U2 and Apple: 8 years of the biggest “giveaway” in the music industry that ended in disaster

In September 2014, Apple announced that everyone with an iTunes account would be able to access U2’s album for free. Songs of Innocence. Although it sounded like a good idea, it turned out to be a disaster that ended up costing Apple close to $100 million, according to The New York Times reported .

What happened? At one of the brand’s popular events, it was announced that the band wanted their album to reach as many people as possible, and they did: the album was available to half a billion iTunes subscribers at the time, that same day, free.

The album would be free as an Apple exclusive for over a month, before going on sale through normal channels weeks later.

Although it seemed like a good idea at first, it was not well received by the public. The album was “experienced” by 33 million people the first week, according to remember Apple Insider but the negative reaction was almost instantaneous.

Why did it fail? It should be remembered that the U2 album could not be erased and at that time, the capacity of the devices was much more limited, so few people appreciated having an album in their library that they had not ordered and that took up precious space.

Rather than a gift, many Apple customers viewed the free album as some sort of intrusion into the sacred privacy of their iTunes account. Putting an album on one user’s account, let alone all of them, was a step Apple had never taken before, and many users saw it as an affront. This added to the fact that the reviews of the album were not the best.

Own Bono, lead singer of U2, had to apologize for the way the album was distributed : “I’m sorry. I had this nice idea and we got carried away. Artists are prone to that kind of thing. A megalomania comedown, a touch of generosity and a dash of self-promotion, and a deep fear that those songs in which we have put our lives into during the last few years may not be heard”, explained the musician.