Bit of a furore over this one:
How dare Apple give me an album I don't want, for free!
Yes Apple are giving away 500 million copies of the new U2 album 'Songs of Innocence' free to celebrate the iPhone6 launch.
This makes it the most owned album ever , great PR if it wasn't for all the people complaining that this is foisted on them, and the social media sites explaining how to delete it.
C'mon guys, U2 aren't that bad!
As if the music business weren't already skilled at how to devalue their own product I thought that this was a new low
Work for a year on an album and then give it away?
They must hope to get it all back on merchandising on the next world tour, and probably will.
There is another angle. Are U2 relevant anymore?
Would I rush out to buy this the way I did with The Joshua Tree and will I hear it on the radio?
No to both.
Radio no longer has shows that promote this middle-aged music
It's either new young music or classic tracks, you will hear 'Pride, in the name of love' and 'Beautiful Day' many times more than anything new.
So maybe this is the logical progression for older bands to get their music heard, it's all virtually free on Napster and Spotify anyway so why not just give it away?
This works for the super-rich bands on the gravy train tours but makes life difficult for other musicians, who really have to work for a living
At least the album is actually pretty good, and U2 fans will still buy it to own it, itunes is only renting it anyway!
