Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN, stylized as NIN, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band until his frequent collaborator, Atticus Ross, joined in 2016. The band's debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), was released via TVT Records. After disagreeing with TVT about how to promote the album, the band signed with Interscope Records and released the EP Broken (1992). The following albums, The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999), were released to critical acclaim and commercial success.
Nine Inch Nails
Following a hiatus, Nine Inch Nails resumed touring in 2005 and released the album With Teeth (2005). Following the release of the album Year Zero (2007), the band left Interscope after a feud. Nine Inch Nails continued touring and independently released Ghosts I–IV (2008) and The Slip (2008) before a second hiatus. Their eighth album, Hesitation Marks (2013), was followed by a trilogy which consisted of the EPs Not the Actual Events (2016) and Add Violence (2017) and their ninth album Bad Witch (2018). In 2020, Nine Inch Nails simultaneously released two further installments in the Ghosts series: Ghosts V: Together and Ghosts VI: Locusts.
When touring, Reznor typically assembles a live band to perform with him under the Nine Inch Nails name. This live band has varied over the decades, with various members leaving and returning; the most recent lineup consists of Robin Finck (who initially joined in 1994), Alessandro Cortini (who initially joined in 2005), and Ilan Rubin (who initially joined in 2009) alongside Reznor and Ross. The band's concerts are noted for their extensive use of thematic visual elements, complex special effects, and elaborate lighting. Songs are often rearranged to fit any given performance, and melodies or lyrics of songs that are not scheduled to be performed are sometimes assimilated into other songs.
Nine Inch Nails have sold over 20 million records and been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning for the songs "Wish" in 1992 and "Happiness in Slavery" in 1996. Time magazine named Reznor one of its most influential people in 1997, while Spin magazine has described him as "the most vital artist in music". In 2004, Rolling Stone placed Nine Inch Nails at No. 94 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Nine Inch Nails were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020, after being nominated in 2014 (their first year of eligibility) and again in 2015.
Corporate disputes[edit]
TVT Records[edit]
In the early 1990s, Nine Inch Nails was involved in a much-publicized feud with TVT Records, the first record label to sign the band. Reznor objected to the label's attempted interference with his intellectual property.[13] Ultimately, Nine Inch Nails entered into a joint venture with Interscope Records in which Reznor forfeited a portion of his publishing rights to TVT Music in exchange for the freedom of having his own Nothing Records imprint.[305] In 2005, Reznor sued his former friend and manager John Malm, co-founder of Nothing, for fraud, breach of contract and fiduciary duty, and other claims.[306] Their relationship was formally severed in a New York courtroom, with damages awarded to Reznor in excess of $3 million.[307]
At the behest of Prudential Securities bankruptcy proceedings, TVT put the rights to Reznor's recordings for the label on auction in 2005. This offer included the whole TVT catalog, including Pretty Hate Machine, and a percentage of royalties from Reznor's song publishing company, Leaving Hope Music/TVT Music. Rykodisc, which did not win the auction but was able to license the rights from Prudential, reissued the out-of-print Pretty Hate Machine CD on November 22, 2005.[308] Ryko also reissued the "Head Like a Hole" CD and a vinyl edition of Pretty Hate Machine in 2006. The label considered releasing a deluxe edition, just as Interscope had done for The Downward Spiral. They were influenced by Reznor and liked the idea, but did not want to pay him for the album and the idea was scrapped.[309]
Universal Music Group[edit]
In May 2007, Reznor made a post on the official Nine Inch Nails website skeptical of Universal Music Group (parent company of Nine Inch Nails' record label, Interscope Records) for its pricing and distribution plans for Year Zero.[310] He labeled the company's retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia as "ABSURD", concluding that "as a reward for being a 'true fan' you get ripped off". Reznor went on to say that he hated Interscope, and in later years the "climate" of record labels may have an increasingly ambivalent impact on consumers who buy music.[311] Reznor's post, specifically his criticism of the recording industry at large, elicited considerable media attention.[312] In September 2007, Reznor continued his attack on UMG at a concert in Australia, urging fans there to "steal" his music online instead of purchasing it legally.[313] Reznor went on to encourage the crowd to "steal and steal and steal some more and give it to all your friends and keep on stealing".[314]
Reznor announced on October 8, 2007, that Nine Inch Nails had fulfilled its contractual commitments to Interscope Records and was now free to proceed as a "totally free agent, free of any recording contract with any label".[315] Reznor also speculated that he would release the next Nine Inch Nails album online in a similar fashion to The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!, which he produced.[316] Reznor later released the first nine tracks of Ghosts I–IV and the entirety of The Slip in 2008 for free download.
