Nine Inch Nails drives free music model

Some in the music industry scoffed when rock band Nine Inch Nails decided to give away one of its albums for free, but the move has grossed hundreds of thousands of dollars for the band.

Front man Trent Reznor announced last week that the band was releasing 36 new tracks, the equivalent of four albums, and making the first nine tracks free to download.

The band also offered a variety of physical media that fans could buy, and they have done just that.

The signed Ultra-Deluxe Limited Edition Package that came with high quality downloads, two CDs, a data DVD, a Blu-ray high def DVD and some extras sold out in less than a week, bringing in $750,000 in revenue.

Nine Inch Nails hit the headlines last year when Reznor urged fans in Australia to steal their music rather than pay the high price demanded by the record companies.