Trent Reznor has continued to scream in the face of the dying giant that is the music industry with the free* download release of Nine Inch Nails’ new 36-track album Ghosts I – IV.

Available now from the Nine Inch Nails website (click), the first editions in what looks to be a series of Ghosts releases contains “almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall.

“I've been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years,” Reznor explained. “But by its very nature it wouldn't have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams.

“I'm very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts."

*Common to other high-profile internet releases – Saul Williams’ The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! and Radiohead’s In Rainbows - there are several ways to buy Ghosts I – IV. The most popular, surely, will be the offer of the first nine, DRM-free, LAME-encoded (320kbps) tracks for free. That comes with a 40-page PDF guide to the release and other digital extras, (wallpapers, icons, etc).

For $5 (which rounds-up to about £2.52) you get all 36 tracks in digital format plus that PDF and the digital extras, while for $10 two CDs are bundled in as a “six panel digipak package with a 16 page booklet.” That ships on April 8th.

There are other options, if you’re feeling flush - $75, $300, click the numbers to learn more.

The record features contributions from Dresden Dolls drummer Brian Viglione, producers Alan Moulder and Atticus Ross and guitarist Adrian Belew, who has worked with David Bowie and Frank Zappa, among others.