U2 responds to pushback about their massive iTunes album release

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U2 put together a video responding to fan questions. One fan brought up the album that was automatically added to everyone’s library, wanted or not:

Can you please never release an album on iTunes that automatically downloads to peoples playlists ever again? It’s really rude.

Bono sighed, then said:

Oops, um, I’m sorry about that…This beautiful idea. Might’ve gotten carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing. Drop of megalomania. Touch of generosity. Dash of self promotion. And deep fear that these songs, that we’ve poured our lives into the last few years, mightn’t be heard. There’s a lot of noise out there. I guess we, us, we got a little noisy ourselves to get through it.

On the video embedded below, the question starts at about 2:18.



  • Tom_P

    It’s still a bad idea, one Apple shouldn’t allow. Just get the album into Purchased history and let customers who want to download it.. download it.

    • they didnt force download it. they flagged it as purchased, and if your device is set to auto-download your purchases, it will.

      thus its available on my Apple TV, but isnt on my phone.

      i dont really get the big deal. “boohoo, life’s tough, i got a U2 album in my library…”

    • Greg

      Right! It only downloaded for people who had Auto-Download enabled. For the rest of us, it showed up as a purchased album that had not yet been downloaded.

  • It was perhaps a slightly egotistical idea, somewhat clumsily executed. But seriously, the way some people are reacting to this is fucking insanity. I don’t mean that lightly, or in some sarcastic way. I mean literally. These people have lost their fucking minds.

    • I’m not sure.

      I don’t think that what you’re saying is appropriate. The reaction is strong, but it’s because their stuff was messed with. It feels like invasion, even if it’s completely harmless. If someone came into your house and dropped so much as a note in it -without your consent-, you’d freak out and wonder what the hell is happening.

      In the greater scheme of things, it’s absolutely, entirely meaningless, I’ll give you that. But it makes some people uncomfortable, despite the fact that it doesn’t harm them in any way, and they react in defense of their property, virtual though it may be. It’s only natural, the “don’t touch my stuff” instinct.

      • Their stuff wasn’t “messed with” as you put it. You’re drawing a false equivalence. If people who had bought a previous U2 album suddenly found that the songs in their iTunes library had been “upgraded” with new versions or mixes that replaced the existing tracks, then you would have a point – and a valid analogy. As it is, this is no more intrusive than an author’s new novel being included with your sunday newspaper, or Netflix sending you a free DVD for you to keep. Or, you know, Apple adding a free U2 album to your account.

        Do you like your free gift? Great! Read/watch/listen at your leisure. Don’t like it? Throw it away. Really simple.

        Any of the other myriad hysterical responses is a gratuitous display of entitlement and whinging at 1st-world problems.

        • it’s completely insane.

      • Greg

        It’s no different than if your friend bought the album for you as a gift. It would show up in your iTunes account as an available download – or in your library if you have Auto-Download enabled.

  • msechea

    Steve Jobs never would have approved a silly marketing move like that. It was sloppy, and even the keynote segment, its delivery was especially cringe-worthy (mostly because of Tim Cook’s “hey let’s touch our fingers together”)…

    I guarantee you the only reason they did this was U2 had a bunch of b-side material that wouldn’t quite cut it for a real ‘paid’ album, so they compiled all the second-rate stuff they had and somehow came up with this as a way to both release the music and promote the band.

    • ghoppe

      Sigh

      You might have had a point to make, but you completely ruined it by starting your post with “Steve Jobs never would have…”

      Jobs was not above silly marketing moves. A U2 themed iPod was sold under his watch. Have you seen the iPod socks? You do not know the deals he would or would not have made.

      I just wish people would stop trotting out his memory whenever they criticize Apple. Steve Jobs had great vision, yes, but he was also fallible. And malleable, changing course and opinions as necessary. No one knows how his vision may have evolved.

      • it’s rather pathetic. classic “appeal to a false authority” fallacy. dead guys can’t back up anybody’s argument.

      • msechea

        Well if I’m not allowed to comment on WWSJGD, then maybe we can also ask Tim Cook to stop sending out annual employee letters remarking what an incredible impact Jobs had on the world, blah blah blah. It’s all the same romanticizing.

