If you haven’t yet noticed, a week ago U2’s newest album magically surfaced in your music library without your consent. If you have noticed, you’re likely confused as to why it’s there.

Whether you agree with U2’s forceful assimilation into your playlists or not, you should expect more collaborations between tech companies and music artists in the future as a result of the new digital download and streaming era.

Over the years, Apple has established a reputation for knowing what the consumer wants before it even knows, but this will count as one of the rare times when customers weren’t happy with Apple’s attempt to push the envelope.

Displeased listeners greatly outnumbered the die-hard Bono fans so Apple officially announced a way for customers to delete the album for good. On Monday, the company released instructions on how to delete U2’s project from your iCloud account on Apple’s support page. There you’ll find a specially made website where you simply click on the giant “Remove album” letters and “Songs of Innocence” is gone from your account forever.

 Many might view this move as Apple accepting defeat, but just like every action Apple takes, there are deeper implications than appears. It is well documented that iTunes growth rates have been on the decline for years now, which was likely a leading factor in the $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronic. According to a May 28 Business Insider article, each iTunes account spent an average of $3.29 in the first quarter of 2014, down 24 percent year-over-year. That, combined with the rise of streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iHeartRadio has challenged Apple to get creative to remain relevant in the music realm.

The decline in iTunes sales can most likely be traced to the decline in music industry sales as a whole. Artists have countered this by striking deals with tech companies prior to their album releases, ensuring they receive a lump-sum royalty check regardless of the amount of albums they sell. Jay Z pioneered this trend with a $5 million Samsung giveaway of his 2013 album “Magna Carta Holy Grail.” Companies like Samsung and now Apple essentially purchase a large quantity of albums from the record label and mass-release them for free, introducing the artist to new audiences as well as giving the brand some street cred.

U2’s album has reached over 500 million customers, making it the most widely distributed album in history, according to a Sept. 11 Forbes article.  If you think Apple or U2 care about the complaints of the narrow-minded consumer, you are sadly mistaken. Sure, millions of people may delete “Songs of Innocence” without ever listening to it. But there are also millions of people that listened to U2 for the first time, since it was already on their phone without having to lift a finger. The greats know how to block out criticism for the bigger picture. In this case, consumer reviews don’t determine success.

With CDs all but extinct and MP3s suffering, this is uncharted territory for the music business. It’s a challenge for all artists of any genre to convince people to pay for their music in the age of streaming services, YouTube and illegal downloads. Since it seems almost everyone owns a smartphone, tech companies have proven to be the outlet to reach the biggest audience.

If you were angry over the free album you received last week, you better get used it. This is just the beginning of the tech and music relationship.

Aarick Knighton is a junior information management and technology major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at adknight@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @aarickurban.

Published on September 18, 2014 at 12:13 am