VOA慢速英语2014 苹果的U2专辑赠品营销事与愿违

 

Apple, U2 Album Giveaway Backfires 苹果的U2专辑赠品营销事与愿违

Irish band U2’s recent online project with technology company Apple caused a storm of online controversy¹. The project gave free digital copies of U2’s new album, “Songs of Innocence” to all Apple iTunes members, about 500 million people. An Apple “gift.” But, a considerable number of members saw it more as a violation². Caty Weaver³ has more.

The band has a huge following. Millions of people love it. But, just as many people may not like the group or may not have even heard of it. This became apparent recently when U2 teamed with Apple. In doing so, U2’s new album, “Songs of Innocence,” was given to all 500 million iTunes subscribers.  Sounds like a good idea, right? 

Well, maybe not so. Much of the public reaction on social media criticized the album giveaway. Many iTunes users say they did not like that the music was ‘forced’ on them. Some web posts called it an unwelcome surprise. Some tweets even mocked the band’s philanthropic image.

Apple quickly answered the widespread protests. It provided users with a tool to help them easily remove the album from their iTunes library. 

U2’s album may have been free for listeners. And users did not have to pay to remove it. But, for Apple, the incident was far from free. Apple reportedly spent up to 100 million dollars for the marketing⁴ campaign.

But despite the backlash, U2 and Apple are pleased that the music is out.  U2 leader Bono spoke⁵ to an Irish radio station about the backlash. He called it “overblown.” He said the project was a success except for a technological⁶ problem.  He said the music was supposed to be available to all iTunes users but was downloaded to some devices by mistake.

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

3 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。