Making good on a threat she made during a recent speech at the Digital Hollywood online entertainment conference in New York, Courtney Love has posted more than 50 Hole [ tickets ] tracks for free download at the band's official website.

Most of the MP3s currently offered are live and demo recordings. Among the demos is a version of "Asking for It" that features Kurt Cobain.

During her Digital Hollywood speech--which is republished as a manifesto on the official Hole site--Love roundly criticized major music distributors, claiming that they take an excessive cut of the money from album sales and that they aren't doing enough to foster the growth of the Internet as a means of music distribution.

"...If they aren't going to do for me what I can do for myself with my 19-year-old Webmistress on my own Web site, then they need to get the hell out of my way," Love told the convention in May. "[I will] allow millions of people to get my music for nothing if they want and hopefully they'll be kind enough to leave a tip if they like it."

Geffen Records sued Love and and Eric Erlandson of Hole for breach of contract in January, after Doll Head--the company that handles Hole's business affairs--sent a letter informing the label that its contract with the label would conclude on Jan. 23. Doll Head cited a California labor statute that limits personal-services contracts to seven years. (Metallica, Toni Braxton, Don Henley and Beck are among the acts that have used the statute to renegotiate contracts in the past.)

"I want to work with people who believe in music and art and passion," Love told Digital Hollywood. "And I'm just the tip of the iceberg. I'm leaving the major label system and there are hundreds of artists who are going to follow me. There's an unbelievable opportunity for new companies that dare to get it right."