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Tags: bono | u2 | itunes | apple | tim cook | music

Bono Apologizes for Sneaking a U2 Album Onto iTunes in 2014

bono on the red carpet
(Frank Micelotta/AP)

By    |   Tuesday, 25 October 2022 01:08 PM EDT

U2's lead singer Bono has apologized for placing a surprise album in every iTunes user's library — a move that sparked frustration and raised concerns about the implications of tech companies' access to personal data.

Bono struck up a deal with Apple in 2014 that saw the band's album "Songs of Innocence" placed into the music library of every iTunes user. Nearly two decades later and the musician has admitted he regretted it.

"I take full responsibility," Bono writes in his upcoming memoir "Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story," an excerpt of which was published Saturday in The Guardian.

"I'd thought if we could just put our music within reach of people, they might choose to reach out toward it. Not quite. As one social media wisecracker put it, 'Woke up this morning to find Bono in my kitchen, drinking my coffee, wearing my dressing gown, reading my paper.' Or, less kind, 'The free U2 album is overpriced.' Mea culpa."

Bono explained he convinced Apple CEO Tim Cook to pay U2 for the album, which was then given as a gift to users.

"'You want to give this music away free? But the whole point of what we're trying to do at Apple is to not give away music free. The point is to make sure musicians get paid,'" Bono recalled Cook telling him. "'No,' I said, 'I don't think we give it away free. I think you pay us for it, and then you give it away free, as a gift to people. Wouldn't that be wonderful?'"

Bono likened the move to Netflix buying a movie and distributing it to subscribers for free. There was a distinct lack of interest though. As Rolling Stone noted, a 2015 study found only a quarter of users listened to one song from "Songs of Innocence."

"You might call it vaunting ambition. Or vaulting. Critics might accuse me of overreach. It is," Bono continued. "If just getting our music to people who like our music was the idea, that was a good idea. But if the idea was getting our music to people who might not have had a remote interest in our music, maybe there might be some pushback. But what was the worst that could happen? It would be like junk mail."

Bono's memoir is scheduled to release Nov. 1.

Zoe Papadakis

Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


TheWire
U2's lead singer Bono has apologized for placing a surprise album in every iTunes user's library, a move that sparked frustration and raised concerns about the implications of tech companies' access to personal data.
bono, u2, itunes, apple, tim cook, music
388
2022-08-25
Tuesday, 25 October 2022 01:08 PM
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