Bono has admitted that U2’s 2014 decision to give every iTunes user a free copy of Songs of Innocence went too far, after the move cost Apple $100 million to resolve the resulting backlash, per faroutmagazine.co.uk.
In a new interview with the New York Times, the U2 frontman said he pitched the idea and took full responsibility. “I went too far on that one,” he said. “All on me.”
The album appeared automatically in users’ libraries. Many could not delete it at first, prompting widespread complaints. Apple later published removal instructions and spent $100 million dealing with the fallout.
Guitarist The Edge defended the approach, saying the band takes risks and sometimes fails. “That’s part of the gig,” he said.
Twelve years later, U2 is preparing to release its new album “Carnaval de Luz” on November 13. The band will then begin the South American leg of The Greatest Show on Earth World Tour, its first live dates since the Sphere residency in Las Vegas in 2023–2024. Confirmed shows include two nights in Mexico City in February, followed by two nights each in São Paulo and Buenos Aires in March.
•Featured image: Bono/Far Out/YouTube Still