after the commercial and critical success of "pretty hate machine" (1989), tvt records, the first record label to sign the band, pressured trent reznor to record a very similar album in the hope that it would have similarly successful singles. steve gottlieb, the ceo of tvt records, was insistent that he would not release anything other than an album very similar to "pretty hate machine". reznor demanded his label terminate his contract, due to their restriction of his creative control of the nine inch nails project. they ignored his plea.