[ot-caption title=”U2 band members Adam Clayton, left, The Edge, 2nd left, Bono and Larry Mullen, right, attend the Dublin International Film Festival for the European premiere of their concert film U2 3D, Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)” url=”https://pcpawprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/AP080220025615.jpg”]

The release of a new album on iTunes is always exciting for eager fans, restlessly waiting to press the “Purchase” button. However, one band decided to do things a bit differently, and iTunes users have mixed feelings about the accessibility of the band’s music.

The band U2 surprised the world by releasing their latest album “Songs of Innocence” on to Apple’s iTunes music store, ahead of its official release date October 14,  for free. Apple gifted this full music album to hundreds of millions of iTunes users through the iCloud storage system, thus allowing anyone to access the free album. Why would a band release an album for free? Well, U2 is now receiving $100 million dollars worth of marketing from Apple in return for the free album, a seemingly lucrative deal for the band.

U2’s new album came as a surprise to not only their fans, but to anyone with an Apple ID. This process was done without the knowledge or permission of its users. Normally, iTunes account users are given the choice to listen to a preview clip of a song before finalizing a download by clicking the purchase button on the iTunes music store. The purchaser would then receive a message to enter in their Apple ID password to confirm the purchase they made. Although free music may not be a bad thing, account users were not asked for permission to allow Apple to access their accounts to automatically download U2’s new album. Apple also did not consider how many account users do not have the same preferences in music.

This action taken by Apple has become a very controversial issue, questioning Apple’s invasion of privacy by accessing its users’ accounts and automatically downloading music at random without notifying the individual user. In our own Pine Crest community, students have differing opinions about the issue.  Nyla Lindo, a junior, stated “When an unfamiliar song from the album started to play on my phone, it alarmed me, and I thought my account was hacked.” When she realized that it was Apple’s marketing motives, she was annoyed with this cryptic action. Another junior, Eliza Moldow claimed with discontent, “It’s not my type of music.” The iTunes music store has a vast range of music genres, so when Apple forces a download on millions of accounts, it is understandable how customers could be upset.

On the other hand, many students expressed their gratefulness for the free gift from Apple.  Izzy Lopez, a junior stated, “I am okay with the free album download because I like free music.”

Despite all the opinions from how it was released, no one actually focused on the music itself. U2 is known to be one of the most popular rock & roll bands from the 80’s. The music from the album relates to this vibe, providing a nice mix between pop and rock & roll. Top songs on the album Songs of Innocence include “The Miracle,” “Every Breaking Wave,” “California,” and “The Troubles.”  Unfortunately, the band that just wanted to give people the free gift to listen are receiving some negative vibes from iTunes members who are finding it difficult to enjoy the music with the invasion of their privacy.