The catchy uplifting chants, the vivid imagery correlating with scenes of injustice, Muhammad Ali, the circle of life at work, and-my favorite-the famous Tiananmen Square protest scene reenacted with Lego bricks are what help make the music video Freedom amazing and capable of expressing the unified emotions of people in the world regardless of gender, ethnicity, and race. However, amidst the controversial shroud of the release of the single and now music video make Pharrell Williams’ song titled “Freedom” inadvertently ironic. Freedom is Apple Music’s exclusive song, only meant for subscribers. Apple Music is the direct competitor to popular music streaming service, Spotify. Pharrell has always been a celebrity marketing tool of Apple, he’s one of many celebs who received an Apple Watch before it’s April 24th launch (you can see him sporting it in the new music video for Freedom) so it’s no surprise that Apple Music were capable of prohibiting the vast majority of music listeners from enjoying Pharrell’s new song without said listeners utilizing Apple’s service. More than likely the exclusivity is for a limited time until the song “Freedom” is freed to the public.
Patrick Funom is the Editor In Chief of 8Pounds.com
