Bono has apologized for the free U2 album, Songs of Innocence, which was downloaded onto users personal iTunes accounts, causing massive backlash.

Bono Apologizes For Free Album

Apple “gifted” its users with the new U2 album in September, but users were less than thrilled when they opened their iTunes account to find Songs of Innocence. Users were so angry that Apple was forced to release specific instructions on how users can get rid of the album.

During a special Facebook Q&A, a fan, who identified herself as Harriet Madeline Jobson, asked about the free album, saying, “Can you please never release an album on iTunes that automatically downloads to people’s playlists ever again? It’s really rude.”

“Oops. I’m sorry about that,” Bono answered, as the other band members laughed at the question.

“I had this beautiful idea. We got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing – drop of megalomania, touch of generosity, dash of self-promotion. And a deep fear that these songs that we poured our life into over the last few years might not be heard. There’s a lot of noise out there, and I guess we got a little bit noisy ourselves trying to get through it,” Bono added.

Apple announced last week that 26 million users fully downloaded Songs of Innocence, meaning that only 5% of the 500 million iTunes users who were given the album downloaded it in its entirety.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.