        I’m not sure your U2 iPod argument reads similarly, considering people actually had to purchase the iPod and the U2 album was unwanted and free.

        U2 iPod

        “It retails for $349 and comes with a $50 coupon redeemable against ‘The U2 Digital Complete Works’ of more than 400 U2 songs, which will go on sale in November at $150.”

        That’s a potential of $449 for Apple as opposed to $0.0000 for the U2 album.

        The U2 album was digital, no production fees, and the U2 marketed commercial for that album was done in-house.

        The point I’m trying to make is that Steve Jobs would have said NO to Bono’s beautiful idea, and remember:

        For Every Yes There Are A Thousand No’s

        • websnap

          “Well if I’m not allowed to comment on WWSJGD, then maybe we can also ask Tim Cook to stop sending out annual employee letters remarking what an incredible impact Jobs had on the world, blah blah blah. It’s all the same romanticizing.”

          It’s actually not. Steve did things that are on record, and they are celebrated/vilified because we have proof of their causality with the industry today. To say he would or wouldn’t do something is you placing your opinion in the mouth of a dead man with no actual proof he would react the way you say. Like if I say “SJ would NEVER create an Apple branded Vehicle”. There is no evidence that comment is valid. Re: U2 downloads – It is entirely plausible that he thought about it and just couldn’t make it happen in time. Just because someone doesn’t have an opportunity to do something in his lifetime due to it being cut short doesn’t mean he us against the idea, or that he couldn’t have had a change of heart if initially opposed.

          You are still putting words in a dead man’s mouth.

          • msechea

            Allow me to correct my statement:

            In my opinion Steve Jobs never would have approved a silly marketing move like that.

            Forget the silly technicalities, this is what old married couples fight about.

            Why would it take more than three years for this to materialize if it was discussed when he was alive? You really think this move could have been that important? Give me a break. This move was a marketing afterthought, and it made no sense at all. It was a silly handshake between Apple and U2 and it was dubious at best the way it was executed and “delivered” to consumers. Why didnt they just advertise it on the music homepage of the iTunes store that links to a page with a nice little Free button next to it?

          • websnap

            You didn’t correct anything, you re-worded it to fit your point. The fact of the matter is unless you actually knew Steve Jobs you can’t have an opinion on what he may or may not know or do – even more so because he is dead. I can’t make general comments about Tim Cook and he is still alive. Presuming to know what a dead person may or may not do is bordering on classless.

            As to why it didn’t work, well, they screwed up. My issue wasn’t to defend apple, just to cut out the “Steve wouldn’t have” BS.

          • msechea

            So I guess I should have said:

            That U2 album botch is enough to make Steve Jobs turn in his grave.

            It’s implied now but not classless.

          • websnap

            Why even bring up Jobs? That’s my point.

            They screwed up giving you something for free one way and should have given it this other way. So what? What point does invoking his name accomplish? Like no tech company has EVER screwed up a launch – never mind free music – including apple, including when Jobs was around.

          • msechea

            Why bring up Jobs? Because he’s the reason the stock price is what it is, and why Apple is Apple and will always be Apple. People will never stop talking about SJ, no matter how successful or unsuccessful Apple becomes in the future. That’s just the way it is.

            The point is to remind ourselves that the Cook camp has a lot to learn about how to, moving forward, consistently pivot Apple into making wise decisions, and this one was obviously not. I’m not doubting companies screw up, but I’m sure you would agree that one screw up is far better than 1000 screw ups. It’s more about intuition on these kinds of blunders before they happen.

        • you have NO IDEA what jobs would or wouldn’t have done! why? because he’s dead! and I’ll bet a hundred bucks you didn’t know him when he was alive! that’s why its a stupid thing to say!

          get it??

    • matthewmaurice

      Steve Jobs wanted to dress up in full Willy Wonka regalia and give out a golden ticket in an iMac box, so much for “never would have approved a silly marketing move”. When he was alive, no one could have accurately said what Steve Jobs would or wouldn’t have done about anything, not even Steve Jobs. After his death, only more so.

