center
08/12/08 - Knoxville, TN - Knoxville Civic Coliseum
08/13/08 - Duluth, GA - Gwinnett Arena
08/15/08 - Oklahoma City, OK - Ford Center
08/16/08 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
08/18/08 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
08/20/08 - St. Louis, MO - Scottrade Center
08/22/08 - Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
08/23/08 - Auburn Hills, MI - Palace of Auburn Hills
08/25/08 - Toledo, OH - Seagate Convention Center
08/27/08 - East Rutherford, NJ - Izod Center
08/29/08 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
08/31/08 - Lexington, KY - Rupp Arena
09/02/08 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater
09/03/08 - Salt Lake City, UT - The E Center of West Valley
09/05/08 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
09/06/08 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum

Industrial rock pioneer(s) Nine Inch Nails (aka Trent Reznor) has released their newest album, The Slip, online for absolutely free.

The album, which became available for download just after 3 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, appears to represent the first time a superstar act has distributed an entire album without any opportunity for people to pay for it. Its release comes two months after the band issued the instrumental album “Ghosts I-IV” and allowed fans to obtain a portion of it for free or the entire recording for $5. Before that, the British rock act Radiohead broke with convention by offering its 2007 album, “In Rainbows,” online under a tip-jar-style setup in which people could name their own price — including zero.

Mr. Reznor’s new offer could serve as another test of how the easy availability of free music online affects subsequent CD sales and other money-making opportunities. “The Slip” will not be sold on CD or vinyl until at least July, according to representatives for the band. But the free digital version could stoke interest for Nine Inch Nails’ recently announced concert tour. Already, radio stations have shown interest in “Discipline,” a song from “The Slip” that was released about two weeks ago.

As with the “Ghosts I-IV,” the new album is being released with a Creative Commons license, an unconventional type of intellectual-property license that allows the copyright holder to specify which rights it does and does not reserve. The band is allowing fans to share or remix the music for non-commercial purposes.

I’m not sure if Reznor is ushering in some newfangled apathy, or if he’s just worried that unless he puts his tunes out for free, no one will ever hear them. I mean, let’s face it, shit hasn’t been the same since the release of The Downward Spiral. And Reznor’s buffness is a tad disconcerting given the fact that he was once heralded as the poster child for skinny Goth America. Whatever though, I get free albums anyway; maybe I’m just bummed that the perks of journalism are now offered to everyone else. Sign of the times, man…sign of the times.