Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails have a new 36 track instrumental album that you can buy. This money goes directly to the artist, the way it should be in my opinion. Trent has been experimenting with new business models and ways of making money from music, and sharing publicly on how each of these experiments have worked. He learned from the Saul Williams album that he produced, and its free or $5 purchase option. This NIN album is sold for $5 and up for options that include CD’s, art, deluxe packages, and more. $5 is virtually free anyways. Be patient though, the site is undergoing heavy traffic issues. My digital download failed at 8MB out of 270MB and I have sent an email to the store site support for assistance.

NIN Ghost Web Site

You can pay $5 for a download of max quality, non DRM infected digital tracks, or choose from a variety of options:

Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I – IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I – IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain.

Trent Reznor explains, “I’ve been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, 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.”

“edun LIVE is a an ethical tee-shirt company created by Ali Hewson and Bono” is how their main blurb reads and that is exactly what caught my attention when I first saw it. “What the hell does Bono have to do with tee-shirts?” I speculated. “And just who the hell is Ali Hewson?”

A little digging helped put it all in perspective of course. With apologies to Bono; – I mostly love your music of course, but had not previously paid any attention to your marital status. I found out that edun LIVE is an tee-shirt company who specialized in organic tee shirts which are made of 100% combed African cotton, so you know — these tee-shirts are “extra soft and delightfully smooth”.

If this is starting to sound like a commercial, then give yourself a cookie because — it is. We are proud to be affiliated with edun LIVE because we like their mission. Keep the capitalization of African cotton where it is needed most: In Sub Saharan Africa. According to their FAQ:

edun LIVE is not a charity, it is a for-profit business. Via a successful economic business model driven by high-volume sales, it is edun LIVE’s mission to provide long-term sustainable employment in developing countries to help foster economic growth rather than provide charity.

and

edun LIVE has a triple bottom line, which means edun LIVE’s decision to do business with a factory is not based only on price and margin – it is also based on the resulting social and environmental impact. edun LIVE is focused on providing a deeper commitment by working with the factories to grow their capabilities so they are a viable resource, not only for edun LIVE, but also for other brands.

Now, Bono doesn’t need my endorsement, or our affiliation. But I wanted to draw some attention indirectly to a relatively new concept in business. I like to call it “For Profit — with a Mission”. This is a concept that involves making money for yourself or your shareholders without being a miserable fucking prick to the environment around you, or the people who work for — and make their living supporting — your corporation.

This is an important but difficult concept for some, but only because they are indoctrinated into a paradigm of uselessly irrational expectations by the popular culture which encourages consumerism by marginalizing anything lower then yourself on the food chain. Let me give it to you without the buzzwords for a moment: Profit is good, and having a society worth living in is also good, and it is up to each of us to make it “come into being” daily.

I don’t know if business like edun LIVE is the harbinger of something good, or not. But I do know that there is a tremendous business value in considering more then just the bottom line, while not losing sight of it.

With apologies to Ali Hewson.

Dex out

These blank t-shirts help create jobs in Africa.