Despite admitting to be actively working on a number of projects at varying levels of seriousness, Nine Inch Nails have predominantly been in their film-scoring bag for the last few years — and it's easy to see why. In the time since the duo of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross released the last NIN albums, Ghosts: V and Ghosts: VI, in April 2020, a whole pandemic has happened, and subsequently bowled over the already-shaky foundations of the music industry in the 21st century.
Reznor, in particular, has often spoken about how the shift in the cultural valuation of music has disheartened him, even prompting the 2023 revelation that he's not really interested in being a touring musician anymore. Again, it's easy to see why: touring is a break-neck grind and financial leap of faith for seemingly everyone who isn't Taylor Swift.
In a recent interview with IndieWire, Reznor and Ross diagnosed the source of the issue as stemming from the technological advancements that have led to the streaming economy, which is famously dog shit for artists.
"What we're looking for [from film] is the collaborative experience with interesting people. We haven't gotten that from the music world necessarily, for our own choice," Reznor explained. "You mentioned disillusionment with the music world? Yes. The culture of the music world sucks. That's another conversation, but what technology has done to disrupt the music business in terms of not only how people listen to music but the value they place on it is defeating."
He added, "I'm not saying that as an old man yelling at clouds, but as a music lover who grew up where music was the main thing. Music [now] feels largely relegated to something that happens in the background or while you're doing something else. That's a long, bitter story."
Not only artistically fulfilling, Reznor and Ross's scoring work has embodied an intentional answer to the issue of music being relegated to the background by working purposefully for the background. However, the pair have reminded us of the fact that a good score can make or break a film this year alone with Challengers — and their upcoming work on Luca Guadagnino's Queer and the new Tron movie has been hyped to follow suit.
Despite the disheartenment, they now seem inspired to return to the writhing heart of NIN; Reznor said earlier this month that the group are "ready to be back in the driver's seat." Only time will tell what exactly that means, but one thing's for certain: it will be on their own terms.