Speaking of music

This has to be one of the coolest things I've seen from the industry in a while. Nine Inch Nails has released their first single off of their upcoming track for free.

Here's the kicker. It's not an .mp3, but it's in the Garage Band format. In case you didn't know, Garage Band is a program that comes included in the Apple iLife suite, which also includes iPhoto, and iDVD, and iMovie. (It comes with iTunes too, but that's free anyway) I don't think you could find equivalent software on the PC for less than 600 bucks. And even if you could, it wouldn't be as easy to use. They simply don't make a video editor that offers so much in such an easy to use package as iMovie on the PC. Believe me. I wish they did, so I could use it on my desktop. The fully interactive and professional looking DVD menus you can create in iDVD are amazing. iLife only costs 79 bucks for the whole package. Oh, and it comes free with any Mac purchase, including the 500 dollar Mac Mini. It's one of the most compelling reasons to get a Mac, even if it's just a spare machine.

But back to the song, it's in a format that allows you to remix the song easily, assuming you have Garage Band. Have you always wanted to hear Trent Reznor sing over a string symphony? How about bagpipes? What if you think that YOU can do a better job than Trent? Just delete his vocals tracks, and add your own. You can make it happen, easily. Kudos to Nine Inch Nails for providing the innovative music and idea, and to Apple for providing the unmatched software. I hope this catches on with more artists.