Apple caves: NIN App Store update approved 'unchanged'
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 7th 2009 1:43PM
posted May 7th 2009 1:43PM
NEWS FLASH: Apple has approved the NIN iPhone app update. Should be live in a few hours.Whatever the reason for the turn-around -- Trent's expletive-ridden rant or the fact that the developer at one point had pulled any links to the offending "Downward Spiral" album -- let's hope these nerd-fights end once the App Store gains some parental controls.
Update: Reznor followed-up with this, "The NIN iPhone app is unchanged, the "issues" seem to have been resolved." Looks like Apple caved under intense criticism.
Good thing no one cares about NIN anymore.
I do.
k thx bye!
Is that why NIN shows always sell out, real fast like and everything?
Ned's right - NIN is the Depeche Mode of today's generation. It was cool to like them for about 6 months in their heyday, but that heyday has disappeared over the horizon years ago.
What this means to you hipsters out there is, NIN isn't cool anymore. Yes, their music always kinda blew, but when you wore your NIN t-shirt, people would gasp and think to themselves, "Oh my, that hipster must be OUT there!".
Now you're just that creepy old guy in the bar staring at chicks.
As a music major, I find Rezor's work brilliant. I'm not the kind of person who you would have found at some of his hardcore shows back in the 90s, but that doesn't mean he can't be appreciated. Basically what I'm getting at is, I'm 20, have many musically-inclined friends, and we all love NIN.
@Frankfurter
So you only listen to music that is cool at the moment...tell the truth, you really don't even like music, do you?
I was hoping apple didn't cave in :/
Steve Jobs should have told that self righteous d-bag to kiss his a**
Doood, NIN = awesome.
I was a fan of the Flood days, but I'd still never say that nobody cares. It's just that now many of the people who care, were the people who didn't like anyone who liked that "weird crap".
Reznor is nowadays almost more relevant now than he was in the 90s. Not only did he release an amazing album last year, but he offered it for free with the option to buy it with extras. He also has been giving his tunes for free under a Creative Commons License for some time. And still had positive accounts.
He is one of the few big artists who have turned their backs to the industry while remaining important and making a profit. To put this in perspective, think that musical gods like Eno (last year, with David Byrne) or Prince (in the nineties) have not matched this achievement.
So, yes, NIN is still relevant and will apparently be for some time.
Frankfurter; typical iPod user.
@Frankfurter Lady GaGa appreciates your support. In the meantime, NIN becomes ever increasingly more relevant to its fanbase. Enough that it can make Apple change its tone, something whole record labels have a hard time doing.
It took the record labels years to get Apple to cave on variable pricing (and had to offer DRM free across the board to make it happen). It took NIN what, a week to get it's app reinstated?
Don't worry, when I become as socially relevant as NIN, I'll make sure iPhones have mkv and avi support for video playback. And I'll have Steve Jobs do his comeback keynote in your backyard. He'll bring veggie burgers.
the fact that frankfurter is calling nin fans hipsters says a lot about how far he is from the pulse of things.
lady gaga and trent are actually kinda a perfect match.
they should get married.
since trents been off the speed, boy has he got thick, yum!
I thought they were crap from the start.
This is a TERRIBLE LIE!!!!
@Jason
LOL! You major in music? Get a real major, stop pussying around college. Just because you major in music doesnt mean you are musically-inclined. It means you're going to be a drain on society and become a music teacher at some public school. Oh shit, i just spoiled your life for the next 20 years, whoops!
QUAKE!
I'm sure the well publicized rant by Trent Reznor had nothing to do with it. /s
Celebs are worse than toddlers when they dont get their way.
"Apple is worse than toddlers when it doesn't get its way."
Fixed that for ya.
I'm all for apple being more lenient, but if they're they do it....they should do it for every dev not just for this has-been.
+ Steve Jobs is a bigger rock star than Trent will ever be
Probably their plan to release the application unmodified for jailbroken phones, instead of changing it as Apple wanted. Apple backed down rather than risk a high-profile app requiring jailbreaking. They'd rather let NIN get their way than risk losing control entirely.
Either way, it's a chink in the armor that other app developers should look to.
@ James
God forbid artist's get pissed when their work gets censored.
See, that's the beauty of a mysterious, un-documented approval process: you can make special exemptions for people who are famous, powerful, friends of the company, etc. You can have completely arbitrary approvals, and no one can ever say "Hey, how come you let them do it, but not me?"
"That was different"
Thomas, "We don't why and we don't know how". Small typo.
Just saw the tweet a little bit ago... I knew Apple would come around eventually, it was too hypocritical to reject it.
It is up now.
I really hope you unchecked the "E-Mail me when someone replies to this comment" box, Ned7077.
No one cares about NIN anymore? You mean age group that has the most disposable income to purchase the iphone and pay for a contract? Not like they grew up during the time when NIN was big...
And there's still no Slingplayer. What gives?!?
I did grow up when NIN was big and their concerts are still sold out in minutes! I would rather crap out an iphone than use one so plehh! As long as I have a phone that has numbers and possibly a keyboard I can tap out a few text to my wife (also a big NIN fan) with, I'm good. But Trent has always been a big Apple donkey so I can see why he would push for it. Doesn't matter to me, I have pretty much all the NIN swag ever sold anyway. Oh yeah and F***k Ned7077!
