Apple has reversed course on the approval of the NIN Access 1.0.3 update, says Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. Initially rejected, the revised iPhone app is now freely available through the iTunes Store. Users gain streamlined access to content from the NIN homepage, including music, images, video and the site's forums.

The audio content is believed to be the source of the rejection, as when initially denying the attempted update, Apple cited only "objectionable content" in the form of the "The Downward Spiral." Reznor has explained however that since his Downward Spiral album is not available directly through NIN Access, Apple could only mean the record's title song, which plays during a streaming podcast. The published v1.0.3 app remains unchanged, in spite of the company's concerns.

Reznor and others have accused Apple approval policies of being arbitrary, sometimes varying from app to app or unfairly concentrating on tangential content, such as user-submitted categories on Twitter. It is believed that Apple may be willing to loosen restrictions thanks to the advent of parental controls in iPhone 3.0. Such a policy would not only lift negative publicity from the company, but likely increase App Store profits through the sale of previously banned titles.