NIN's Trent Reznor Scathes App Store Rejection. Objectionable Content OK for 3.0?

[Cody Overcash]

Sunday NIN's Trent Reznor responded on the NIN forums to Apple's rejection of an update to the NIN: Access app (itunes link, free). The update was rejected because of profane language in "The Downward Spiral." Reznor is angry with Apple's shaky (on a good day) rejection/approval process and has threatened to put his app on jailbroken devices

Now, “The Downward Spiral” the album is not available anywhere in the iPhone app. The song “The Downward Spiral” I believe is in a podcast that can be streamed to the app.
Thanks Apple for the clear description of the problem - as in, what do you want us to change to get past your stupid f u c king standards?
And while we’re at it, I’ll voice the same issue I had with Wal-Mart years ago, which is a matter of consistency and hypocrisy. Wal-Mart went on a rampage years ago insisting all music they carry be censored of all profanity and “clean” versions be made for them to carry. Bands (including Nirvana) tripped over themselves editing out words, changing album art, etc to meet Wal-Mart’s standards of decency - because Wal-Mart sells a lot of records. NIN refused, and you’ll notice a pretty empty NIN section at any Wal-Mart. My reasoning was this: I can understand if you want the moral posturing of not having any “indecent” material for sale - but you could literally turn around 180 degrees from where the NIN record would be and purchase the film “Scarface” completely uncensored, or buy a copy of Grand Theft Auto where you can be rewarded for beating up prostitutes. How does that make sense?
You can buy The Downward F u c king Spiral on iTunes, but you can’t allow an iPhone app that may have a song with a bad word somewhere in it. Geez, what if someone in the forum in our app says f u c k or c u n t? I suppose that also falls into indecent material. Hey Apple, I just got some SPAM about f u c king hot asian teens through your mail program. I just saw two guys having explicit anal sex right there in Safari! On my iPhone! Come on Apple, think your policies through and for f u c k’s sake get your app approval scenario together.

Reznor later went further saying that

Everyone - let me be clear. I love Apple products and as goofy and out-of-touch as their app approval process / policy is, I will still use them because they work 1000X better than the competition. This is not a debate, it's a fact. The iPhone is THE most elegant, modern smartphone at this point in time and it's perfect for what we want to do with the NIN app - except for the ludicrous approval process, and that's what I want to draw attention to.

Android is cool, but nobody has an Android phone. Blackberry is OK but the hardware is inconsistent and WinMo straight-up sucks balls. If Apple doesn’t get it together, we will most certainly make it available to the jailbreak community. I didn’t invest in this app to see it languish on the sidelines from an idiotic policy while this tour is in full swing.

Hey Trent, if you decided to publish to the jailbreak community we'd be happy to host your app.

Maybe Apple will allow "objectional content" applications when 3.0 goes public. The application Newspaper(s) (itunes link, $1) was recently rejected because The Sun, one of the 50 newspapers that are readable through the application, has some nudity on page 3. A user could easily browse to this material through Safari on the iPhone - should Apple reject Safari too?

In the rejection letter form Apple to the company behind Newspaper(s) Apple said that Parental Controls have been announced for iPhone firmware 3.0 and that it “would be appropriate to resubmit your application for review once this feature is available.”

[badass1469]

lure him to the jailbreak =]

why is apple starting to be gay and suck

[beeryce]

I'd re-jailbreak for this. Love this app and Downward Spiral is too classic NIN to be omitted. I love this man for sticking to his guns!!!!

[exNavy]

I would love to see the profiles of those in the app store approval office. I swear there must be like three monkeys in it doing all the work for Apple.

[scottjl]

3 monkeys? You give them too much credit. I think they have a blind man throw darts at a board, the bulls-eye is the "Accepted" and everything else on the board is "Rejected" with various reasons. If he hits an intern walking nearby the app makes it to the "Top 25" list.

[tattoojack]

you tell em trent, and i hope you guys with PC all read this part,

"I will still use them (apple) because they work 1000X better than the competition. This is not a debate, it's a fact."

[CrooKid]

you tell em trent, and i hope you guys with PC all read this part,

"I will still use them (apple) because they work 1000X better than the competition. This is not a debate, it's a fact."

