Bono is Farmer’s Wife: Handle with Care! Part 1: Angel Advent (2021)really sorry for that time he forced U2's album onto everyone's iTunes library.
In an excerpt from his memoir published in The Guardian, Bono, the lead singer of U2, looks back on the band's ill-fated 2014 collaboration with Apple that he thought would be the ultimate rock n' roll move. Instead, it became a PR nightmare for the tech company and made U2 look like aging has-beens desperate for an audience.
The idea, of course, was to permanently add U2's then-new album Songs of Innocenceto the iTunes libraries of 500 million users worldwide... with no ability to remove it. The backlash, as you might imagine, was swift and unambiguous. "Woke up this morning to find Bono in my kitchen, drinking my coffee, wearing my dressing gown, reading my paper," recounts Bono of one social media reaction at the time. "The free U2 album is overpriced."
Ouch.
Ever the altruist, Bono has accepted the blame for this infamously terrible idea. He thought delivering U2's album to iTunes users — an album which was free of charge because Apple bought it ahead of time per the agreement — would be something people could enjoy or ignore, "like junk mail." Instead, iTunes users felt violated.
The outrage got so bad at one point that Apple even had to build a specific tool for removing the free U2 album.
"We realized we’d bumped into a serious discussion about the access of big tech to our lives," said Bono in his memoir. "The part of me that will always be punk rock thought this was exactly what the Clash would do. Subversive. But subversive is hard to claim when you’re working with a company that’s about to be the biggest on Earth."
SEE ALSO: Apple launches Music Sessions with live performances in Spatial AudioPart of the reason for the outrage was because Songs of Innocencewas taking up precious storage space in iTunes users' carefully cultivated music libraries. Nowadays, the ubiquity of streaming platforms means we don't have to painstakingly manage and budget what media we download to consume. But back in 2014, people were only just starting to pony up for paid Spotify subscriptions.
To his credit, Bono says in the memoir that Cook could've said "told you so," but instead took the debacle as a learned lesson and went into problem-solving mode.
"It was not just a banana skin. It was a landmine," said Bono.
We'd add 'pie to the face' to that list, too.
Topics Apple Music
Previous：An Uneven Disaster
Take This Job and Love It?
Disney, LA museum re
Super Typhoon Haima becomes Earth's seventh Category 5 storm of 2016
Why 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' is the perfect October read
Russia’s Zombie Election
Microsoft made speech recognition software that's as accurate as humans
Listen to Lady Gaga's ludicrously catchy new song, 'A
Super motivated bride documented her weight loss journey on Instagram
The Poor Under Attack
Kind Canadians remind America it's already great
The Gray Place
'Overwatch' player's lewd comment toward interviewer costs team prize money
A U.S. fighter jet gets painted hot pink
11 things to watch instead of the final presidential debate
Against the Wind
Why a LinkedIn executive can't 'snap her fingers' and fix gender diversity in tech
'Red Dead Redemption 2' confirmed, coming in fall 2017
Hannah Hart talks about her struggle with mental health in 'Buffering'
Peasants of Code
'Red Dead Redemption 2' confirmed, coming in fall 2017
OpenAI's ChatGPT and Sora get native image generationAmazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Best sleep dealsMy favorite kitchen appliance is on sale during Amazon's Big Spring SaleToday's Hurdle hints and answers for March 25, 2025Amazon's Big Spring Sale is live: Everything you need to knowOpenAI's ChatGPT and Sora get native image generationBissell Little Green Max Pet portable carpet cleaner: $99.99Apple Smart Keyboard for iPad deal: save $80 at Best BuyAmazon Spring Sale 2025: Best Beats Solo 4 dealApple announces WWDC 2025 datesBest robot vacuum deal: Save $340 on the roborock Qrevo S Robot VacuumAmazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Best Dyson V15 cordless vacuum dealDid Google Maps delete your Timeline data? How to restore it.The government’s Signal leak is a national security nightmare, but the memes are greatBest Amazon deals of the day: Sony WHAmazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Samsung Frame TV at lowestAmazon Spring Sale 2025: Best Beats Solo 4 dealAmazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Best printer dealHow to use Apple Pay on Amazon for the Big Spring Sale 2025Amazon Big Spring Sale 2025: Samsung Frame TV at lowest Bernie Sanders standing in a huge tub of Ben & Jerry's was just asking for memes How to travel cheap: See the world without breaking the bank A Japanese company has invented sliced mayo and I want to try it Samsung Galaxy S20 pre Android privacy update to give users more control of location sharing You might get $30 from the government if you were the victim of a tech support scam Kim Kardashian is, like, dropping hints that her latest sponsored Instagram is Photoshopped Tesla's Gigafactory Berlin gets green light as court dismisses environmental challenge How to voice message, from sexting to avoiding mom's calls 'A Quiet Place Part II' Survival Rooms invite fans to live the horror Everything coming to (and going from) Netflix in March 2020 The choice is yours: Stadia Premiere or $100 Visa Prepaid Card on Verizon Governor calls BS on state budget with actual bullsh*t Here's NASA's new idea to get its stubborn Martian drill to work 'Game of Thrones' actor Lena Headey opens up about mental health on Twitter Google to Huawei owners: Use our apps at your own risk Jennifer Garner files for divorce from Ben Affleck, for real this time Facebook to ban coronavirus 'cure' ads Lyft to charge Bay Wheels e When is it OK to talk about being horny?
2.347s , 10130.890625 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Farmer’s Wife: Handle with Care! Part 1: Angel Advent (2021)】,Warmth Information Network