      • bingo! I forgot about that story. strange but true…

      • msechea

        It really doesn’t matter than he had this idea, because it never would have happened:

        “California law required that all such sweepstake contests allow entry without requiring a purchase.”

        Also, it didn’t happen. That’s a pretty big difference.

        • matthewmaurice

          You like making blanket statements of fact about events you’re weren’t privy to and/or conclusions about people you didn’t know. While that’s certainly your prerogative, it makes it hard to take you seriously.

          • msechea

            “Steve Jobs wanted to dress up in full Willy Wonka regalia and give out a golden ticket in an iMac box.”

            So you were there huh. What was it like hearing him tell everyone this?

            He didnt approve this. Be selective with what hearsay aneqdotes you decide to compare to, because it’s not relevant to my initial comment.

          • matthewmaurice

            Your initial comment was just plain wrong and you’ve been trying, unsuccessfully, to justify it since you made it. If anyone should be wary of hearsay, I would say it should be you.

          • msechea

            matthewmaurice,

            I don’t need to justify my comment to anyone, because it is my opinion. Very simliar to how you commented that it was a “my bad” moment from Bono. Well, geez, you don’t know what he was thinking. Or what will happen to HP in the future in five years. You don’t know that, but you’re entitled to an opinion, whether you know a person or not, whether a person is dead or alive.

            Everyone has spoken for someone else at some point in their lives, and I’ll be damned if some petty comment on a blog about what SJ would say should be judged as being so different.

    • STEVE JOBS’ GHOST! HOLY SHIT!

      man, i wish i could channel Jobs like you can. what else has he told you? tell us!!

  • matthewmaurice

    “Drop of megalomania. Touch of generosity. Dash of self promotion. And deep fear that these songs, that we’ve poured our lives into the last few years, mightn’t be heard. There’s a lot of noise out there. I guess we, us, we got a little noisy ourselves to get through it.”

    I’ve bad-mouthed Bono on multiple occasions, but that’s a pretty straight “my bad”, and I’ve got to give him credit.

  • “Drop of megalomania.”

    How many gallons in a drop?

    — MrJM

  • SylviaSez

    I for one, have been totally mystified why there was such an uproar over this promotion. I am not a big fan of Bono or U2, but who cares if it shows up in my Purchased list. I was not forced to download it to my local devices. No one coerced me to do anything here. Apple gives away a music album for a limited time. Listen or not, up to the user. Say “Thank you” and move on.

    But all this strum and drang over a freebie you can use or not. Really? Have we all lost our collective minds? Have you never received a gift that did not suit you? Did you scream and throw a tantrum at your dear old Auntie because you did not want the Lawrence Welk album she gave you for your birthday? You find a place to store it, or re-gift it, right? But would you honestly post angry messages all over the bulletin boards about how she infringed upon your freedoms by giving you something you did not want?

    Puleeze!

    • Moeskido

      Uproar drives page hits. Pandering to entitled children drives uproar. It’s of a piece with any Apple-related “controversy” that ends with “-gate.”

      • Exactly. And I wish we could get over using -gate, anyway. It’s tired, a sign of hack writing, and I suspect half the people reading it don’t even know or understand the reference, anyway. Isn’t there a Godwin’s Law for -gate?

        • janakj

          Sadly, the only solution is to stop reading “hack media” (which is a shockingly large amount of it). There is /good/ mobile analysis out there, just not in your mainstream periodicals. There’s a number of reasons traditional publications are dying — lazy journalism is one of them.

          [Just when bendgate disappeared, gamergate appeared, and I doubly wish that one would vanish too.]

  • Terrible Entitled Millennial

    Just reading some of the responses here:

    “These people have lost their fucking minds” “hysterical responses” “gratuitous display of entitlement” “whinging at 1st-world problems” “completely insane” “strum and drang” “Have we all lost our collective minds” “scream and throw a tantrum” “Pandering to entitled children”

    Just because some people dared to complain about something that even U2 admits was poorly executed? Apple screwed up and people are allowed to be unhappy about that just as much as you lot are allowed to unironically complain about “entitlement” or “first world problems”.

  • Jason

    Bono once again proving he is the world’s biggest tool