OMG here we go with the "Apple Clan" You act like Apple's don't crash or anything. For the amount of stuff you can do on a PC that you CAN'T DO on a Crapple, PC > Crapple ALL DAY LONG! I don't know where people come up with this crap about PC's crash all the time or whatever it is that Crapple computer owners try to play it off like PC is garbage. My computer NEVER crashes, and IF it does (which I can't remember the last time that happened and I use my computer over 8hrs per day), it's because I had like 20 windows open, uploading torrents, encoding a movie, using photoshop, listening to media player, and streaming video to my Xbox and PS3. Plus it's kinda hard for something to break easily when it doesn't do squat! Apple lives in it's own little box, just like the users who use them do. Only reason the iPhone is any good is because of Jailbreak. If there were no jailbreak I would never have gotten an iPhone. But regardless, their computers are CRAP, PERIOD! It basically goes back to the whole theory of something with less moving parts is more likely to not break or have issues. Well a Crapple computer can basically be compared to an object with LESS moving parts VS a PC which has LOTS more moving parts. So yeah there's gonna be issues once in a great while but the PROS greatly outweigh the CONS when it comes to choosing a PC over a Crapple. Not to mention the only reason there are more issues or reports about things on a PC is because like 80% of the population uses a PC which is the obvious choice when it comes to buying a computer because people have VARIETY when it comes to buying a PC, where's with a Crapple they got like two or three options

[skitomcat1]

If Apple won't take the app, and if the app won't destroy my phone, throw it up on Cydia and let the people who just want a sick phone tell you how your app really is!

[rampmike]

lure him to the jailbreak =]

why is apple starting to be gay and suck

Why do you have to be ignorant and make homophobic remarks???

[CaptainChaos]

you tell em trent, and i hope you guys with PC all read this part,

"I will still use them (apple) because they work 1000X better than the competition. This is not a debate, it's a fact."

Um yeah. He was talking about the phone, not the computers.

Boohoo. My app got rejected, but I am still going to use Apple. Of course he is because the iPhone is the best. It isn't hard to submit an app that conforms to what Apple wants. Thousands of apps have been approved.

[reznor9]

Um yeah. He was talking about the phone, not the computers.

Boohoo. My app got rejected, but I am still going to use Apple. Of course he is because the iPhone is the best. It isn't hard to submit an app that conforms to what Apple wants. Thousands of apps have been approved.

And thousands of apps have been rejected too...
not to mention that they approved the app in the first place... in case you didnt read, they rejected the UPDATE, which offered no new content, just bug fixes! Thats rediculous!!

And BTW... I think he was referring to Apple products in general. Musicians all over usually prefer Apple as opposed to PC. The editing software is just better/more popular for the music, graphic & film industry... even pros that go with PCs will sometimes tell you that they run a mac emulator so that they can use Mac Software. Trent even made GarageBand files of some of his popular songs(which is part of the iLife Mac software suite) for download on his site so users could easily remix his music and submit it to his site.. He has time and time again shown his appreciation for the apple brand...and his fans! And has always stuck by his guns with the whole NO CENSORSHIP! That goes way back to his war with TVT records

I am a HUGE NIN fan as if you couldn't tell.
So Im pretty put out by this...
unrelated...I wonder if Trent uses iRealSMS.

[Grassmasta]

Why do you have to be ignorant and make homophobic remarks???

LOL, wait...what? I thought badass1469 had a valid comment.

Sometimes gay isn't in reference to homosexuals. In the modern day, it is a word with joint meanings with 2 completely different connotations. You cant stop etymology my friend.

Also, if you still think its ignorance that your reading. My sister is gay, my boss is gay, and many more people in my life are gay. I've been pretty thorough in asking them what is offensive and what isn't. Most of them (id say 80%) use the word gay to describe things like fanny packs and Hannah Montana.

And in regards to the lack of an update... stupid, spoiled, power mongering apple! Its as if they aren't used to handling success and they are going mad with power.

[b3nny]

OMG here we go with the "Apple Clan" You act like Apple's don't crash or anything. For the amount of stuff you can do on a PC that you CAN'T DO on a Crapple, PC > Crapple ALL DAY LONG! ...blah blah... more stuff... .... But regardless, their computers are CRAP, PERIOD! It basically goes back to the whole theory of something with less moving parts is more likely to not break or have issues. Well a Crapple computer can basically be compared to an object with LESS moving parts VS a PC which has LOTS more moving parts. blah blah more stuff blah blah...

less moving parts? its obvious that you haven't used a mac since the rainbow iMac G3's, but i digress.

