by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC
The news of Michael Jackson’s death just hit the internets a few hours ago, and the iTunes Store already has Michael Jackson featured on top and center…
Click through, and you’ll find a page dedicated to his music with a nice eulogy.
My first thought: wow, that was fast.
Then came the questions: Was Apple simply anticipating a rush of Michael Jackson fans, and just facilitating the fans’ ability to acquire their favorite MJ songs? Or were there Apple marketing folks jumping up and down while shouting, hey, production crew, get on this pronto — there’s sales to be had…
No use asking Apple — we already know what the corporate spin would be.
So I’m asking you: What do you think? Too soon? Tastefully done? Or no big deal — this is just a business doing what it should be doing?
Update 6/26/9: Michael Jackson posthumously rules iTunes:
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I think it was the only thing decent Apple could have done in this situation. By now, it’s expected that the sales of an artist will increase dramatically after his/her death. So Apple wasn’t wrong to be prepared.
They could’ve just sat back and let the sales roll in…or they could somehow show their appreciation for his music. No matter what, iTunes is going to profit off his death, and I think Apple took the high road and actually put something together for him and his fans.
iTunes is now one of the top music sources in the world, and I think it would be weird if they didn’t have anything to pay tribute to the King of Pop.
Thanks! Good question!
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