Changes

'''''The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!''''' is an album by [[Saul Williams]], produced and co-written by [[Trent Reznor]]. Some of the songs on the album are contain modifications of drum beat outtakes from ''[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]]'' and [[Tapeworm]] sessions.

Due to the distribution method chosen for the album, there were no leaks of the entire album prior to release. However, Trent Reznor and Saul Williams leaked a few songs before releasing it. Reznor leaked the songs "[[Break]]" and "[[Tr(n)igger]]" via [[Echoing the Sound]], later, a Sendspace link appeared on [[nin.com]] making the two tracks plus "[[Sunday Bloody Sunday]]" available as a downloadable zip file with lyrics to the songs. A few hours before the release, Saul Williams put "[[Scared Money]]" on his MySpace music player.A promotional CDR with instrumentals of fourteen songs surfaced 3.5 years after the release. 

The album was released at 1am Eastern Time on November 1st 2007, with the abilty to preorder. People are given the option to either "directly support the artists involved in the creation of this music" by making a $5 donation or to download the album for free. If you choose to pay for the record, you are able to download in 192kbps MP3, 320kbps MP3 or FLAC lossless audio. If you download for free you recieve the album in 192Kbps MP3 format. All versions include a PDF with artwork and lyrics, and "all files are 100% DRM free, and can be played on any device. MP3s are encoded with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAME LAME v3.97] and love". The choice of distribution method garnered much attention and praise from the online community and was reported on by many websites. The number of downloads have were not been immediately released so it is unknown how many people downloaded or paid money for it, though with Reznor said the following [http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071104/music_nm/reznor_dc;_ylt=Ah61sxYfjTC2yg7q1jy.z5xxFb8C stating in an interview]: "We do know the presale numbers, but we are keeping them a secret."Later, a follow-up revealing the statistics was posted on nin.com on January 3rd 2008 and on January 10th the option to download the album for free was removed, offering the following explanation: ''"We have removed the FREE option from our site as it was limited to the first 100,000 customers."''

On NIN's official [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=11794012 MySpace ] and [http://www.youtube.com/ninofficial YouTube ] pages, a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwCCqVPb0XQ mysterious clip ] which originally featured on the album website was uploaded with a black man (probably Saul Williams , dressed as NiggyTardust) , sitting on a chair. The video was probably uploaded for promotional purposes, There also is a "player" on niggytardust.com's "Spread The Word", which is copied on Saul Williams' MySpace page, but is not available at the moment.

More recently, niggytardust.com, where the album was available for download, has been taken down and redirects to [http://saulwilliams.com/ saulwilliams.com]. The album's physical release date has been set for July 8th, 2008, and is being released on CD and vinyl, as well as via iTunes, and is to include bonus tracks. ==Trent Reznor on ''Niggy TardustNiggyTardust''==

==Saul Williams on ''Niggy TardustNiggyTardust''==

opening slot of his [[With Teeth International Tour|European With Teeth tour]]. After only the 2nd show

- Saul Williams

=====CD=====# "[[Black History Month]] " – 3:15# "[[Convict Colony]] " – 3:24# "[[Tr(n)igger]] " – 3:54# "[[Sunday Bloody Sunday]] " – 4:05# "[[Break]] " – 3:18# "[[NiggyTardust]] " – 3:40# "[[DNA]] " – 4:03# "[[WTF!]] " – 5:29# "[[Scared Money]] " – 3:49# "[[Raw]] " – 2:50# "[[Skin Of A Drum]] " – 3:56# "[[No One Ever Does]] " – 3:15# "[[Banged And Blown Through]] " – 3:43# "[[Raised To Be Lowered]] " – 5:23# "[[The Ritual]] " – 5:20# "Pedagogue Of Young Gods" (bonus track) - 3:18# "World On Wheels" (bonus track) - 1:27# "Can’t Hide Love" (bonus track) - 2:27# "[[Hyperpower!#Gunshots By Computer|Gunshots By Computer]]" (bonus track) - 1:44# "List Of Demands (Reparations)" (bonus track) - 3:18 =====12" Vinyl=====&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A1&nbsp; "Black History Month" – 3:15<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A2&nbsp; "Convict Colony" – 3:24<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A3&nbsp; "Tr(n)igger" – 3:54<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A4&nbsp; "Sunday Bloody Sunday" – 4:05<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A5&nbsp; "Break" – 3:18<br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B1&nbsp; "NiggyTardust" – 3:40<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B2&nbsp; "DNA" – 4:03<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B3&nbsp; "WTF!" – 5:29<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B4&nbsp; "Scared Money" – 3:49<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;B5&nbsp; "Raw" – 2:50<br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;C1&nbsp; "Skin Of A Drum" – 3:56<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;C2&nbsp; "No One Ever Does" – 3:15<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;C3&nbsp; "Banged And Blown Through" – 3:43<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;C4&nbsp; "Raised To Be Lowered" – 5:23<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;C5&nbsp; "The Ritual" – 5:20<br> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D1&nbsp; "Pedagogue Of Young Gods" - 3:18<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D2&nbsp; "World On Wheels" - 1:27<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D3&nbsp; "Can’t Hide Love" - 2:27<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D4&nbsp; "Gunshots By Computer" - 1:44<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;D5&nbsp; "List Of Demands (Reparations)" - 3:18

