Here's a question i asked on Yahoo answers.

Did Nine Inch Nails re-invent industrial music?

Some aditional information.

industrial music was a genre invented in the mid seventies it is not a sub genre of anything else allthough it does ocasional cross paths with many other genres but its not a part of any of them.

One of the answers i received.

I don't really think of NIN as industrial. It's heavily influenced by industrial, but it's a whole other animal. Pretty Hate Machine was more synth-pop type stuff. It's closer to late 80's Depeche Mode than it is to "industrial." (That's a compliment.) Broken was the most industrial sounding IMHO but it was heavy on guitar (and that's not really industrial.) Reznor made his own genre really. He combined elements of synth-pop, industrial, speed-metal, classical, drum & bass, and ambient (among others.) I've never really liked the "industrial" label much though because it doesn't mean anything. It's usually used to describe music that incorporates a lot of ambient noises and sampling (stuff like machines) for instruments and percussion, but the music over (or underneath) those noises is what's really important. Groups like "Skinny Puppy" rarely even had a "song" mixed in with their chaos. NIN mixes some chaos with what are generally full melodic songs. Almost all NIN songs could be performed with an acoustic guitar and/or piano. That's not really the case for what I consider "industrial."

And my response to it.

This is definitely the best answer i've seen in a long time allthough having said i don't agree with it the term industrial does mean something its bassically a statement against the music industry [look at that word 'industy']
"heavy on guitar (and that's not really industrial.)" the original and some would say only true industrial band throbbing gristle used guitars as did and do ministry, as with any ellement of industrial music its not so much what you use as how you use it. "Reznor made his own genre really. He combined elements of synth-pop, industrial, speed-metal, classical, drum & bass, and ambient (among others.)" all electronic genres of music including synth pop and drum and bass have some level of debt to industrial music
the music of the original industrial pioneers particulaly NON beers some resembalance to the experimental 'neo classical' music that was being made in the 50's and 60's.
ultimetely reznor probably has wed experimental industrial music to the idea of actual song writing and pop sensibility but its hardely a new genre.