From the NIN website:

as a thank you to our fans for your continued support, we are giving away the new nine inch nails album one hundred percent free, exclusively via nin.com.

the music is available in a variety of formats including high-quality MP3, FLAC or M4A lossless at CD quality and even higher-than-CD quality 24/96 WAVE. your link will include all options - all free. all downloads include a PDF with artwork and credits.

for those of you interested in physical products, fear not. we plan to make a version of this release available on CD and vinyl in july. details coming soon.


http://dl.nin.com/theslip/signup

This really is a very good album. Not at all the throwaway you'd expect. It's fully fleshed-out and delivers exactly what you'd expect from a NIN record.

Amazed that he gave this one away but charged for the all-instrumental Ghosts.

Also intriguing is the decision to distribute via torrent rather than just a simple download... I have it, but haven't had a chance to listen yet. The review on Pitchfork sounded promising.

6.13.2008: The Slip retail information
We're releasing a sales sheet to retail today, so some of you clever buggers will undoubtedly unearth this valuable information! Let me make it easy for you:

The Slip will be available in an individually numbered 2 disc, 6 panel digipak & double gatefold vinyl in the US, Canada, and parts of Japan.
The digi will be LIMITED to 200,000 pieces only, each individually numbered, and will include a DVD of NIN performing live tracks from The Slip at rehearsals, a 24-page booklet, and an exclusive sticker pack.
For UK, Europe, Australia, and other territories, the release will not be limited or numbered, but will otherwise be identical.
The gatefold vinyl release contains 1 LP (180 gram vinyl) and a 24-page booklet (vinyl is not limited or numbered anywhere).

CD Street Date (US & Canada): July 22, 2008
CD Street Date (UK & Europe): July 21, 2008
Vinyl Street Date (US & Canada): August 5, 2008
Vinyl Street Date (UK & Europe): August 4, 2008
Japan and Australia release info is TBA

The Slip will remain free