Apple is such a tight arse
Well, that's fixed. There's still going to plenty of double standards in the App store.
Where is this thing located in the App Store, I can't find it under music:
http://appstoreicons.com/music
I searched for "NIN" - it's the first result.
Why do we have to phrase this as "apple caves"? Apple clearly realize their approval process is flawed - there are indications that they are working to make the approval process tiered to allow for more adult content - and they have corrected an instance of the approval process gone wrong - shouldn't this be celebrated? Something like "Apple does the right thing" or "Apple improves iPhone Apps - NIN now available". If you smack someone down when they try to do the right thing - pretty soon they will just stop trying.
Its phrased "Apple Caves" because its accurate. Had Trent not written this strongly worded letter, would Apple just decided to take the high road out of the blue and let him in? They caved. Apple has more then enough leeway when it comes to its consumer practices. The whole approval process is unnecessary, inconsistent, cumbersome, and totalitarian. Frack the Apple ecosystem.
@ Truthbringer: "Unnecessary"? It'd be flooded with adult content or worse, if they did not have an approval process at all. And like the "Baby Shaking" app, it shows that Apple can make mistakes, and they are willing to admit and correct it. I'd be interested in how the approval process works though. Is it just a series of interns, each approving a couple dozen a day? Do they get re-checked by a senior manager, before being released?
@truthbringer: Wow, someone has a chip on their shoulder when it comes to Apple. Did Steve Jobs kill your puppy or something?
Apple didn't "cave" to anything, the review process has never been painted as a one shot only deal. There are numerous cases of other developers whose apps were at first declined, the contacted Apple, and were able to work out the issues. This is just another case were an error was reviewed and rectified. Caving implies they never had any intention of changing their mind, but since they have a demonstrated history of reconsidering apps, including those that are fundementally unchanged, your conclusions is wholly and entirely innaccurate. As is the line the above, apparently biased, writer used as well.
Then again, hating on Apple is apparently the "cool" thing to do these days among the nerd herd.
@krizoitz "hating on Apple is apparently the "cool" thing to do these days" Really? I think people are just starting to realize how terrible their business ethics are. They overcharge for their computers. They sue anyone that tries to sell a mac clone because apparently you only rent the software when you buy it from them. If you try to customize your Iphone they throw a fit and try to brick your phone. Yes this was a cave-in. They saw that they were called out on their own BS, the users were angry, and had to do a quick "oops we made a mistake" response. Guess what happens when something breaks on your ipod? You call customer service and they tell you to buy a new ipod because they wont sell parts or repair them. Apple is completely out of touch, no pun intended, with reality and the normal consumer. Thankfully people are starting to realize it.
Tweeting... how industrial.
downloadable as of 15:00 EST
Is that an Apple logo hidden in the TDS album cover? Nice one.
It looks more rotten and beaten to a pulp than hidden.
crazy it does
a little smudged, but yeah
It's a pretty good 'shop...
Apple, you shouldn't have left NIN in. He told you his plans a long time ago:
He wants to fuck you like an animal
He wants to f[uck] you from the inside
He wants to fuck you like an animal
Something that hasn't had enough attention is the innovation Trent is bringing to his live shows. Last time I saw him, they had multple layers of led screens that were responding to sound, light, and touch. At one point he actually drummed out a beat onto a sequencer on one of the screens. Another time the front screen was covered with static, and he was behind it with a spotlight on him. The screen reacted to the light and punched a hole in the static where Trent was standing, even as he ran around the stage. Incredible.
Trent fall off years ago. And, I haven't really listened to any of his stuff since Pretty Hate Machine. I listened to bit and pieces of Downward Spiral and decided I didn't like the direction he was going in.
So, yeah. Anyway, he went on a little bitch-rant because Apple didn't like his new toy, and probably to try an make himself relevant again. So what? To me, it just makes him look childish and desperate.
So let me get this straight. You read all about this (3 articles here) situation. Then you attack Trent Reznor who is wildly successful and totally innovating a new approach for the music business model and selling out concerts that are pretty groundbreaking and amazing. Wow, keep letting the radio tell you whats good. His rant was dead on about the hypocrisy of Apple. That was it. They apparently agreed for the app was approved.
God money I'll do anything for you.
God money just tell me what you want me to.
God money nail me up against the wall.
God money dont want everything he wants it all.
I'm not the biggest Apple fan in this world; but Apple did NOT cave here. They obviously corrected an oversight. Look at the baby shaker thing. Someone is obviously asleep at the wheel at Apples app approval dept, or perhaps doesn't even give a fuck. Let's check the facts here kiddies. They corrected an error in the app approval process. It hasn't been the first time, and it probably will not be the last time. I mean they shot down a TWITTER app. Get real.
Was Trent's rant a little childish and bitchboy like? Oh yeah. But he also did alot to big up the iPhone platform, and his overall pref for Apple (which PHM was sequenced on apparently). I'm not on the same page as those preferences; but obviously if NIN music is all over iTunes to purchase, and the objection was with lyrics in the app that are the SAME lyrics available for song purchase, let's be real here, someone's a fucking idiot within the approval process. Apple didn't cave, they corrected a legit mistake, and if iPhone owners are lucky, perhaps the approval process will get an overhaul sooner rather than later because of this.
I am so pleased I am not from the US - I would go crazy having to listen to whining children like you people, all day long.