Now, if you'll excuse me i'm busy using MY mac to monitor torrents, burn DVD's, stream music to my xbox, record and mix a professional soundtrack in protools, make animated Gifs in photoshop, rip my entire record collection to my external HDD's and stream them to my friends and family all over the world, broadcast a secure wifi network via ethernet, WHILE i browse 50 open windows in two different broswers, managing my ebay business with live chat open to their support, and ichat on aim in the background. and on my second monitor i'm watching the wolverine movie. :P

Mac to PC "anything you can do i can do better, i can do anything better than you!" nuff said.

[dale1v]

less moving parts? its obvious that you haven't used a mac since the rainbow iMac G3's, but i digress.

Now, if you'll excuse me i'm busy using MY mac to monitor torrents, burn DVD's, stream music to my xbox, record and mix a professional soundtrack in protools, make animated Gifs in photoshop, rip my entire record collection to my external HDD's and stream them to my friends and family all over the world, broadcast a secure wifi network via ethernet, WHILE i browse 50 open windows in two different broswers, managing my ebay business with live chat open to their support, and ichat on aim in the background. and on my second monitor i'm watching the wolverine movie. :P

Mac to PC "anything you can do i can do better, i can do anything better than you!" nuff said.

WOW! I never knew Photoshop, torrenting, streaming, ethernet, multiple web browsers, ebay and IM was OS X specific. In fact, I never knew multitasking was OS X specific. I'm stuck here running one program at a time on Windows!
PC to mac- "If you're jumping up and down about that, well...maybe you've said too much."

[b3nny]

i never said anything about multi tasking, and i think its fairly obvious that i'm not doing all that stuff right now lol, i was simply responding to crookid saying macs can't do nearly as many things as pc's. And that may have been the case in 1994, but it hasn't been for quite some time. i never said anything about which is OS is better (lol like i would have to) or anything about multitasking or anything like that. i'm simply making a point that i can do everything a PC can do on my mac. *cough*better*cough* and anyways, i only did it with the obnoxious list to poke fun at the way crookid had said thats the only way his pc crashes.

oh and just because this got so off topic with no help from me, i'd like to add FOCK YEAH TRENT YOU TELL 'EM! cuz maybe they'll actually listen to you... and it really is hypocritical of apple and wal-mart both, and i think its awesome that he spoke out on the topic. i'm sure he'll just wait for 3.0, but i think its really cool that he mentioned the jailbreak community as a possibility.

[andygev35]

I'm a pc builder and user, and the only advantage I've seen with pc's is the graphics capabilities. Reliability may lean a little toward Apple, but full-on gaming is the pc's bread and butter.

On topic tho, YOU TELL EM TRENT!!!

[n00neimp0rtant]

PC > Crapple ALL DAY LONG! I don't know where people come up with this crap about PC's crash all the time or whatever it is that Crapple computer owners try to play it off like PC is garbage. My computer NEVER crashes, and IF it does (which I can't remember the last time that happened and I use my computer over 8hrs per day), it's because I had like 20 windows open, uploading torrents, encoding a movie, using photoshop, listening to media player, and streaming video to my Xbox and PS3. Plus it's kinda hard for something to break easily when it doesn't do squat! Apple lives in it's own little box, just like the users who use them do. Only reason the iPhone is any good is because of Jailbreak. If there were no jailbreak I would never have gotten an iPhone. But regardless, their computers are CRAP, PERIOD! It basically goes back to the whole theory of something with less moving parts is more likely to not break or have issues. Well a Crapple computer can basically be compared to an object with LESS moving parts VS a PC which has LOTS more moving parts. So yeah there's gonna be issues once in a great while but the PROS greatly outweigh the CONS when it comes to choosing a PC over a Crapple. Not to mention the only reason there are more issues or reports about things on a PC is because like 80% of the population uses a PC which is the obvious choice when it comes to buying a computer because people have VARIETY when it comes to buying a PC, where's with a Crapple they got like two or three options

Macs can do every one of those things just as easily as a PC (only you can have it going on on 4 native virtual desktops with Spaces =] ). But what most people in this "fight" miss is that there is no "Mac OR PC." The real way to go is both (Apple for it's superior operating system, Microsoft for the wealth of software available). That's why I always have Parallels running on my Mac, even though I primarily use it for my Vegas projects.

If you really feel the need to bash Macs and would like to not have your face ripped off, I would recommend not being an active member of an Apple-based message board. Just because you like playing your MMO war games doesn't mean everyone has to, and if you have a PC for any other reason than gaming, you need to open your eyes to what you can do on a Mac + Windows machine.

