Hell hath no fury like a scorned Trent Reznor and, unfortunately for Apple, the Cupertino-based company is now feeling the wrath of the Rez.
The recently-updated Nine Inch Nails iPhone application has been rejected by Apple for “objectionable content.” Apparently, whoever was sitting behind the app approval desk at the time decided that NIN’s 1994 album, “The Downward Spiral”, contained content that was unsuitable for the App Store. Funny thing is, users of the original NIN app were able to listen to parts of the album already. That part didn’t change. What did change? Whoever was approving apps, probably. One person’s “objectionable” is another person’s “acceptable” and, in the end, Apple looks silly and the App Store’s approval process looks like Michael Scott from The Office – good intentions but totally stupid.
Here is Reznor’s reaction to the situation:
…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 Fucking 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 FUCK or CUNT? I suppose that also falls into indecent material. Hey Apple, I just got some SPAM about fucking 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 fuck’s sake get your app approval scenario together.
I’ve written in the past about the App Store’s pitfalls and this is just another case to prove my point. Apple needs to cut the cord and let developers build what they want. If they want to protect the masses, they can slap a parental advisory on an app. Developers and users alike are growing tired of the app approval circus and, if Apple keeps it up, platforms like WebOS are going to start looking very inviting.
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