Last week was a big week for Apple: they revealed the new iPhone 6 and its super-sized sibling the 6 plus and the Apple watch along with a “gift” to all customers that was automatically placed onto their phones. The gift was U2’s new album- the first in five years- titled “Songs of Innocence” and like kids on Chirstmas mornings, there were some tantrums.
Among those not pleased with the gift was rapper Tyler The Creator, who blatantly said on twitter “I didn’t ask for you, I’m mad.” The rapper continued to compare waking up to the album to waking up to a pimple or herpes.
This gift comes with the hefty price tag of over $100 million for Apple, according to the New York Times, and doesn’t mark the first time the Irish band and the company have joined forces. On Apple’s website, it states that the collaboration began 10 years ago with TV commercials, the first special edition iPod, and Product(Red) which has profits benefiting the Global Fund to help AIDS programs in Africa.
Maybe the backlash following the gift has to do with the band chosen. Although, arguably, U2 is considered one of the best bands of all time, their glory has faded. The last time the Irish band released a full-fledged album with original songs was in 2009, giving the masses time to forget hits like ‘With Or Without You’ and ‘Beautiful Day’ for songs like Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ or Meghan Trainor’s ‘All About That Bass.’
In response to the complaining, Apple released a statement revealing that the impromptu album wasn’t a total failure because 33 million people had “experienced” the album, meaning they listened to all or some of it, out of the half of million who got the “gift.”
For those not willing to accept the gesture, Apple created a page that will allow you to delete the album from your iPhone.