[[Image:Saul bandpic.jpg|thumb|300px]]* Artwork by – Angelbert Metoyer* Backing Vocals – CX Kidtronik (tracks: 1, 6, 17, 18)*Design [Cover Art & Jewelry Design by ] – Melody Ehsani* Design [Graphics and Layout by ] – [[Rob Sheridan]]* Sonic TormentEngineer [Additional] – Alan Mason, [[Brett Bachemin]]*Layout – Kathleen Dragoon*Mastered By – Brian "Big Bass" Gardner*Mixed By – [[Alan Moulder]]*Music By – CX Kidtronik (tracks: 2, 6, 8, 14, 17, 18), Saul Williams(tracks: 2, 3, 9, 10, 20), Thavius Beck (tracks: 1, 7), Trent Reznor(tracks: 1, 2, 5 to 8, 10 to 16, 19)*Photography By [Gold Dusted Photo] – C.B. Smith*Producer – Trent Reznor*Programmed By [Additional] – CX Kidtronik]](tracks: 6, 7, 14), Saul Williams (tracks: 4, 7), Trent Reznor (tracks: 1, 3, 7)*Programmed By, Engineer – [[Thavius BeckAtticus Ross]]*Vocals – Saul Williams*Words By – Saul Williams (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 17, 19, 20) ==Saul follow-up and facts==The following was posted on [[Atticus Rossnin.com]]on 03 January 2008:  It's a strange time to be an artist in the recording business. It's pretty easy to see what NOT to do these days, but less obvious to know what's right. As I find myself free from the bloated bureaucracy of major labels, finally able to do whatever I want... well, what is that? What is the "right" way to release records, treat your music and your audience with respect and attempt to make a living as well? I have a number of musician friends who are either in a similar situation or feel they soon will be, and it's a real source of anxiety and uncertainty. I'd like to share my experience releasing Saul Williams' "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust" and what I've learned from the process. Perhaps by revealing of all our data - our "dirty laundry" - we can contribute to a better solution. A quick history: Saul makes a great record that I produce. We can't find the right home at a major label. We decide to release it ourselves, digitally. Saul does not have limitless financial resources so we shop around for a company that can fulfill our needs. We choose Musicane because they are competent and are willing to adapt to what we want. The results are here: [[Alan Moulder]http://niggytardust.com/ niggytardust.com] We offer the entire record free (as in totally free to the visitor - we pay bandwidth costs) as 192 MP3s, or for $5 you can choose higher fidelity versions and feel good about supporting the artist directly. We offer all major CCs and PayPal as payment options. Here's what I was thinking: Fans are interested in music as soon as it's available (that's a good thing, remember) and usually that's a leak from the label's manufacturing plants. Offering the record digitally as its first appearance in the marketplace eliminates that problem. I thought if you offered the whole record free at reasonable quality - no strings attached - and offered a hassle free way to show support that clearly goes straight to the artists who made it at an unquestionably low price people would "do the right thing". I know, I know... Well, now I DO know and you will too. Saul's previous record was released in 2004 and has sold 33,897 copies. As of 1/2/08, 154,449 people chose to download Saul's new record. 28,322 of those people chose to pay $5 for it, meaning: 18.3% chose to pay. Of those paying, 3220 chose 192kbps MP3 19,764 chose 320kbps MP3 5338 chose FLAC Keep in mind not one cent was spent on marketing this record. The only marketing was Saul and myself talking as loudly as we could to anybody that would listen. If 33,897 people went out and bought Saul's last record 3 years ago (when more people bought CDs) and over 150K - five times as many - sought out this new record, that's great - right? I have to assume the people knowing about this project must either be primarily Saul or NIN fans, as there was very little media coverage outside our direct influence. If that assumption is correct - that most of the people that chose to download Saul's record came from his or my own fan-base - is it good news that less than one in five feel it was worth $5? I'm not sure what I was expecting but that percentage - primarily from fans - seems disheartening. Add to that: we spent too much (correction, I spent too much) making the record utilizing an A-list team and studio, Musicane fees, an old publishing deal, sample clearance fees, paying to give the record away (bandwidth costs), and nobody's getting rich off this project. But... Saul's music is in more peoples' iPods than ever before and people are interested in him. He'll be touring throughout the year and we will continue to get the word out however we can. So - if you're an artist looking to utilize this method of distribution, make of these figures what you will and hopefully this info is enlightening. Best, TR

* [http://niggytardustsaulwilliams.com Album / Official website]