Industrial progressive rock band Nine Inch Nails' most recent album The Slip will be available in physical formats on July 22, Billboard reported Wednesday. First reported on May 5, the album is the band's third album in a little over a year and the second since leaving music company Universal Music Group. Unlike other physical releases though, a CD version will be limited to 200,000 copies in the United States, Canada and Japan, while a later vinyl version will be unlimited. Band leader Trent Reznor also told Billboard the album "will remain free to download 'indefinitely' from the band's site."

The availability of a vinyl copy of The Slip versus that of the CD version mirrors similar sentiments that I commented about yesterday. Music company EMI packaged the vinyl version of Coldplay's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends with a CD version, indicating that despite vinyl's allure, the industry is aware that listeners want versions that can be transferred to portable devices.

NIN leader Trent Reznor was obviously aware of this desire from his fans, since the album will feature an unlimited release for the vinyl version. It could also indicate his own preference, which would not be surprising. Either way, when The Slip is released physically, consumers and listeners will still have the option to download the album for free if they decide to buy a physical copy, whether it's the limited CD or the unlimited vinyl. Numerous formats may seem tedious, but if the experience is part of the joy of listening to music then it is being accommodated.

In the last few weeks, I've become more and more critical about the British music company EMI Group, especially with the coming release of Coldplay's fourth album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. Numerous reports and rumors are circulating that the company is betting all of its yearly profits on the album's success, and this only fuels my fears about the success that the album would enjoy. It was never in doubt that the album would be huge, but with the band hoping to shake the image of a band that earns more profits for label management, the rumors worked against that.

In any case, I finally bought the album this morning from Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) and was slightly surprised to see that the retail chain was carrying a very limited number of vinyl copies. Naturally, and possibly without thinking of my Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPod, I splurged for this version of the album. Regardless, when I finally opened the shrinkwrap I found another surprise -- a CD copy packaged with the vinyl. Clearly, EMI and American branch Capitol Records are aware that a vinyl copy hardly transfers to an iPod easily.

The label may not like the fact that I will burn that CD copy to my iPod because of lingering fears that somehow that will result in illegal sharing, but it does say something possibly revealing about EMI. Since Guy Hands and private equity firm Terra Firma bought out the music company last September, the company has taken steps that some view as not music company practices, and lost many big artists in the mean time. But if a consumer can purchase one copy of an album from the music giant and receive two, then the company might not be in such trouble.

That is the very dynamic that the music industry needed to show: that it cared about the consumer. Digital growth in the past year has indicated that it did, and while a vinyl and CD copy might seem against that trend, it shows that the industry knows where consumers are listening to music the most: through portable devices.

Next time my Mom threatens my Dad to toss his hundreds of vinyl LPs that he's collected over the last 20+ years, I am going to direct him to the latest in turntables -- one that allows users to convert LPs to digital files directly from the platter onto one's hard drive.

Today's Sunday New York Times reports on two new consumer turntables on the market at $200 that will let one's memories re-live in a digital format, including the iPod.

One of the new turntables is called the Ion iTTUSB Turntable with USB Record and it is listed for $199, but can be bought for around $150 on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). This turntable is compatible with Macs and PCs. However, one downside is that the process of converting these old LPs can be time-consuming. The turntable has to be assembled properly and the LPs must be thoroughly cleaned. The recording software which comes on a CD takes about a half hour to set up properly, and may take even longer if you have a slower learning curve.

I know my Mom will be relieved to know that there's hope that the many apple crates packed with LPs gathering dust in our basement may soon be gone. (Though I think my Dad cherishes the album cover art as much as he does the music, so the battle may not be totally won.)