Bono admits U2’s ‘Songs of Innocence’ iTunes album giveaway “went too far”

Bono has looked back on U2’s ‘Songs Of Innocence’ infamously being automatically downloaded onto millions of people’s iTunes accounts without warning, admitting that the stunt “went too far”.

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Os gigantes do rock irlandês lançaram seu 13º álbum gratuitamente em 2014 como parte de um acordo com a Apple. Isso significou que usuários do iTunes em todo o mundo acordavam para descobrir que o álbum completo havia sido baixado automaticamente em suas bibliotecas, quer eles quisessem ou não.

Following backlash, Apple were forced to create a tool that allowed customers to remove the album from their devices, and Bono later shared his regrets about the unconventional method of rolling out the record, calling it a “gross invasion” and likening it to “putting a bottle of milk in people’s fridge that they weren’t asking for”.

The frontman also spoke about the controversy in his 2022 memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, saying that while did it in a bid to make people realise how little the majority of “musicians get paid”, it was an “overreach” on his behalf.

Agora, o cantor icônico relembrou o escândalo 12 anos depois e disse que “went too far on that one”.

Speaking to The New York Times, Bono explained that both the band’s manager Paul McGuinness and Apple CEO Tim Cook were wary of the unique free rollout strategy, and even asked him why he would “want to give something away for free” after spending his “whole life” trying to get people to care enough to pay.

Guitarist The Edge, however, was less inclined to criticise the decision, saying that learning from past mistakes is part of the process. “We take risks. We have to,” he said.

Sua visão é semelhante à que o produtor Flood compartilhou em 2015, quando lhe perguntaram se era um erro baixar automaticamente nas contas de mais de 500 milhões de clientes do iTunes.

New album Carnaval de Luz available 13th November. “Silencio” out now. https://t.co/Fa2Hea7OrT pic.twitter.com/1U42yll9gD.

Bono doubled down on his comments comparing the album to an unwanted “bottle of milk” in 2022, telling The Guardian that he wanted it to be like a “gift to people” that was left on their doorstep, and could choose to accept or not.

U2 estão lançando seu 16º álbum de estúdio, ‘Carnaval De Luz’, em 13 de novembro – sua primeira coleção de longa duração de material novo desde ‘Songs Of Experience’, de 2017.

Ahead of the release, the band have shared the singles ‘Silencio’ and ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’, and announced the first dates of their 2027 world tour, with shows confirmed in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, but not Chile.

Essa turnê marcará suas primeiras performances ao vivo em grande escala desde que a residência no Las Vegas Sphere terminou em 2024, e verá o retorno do baterista Larry Mullen Jr.

Next week, Bono and co. are also set to play a surprise intimate gig in London in partnership with the BBC.

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Em números

• 2015, quando lhe perguntaram se era um erro baixar automaticamente nas contas de mais de 500 milhões de clientes do iTunes