BTW, for the record, I'm chatting, browsing the web, developing software in Xcode, listening to music, and editing a video in Vegas running in Windows with no sign of slow-down. Why not try using a Mac before forming such a strong, thickheaded opinion.

BACK ON TOPIC

I think that would be great publicity for the jailbreaking scene if Trent Reznor decided to move his application to Cydia. Not only would hardcore NIN fans be compelled even more to jailbreak their iPhones, but people would begin to wonder what happened to the App Store app. A quick Google and they are introduced to the world of jailbreaking.

[Ninja De Fuego]

OMG here we go with the "Apple Clan" You act like Apple's don't crash or anything. For the amount of stuff you can do on a PC that you CAN'T DO on a Crapple, PC > Crapple ALL DAY LONG! I don't know where people come up with this crap about PC's crash all the time or whatever it is that Crapple computer owners try to play it off like PC is garbage. My computer NEVER crashes, and IF it does (which I can't remember the last time that happened and I use my computer over 8hrs per day), it's because I had like 20 windows open, uploading torrents, encoding a movie, using photoshop, listening to media player, and streaming video to my Xbox and PS3. Plus it's kinda hard for something to break easily when it doesn't do squat! Apple lives in it's own little box, just like the users who use them do. Only reason the iPhone is any good is because of Jailbreak. If there were no jailbreak I would never have gotten an iPhone. But regardless, their computers are CRAP, PERIOD! It basically goes back to the whole theory of something with less moving parts is more likely to not break or have issues. Well a Crapple computer can basically be compared to an object with LESS moving parts VS a PC which has LOTS more moving parts. So yeah there's gonna be issues once in a great while but the PROS greatly outweigh the CONS when it comes to choosing a PC over a Crapple. Not to mention the only reason there are more issues or reports about things on a PC is because like 80% of the population uses a PC which is the obvious choice when it comes to buying a computer because people have VARIETY when it comes to buying a PC, where's with a Crapple they got like two or three options

It's almost like the difference between buying a Prius and a Camaro. Both get you places well, but you can do so much more with a Camaro in terms of performance, looks, and how you get to your destination. And on the other hand, a Prius, or a Toyota for that matter, will more likely not break down because it's built for longevity rather than performance or looks.

[badass1469]

you tell em trent, and i hope you guys with PC all read this part,

"I will still use them (apple) because they work 1000X better than the competition. This is not a debate, it's a fact."

lol its funny because apple recently had a spyware virus on their most basic and obvious area, and they couldn't get rid of it untill the next update. this so called "virus free" computer got one of the worst lol. alot of people had their information exploited and indentity stolen.

Macs can do every one of those things just as easily as a PC (only you can have it going on on 4 native virtual desktops with Spaces =] ). But what most people in this "fight" miss is that there is no "Mac OR PC." The real way to go is both (Apple for it's superior operating system, Microsoft for the wealth of software available). That's why I always have Parallels running on my Mac, even though I primarily use it for my Vegas projects.

If you really feel the need to bash Macs and would like to not have your face ripped off, I would recommend not being an active member of an Apple-based message board. Just because you like playing your MMO war games doesn't mean everyone has to, and if you have a PC for any other reason than gaming, you need to open your eyes to what you can do on a Mac + Windows machine.

BTW, for the record, I'm chatting, browsing the web, developing software in Xcode, listening to music, and editing a video in Vegas running in Windows with no sign of slow-down. Why not try using a Mac before forming such a strong, thickheaded opinion.

BACK ON TOPIC

I think that would be great publicity for the jailbreaking scene if Trent Reznor decided to move his application to Cydia. Not only would hardcore NIN fans be compelled even more to jailbreak their iPhones, but people would begin to wonder what happened to the App Store app. A quick Google and they are introduced to the world of jailbreaking.

lol the problem with your so called "super computer" is that it has all the hardware of a super computer in the end it costs you about 3-6 thousand dollars for a computer, or you can just buy a junk pc and upgrade it to the capacity of a mac for half the price and even run OSX alongside with vista, but it dosen't realy matter about the OS of the computer, if you dont have the hardware to utilize it.

[BenzoHartt]

If Apple won't take the app, and if the app won't destroy my phone, throw it up on Cydia and let the people who just want a sick phone tell you how your app really is!

^^^^ agreed.