Bono Takes Responsibility For 2014 iTunes 'Overreach' Of U2's 'Songs Of Innocence'

Bono looked back at the time when U2's LP "Songs Of Innocence" was downloaded into everyone's Apple devices, and he detailed the meeting he had with Apple executives.

"You might call it vaunting ambition. Or vaulting. Critics might accuse me of overreach. It is," Bono wrote in his latest memoir "Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story."

In 2014, U2's "Songs Of Innocence" was installed into everyone's Apple device for free, a move that Bono considered as a gift to everyone, but instead became a nightmare.

Some people did not see it the way the 62-year-old singer saw it, as they could not figure out how to remove the album from their Apple devices, reports say.

"If just getting our music to people who like our music was the idea, that was a good idea. But if the idea was getting our music to people who might not have had a remote interest in our music, maybe there might be some pushback," he admitted.

"But what was the worst that could happen? It would be like junk mail. Wouldn't it? Like taking our bottle of milk and leaving it on the doorstep of every house in the neighborhood."

The Meeting

According to reports, Bono had a meeting with Apple executives including the CEO, Tim Cook, and U2's manager Guy Oseary.

The band's frontman proposed that Apple "pay us for it, and then you give it away free, as a gift to people... like when Netflix buys the movie and gives it away to subscribers," as he had put it.

"I think we should give it away to everybody. I mean, it's their choice whether they want to listen to it," he even said.

Although Cook raised some concerns, noting that the tech giant was "not a subscription organization" and questioned whether the album should just be available to "people who like U2," the plan carried on.

The Aftermath

And just like that, everybody had a copy of U2's album. Bono described the events that took place following the release in detail.

And despite apologizing for the fiasco once before, he yet again apologized and took accountability for the plan.

"I take full responsibility," the excerpt shared by The Guardian read. "[...] I'd thought if we could just put our music within reach of people, they might choose to reach out toward it. Not quite."

"As one social media wisecracker put it, 'Woke up this morning to find Bono in my kitchen, drinking my coffee, wearing my dressing gown, reading my paper.' Or, less kind, 'The free U2 album is overpriced.' Mea culpa."

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Bono, Album, ITunes