In another post on his website, Reznor again openly criticized Universal Music Group for preventing him from launching an official interactive fan remix website. Universal declined to host the site just days before its scheduled launch, citing the potential "accusation", in Reznor's words, "that they are sponsoring the same technical violation of copyright they are suing [other media companies] for".[317] Reznor wrote in response that he was "challenged at the last second to find a way of bringing this idea to life without getting splashed by the urine as these media companies piss all over each other's feet".[318] Despite these obstacles, the remix website was launched in November 2007.
Other corporations[edit]
Nine Inch Nails was scheduled to perform at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards, but withdrew from the show due to a disagreement with the network over the use of an unaltered image of George W. Bush as a backdrop to the band's performance of "The Hand That Feeds". Soon afterwards, Reznor wrote on his official website: "Apparently, the image of our president is as offensive to MTV as it is to me."[307] MTV replied that it respected Reznor's point of view, but was "uncomfortable" with the performance being "built around partisan political statements". A performance by Foo Fighters replaced Nine Inch Nails' time slot on the show.[319] During the Lights in the Sky tour in 2008, some performances of "The Hand that Feeds" had the image of Bush on a video screen behind the band. At some gigs leading up to the election, the face of Bush slowly morphed during the song into the face of John McCain.
Another ceremony incident had occurred at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014. The band performed "Copy of A" and "My God Is the Sun" with Queens of the Stone Age, Lindsey Buckingham, and Dave Grohl towards the end of the broadcast; however, the performance was not shown in full to the audience at home as advertisements had cut-in midway through the second song. Despite an apology from producer Kenneth Ehrlich, Reznor later heavily criticized the situation.[320]
In 2006, after being alerted by a fan website, Reznor issued a cease and desist to Fox News Channel for using three songs from The Fragile on air without permission. The songs "La Mer", "The Great Below", and "The Mark Has Been Made" appeared in an episode of War Stories with Oliver North detailing the battle of Iwo Jima.[321] A post appeared on Reznor's blog, which read: "Thanks for the Fox News heads-up. A cease and desist has been issued. FUCK Fox Fucking News."[322]
As part of the alternate reality game which accompanied the release of Year Zero, three tracks from the album were intentionally "leaked" prior to their official release at a number of Nine Inch Nails concerts on USB flash drives.[116] The high-quality audio files quickly circulated the internet, and owners of websites hosting the files soon received cease and desist orders from the Recording Industry Association of America, despite the fact that the viral campaign, and the use of USB drives, was sanctioned by Nine Inch Nails' record label.[323] The source that broke the story was quoted as saying, "These fucking idiots are going after a campaign that the label signed off on."[323]
The music of Nine Inch Nails has reportedly been used by the U.S. military as music torture to break down the resolve of detainees.[324] Reznor objected to the use of his music in this way with the following message on the front page of the Nine Inch Nails website: "It's difficult for me to imagine anything more profoundly insulting, demeaning and enraging than discovering music you've put your heart and soul into creating has been used for purposes of torture. If there are any legal options that can be realistically taken they will be aggressively pursued, with any potential monetary gains donated to human rights charities. Thank GOD this country has appeared to side with reason and we can put the Bush administration's reign of power, greed, lawlessness and madness behind us."[325]
Aside from disagreements over the usage of Nine Inch Nails material, some corporations have dismissed content due to perceived obscenity. In 2009, Apple rejected an update to Nine Inch Nails' iPhone application, NIN: Access, because it found The Downward Spiral to contain "offensive or obscene content", referring to the lyrical content.[326][327] Reznor criticized their decision, citing the audio was also available through the iTunes application.[327]
A similar incident involving digital content distribution occurred in 2013 when Nine Inch Nails re-released the original 1993 film Broken on Vimeo. Within hours of launch, the video was removed due to terms of service violation on material that "harass, incite hatred or depict excessive violence".[328][329]
