Saturday, September 13, 2014

U2 on Ur IPhone

Some of you Iphone addicts may have noticed a new addition to your library early Friday morning.  The band, U2, released it's first album in five years...for free...through a partnership with Apple.  Apple does confirm that they paid band members, though the amount has not yet been released.  According to Daily Mail, there have been reports of Apple paying the band up to $100 million for the deal.  

Bloomberg News quoted Bono, a member of the band, saying, "People who haven't heard our music, or weren't remotely interested might play us for the first time because we're in their library.  And for the people out there who have no interest in checking us out, look at it this way...the blood, sweat and tears of some Irish guys are in your junk mail"

This is definitely the first of this kind of marketing/promoting that I have ever experienced.  In a way, I guess it can be called "guerilla marketing" as it took everyone with a Iphone by surprise.  With the recent leak of nude celebrity photos through the cloud and now this, I am beginning to think it is time to make some setting changes on my phone.  

Outraged customers used Facebook and Twitter to express how they felt about the whole ordeal.  People are more concerned with the violation of privacy that Apple has allowed for it's users.  Also, getting the 11 song album off of your iTunes seems to be quite difficult.  

On the opposite ends, there are fans of U2 raving about the deal, saying that the free download was a gift and has been on repeat since it showed up on their phone.

Apple's senior vice president of Internet software and services, Eddy Cue, said in a statement earlier this week that, "U2 has been an important part of Apple's history in music and we're thrilled to make 'Songs of Innocence' the largest album release ever."

There is not much in the news regarding the deal as a marketing move, but I am anxious to see if this kind of surprise becomes a more popular publicity strategy over time.

Do you think this was a smart way to promote the band's new album? Or do you think it may have made some enemies out of consumers for invasion of privacy? Let us know in the comments!

This guest blog was written by PRowl staff member Kaylie Corallo.

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