Changes

The release of ''Broken'' followed on from a major disagreement between [[Trent Reznor ]] and his record label at the time, TVT Records, and the influence of the conflict is evident in multiple aspects of the record. After the credits in the packaging, a line reads "no thanks: you know who you fucking are" followed by "the slave thinks he is released from bondage only to find a stronger set of chains." This is most likely directed towards TVT Records' Steve Gottlieb, who refused to allow Reznor out of his contract, resulting in a legal battle between the two parties. A direct reference to Gottlieb appears in one of the [[Nine Inch Nails music videos|music videos]] for "Gave Up", where the words "FUCK YOU STEVE" can be spotted on a computer screen. Reznor has also stated that during the [[Pretty Hate Machine Tour]] the songs grew more aggressive when played by a live band compared to their studio counterparts. Violence on-stage also became a common feature at their shows as a result of the band venting pent-up frustration and anger on their instruments. Consequently, ''Broken'' sounds much more abrasive and harsher with the increased prominence of distorted guitars, amongst other things.

*Writing, performance and production: [[Trent Reznor]]

A vinyl reissue was annouced announced in December 2016 and began shipping in August 2017, with further vinyl reissues of the other major NIN releases to follow.[http://www.nin.com/nine-inch-nails-records-reissued-vinyl/]

<blockquote>"Trent Reznor and NIN art director [[John Crawford ]] set out to make the “definitive editions” of all the main NIN releases on vinyl. Reznor: 'We want to present the catalog as it was intended to be, with no compromises. That means a careful remastering of the audio from the original sources, a careful and painstaking recreation of the artwork, pristine materials, some surprises and an insane attention to detail that you probably won’t notice… but it matters to us. No extra bullshit and gimmicks – the “real” records in their truest form available at a reasonable price.'"</blockquote>

The B side of the vinyl is an etching with a cryptic message circling around the surface in a spiral fashion, reducing in size as it goes. It begins with lines from "Last" ("this isn't meant to last this is for right now") before descending into a rant, with some lines deliberately scratched out. This edition of the vinyl comes with a booklet containing photos and an essay about the album. It also retains the original vinyl's format of having the two bonus tracks on a separate 7" record.