iTuned Out...It Happened To U2?

MANDEVILLE, La. - Sept. 25, 2014 - PRLog -- Please don’t take offense U2, it isn’t you, it was iTunes. When iTunes gifted its subscribers with a free U2 album, the company was startled by how negatively the public responded to it. The backlash was so intense that last Monday, Apple launched a special website just to make it as simple as possible to help people get Bono off their phones and computers. The fact that many people were displeased with being given the album goes to show you that people want to buy what they want to buy, and only want what they want for free if it’s being offered as such when they want it. We are so used to instant gratification and on demand click fixes that it was driving people mad over this breach in control . The issue and backlash over Bono popping up in iTunes libraries everywhere was not the free music itself as the issue, but the fact that the automatically downloaded songs were then automatically synced with every iTune users’ library. People who have iPhone 5’s and more recent versions have devices that will automatically sync via Wi-Fi. This technological improvement caught the majority off guard when their phones synced wirelessly with the U2 album Songs of Innocence, turning this so-called tech improvement into a technical irritation. iTunes libraries are like digital sanctuaries tech-addicts visit for moments of peace. It’s disturbing how much people are dependent and attached to their tech devices, where one unforeseen glitch throws a person into a temper tantrum.

However, as a business woman I honestly cannot imagine my job without my iPhone! It puts me in touch with clients I’d never have attained 20 years ago. My only issue I had with waking up to discover Bono on my iPhone is that his songs took up precious storage space I needed for photographing and documenting one of my client’s businesses they were trying to sell. As a leading authority on buying and selling businesses, I do a lot of business via emails and messages from my iPhone. In general, the past month has been a very challenging time for the company Apple. Just recently, celebrity iTunes accounts were hacked and nude photographs were released on the web; Apple received a lot of heat for failing to have a two part authorization process when accessing iTunes accounts. Security authorities have argued that this was a simple and typical type of authorizations process, and therefore Apple has stepped up and given users options in the security procedures protecting their private accounts. Now that this has happened, the next couple of months will be a crucial moment of truth in relation negatively effected. Apple is a multi million dollar corporation that has put millions into the marketing for their new product. However, it goes to show how events outside your control can be detrimental to a company’s bottom line.

I know that despite Apple’s unlucky month, there have been ten of thousands waiting in lines for the iPhone 6 for the past 3 weeks. People seem to trust Apple’s brand no matter what. My only question is to what extinct can the company displease its customers and still maintain their trust? That is one of the most crucial aspects in maintaining repeat customers and their loyalty–trust. Nevertheless, some people are just impossible to please. No matter what there will always be someone who is unhappy, because misery loves company. In contrast to that, I will say that I think U2’s exposure via this incident proves that music buyers alike do not really know what they like and do not like. I have dealt with too many clients to count who said they wanted to buy one type of business and ended up with one in a completely different industry. I bet there are many U2 haters turned U2 fans evolving from this marketing tactic. The truth is that people never truly know what they want until you tell them what they want. It’s the art of any sale, but it requires the intelligence of savvy business logic.