Although I dont think this was all intentional (see: letter sent to news companies re: news app), lets play devil's advocate.
It doesn't require everybody to be in on it to execute this. It only requires one entity and that's apple.
Apple pings indie artists they know will get mad. The singer of the brian jonestown massacre is known for his rants. They get a bunch of people pissed off "Free music.. free music..." and wait for it to go viral. Then, flip the script and campaign done.
But again, i think they just did a good job of turning this nightmare into a positive.
It doesn't require everybody to be in on it to execute this. It only requires one entity and that's apple.
Apple pings indie artists they know will get mad. The singer of the brian jonestown massacre is known for his rants. They get a bunch of people pissed off "Free music.. free music..." and wait for it to go viral. Then, flip the script and campaign done.
But again, i think they just did a good job of turning this nightmare into a positive.