Drake New Mixtape Album Released on iTunes: 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late' Surprises Fans

Drake surprised the public, especially his fans, when he released a mixtape titled "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" straight to iTunes for $12.99 on Friday without any fanfare or informing the press.

The mixtape followed the release of his short film "Jungle" a few hours earlier.

There were signs that something was afoot when Drake posted a photo on Instagram and titled it "Soon."

What soon followed was the mixtape released on iTunes. However there was a bit of confusion afterwards as many news outlets described it as an album instead of a mixtape. This confusion came about as mixtapes are generally provided free while Drake's version was available for sale on iTunes.

TIME and The Verge went ahead and branded the mixtape as a "new album" but the Washington Post described it as a "mixtape." Some of those who described the collection of 17 songs as a "mixtape" pointed out that Drake had stated in a thank-you note after the release that it was a "tape," not an album.

But others pointed out that the rapper was rumored to be working on the album with the working title "Views From the 6" and it was part of the current release. Rolling Stone noted that the artwork from "Views From the 6" was featured on the cover for "If You're Reading This It's Too Late," and that is why many considered it as a new album from Drake.

Some tracks on the mixtape have already been released such as "6 God." Additionally, "Used To," in which Drake collaborated with Lil Wayne, was already included on the "Sorry 4 The Wait 2" mixtape that Wayne released recently.

Releasing mixtapes without any prior advertisement appears to be the norm with rappers nowadays. Some pop stars like Beyoncé have done the same with their albums, which landed on iTunes with zero promotion. Other artists like Taylor Swift still follow the traditional route and create buzz about their offerings several months before their release.