 The album 's unorthodox distribution methods also garnered the attention of various news agencies , such as Wired 's Eliot Van Buskirk , who labeled Ghosts as " a remarkably extensive release " . Ben Worthen of The Wall Street Journal hypothesized that " most business execs [ ... ] could learn a lot from [ Reznor 's ] experiments with online business models . " Many news agencies compared the release to Radiohead 's 2007 " pay what you want " digital release of In Rainbows , as well as the similar release of Saul Williams ' album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust ! the same year , which Reznor produced . Rolling Stone 's review called the album a " a new @-@ media showpiece " , while Tiny Mix Tapes said " the circumstances surrounding the release are so forward @-@ thinking that they could be considered just as key to appreciating the album as the music itself . " Financial website The Motley Fool wrote an article on the album 's release titled " Music Industry Gets Nailed Again " , forecasting that " Innovators like Nine Inch Nails are paving the way for new media business models that may bypass the middleman while making sure artists and fans are happy . " In its review of The Slip , however , PopMatters described Ghosts I – IV in retrospect as an " aimless batch of ... instrumentals packaged in a brilliant marketing scheme " and said that it was " basically a CD release with a couple of mail @-@ order special editions available for the ' true fans ' . " 
