Bono takes “full responsibility” for that free Apple U2 album

Who doesn’t love free music? Well, as it turns out, anybody that hates U2, who stands as one of the most polarizing bands in history. Bono is now apologizing–yet again–for that time he gifted Apple users a digital copy of U2’s 2014 album “Songs of Innocence.”

In an excerpt from his new memoir, “Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story”, Bono recalls the entire scenario that put the album in people’s pockets. The collaboration between U2 and Apple went back to 2004 when “Vertigo” was included in a now-iconic Apple commercial and the Irish band got their own iPod. A decade later, it went much further, when Bono and company were backed by Tim Cook to include “Songs of Innocence.” 

Bono didn’t think it would be such a burden, comparing it to “junk mail”–if you don’t like it, just toss it. As it turns out, it was a bit of a pain in the arse to remove from the device. On the plus side, for once, people weren’t locked into Temple Run 2 but rather figuring out how to get this wretched album off their phones. (OK, the album isn’t a complete dud but “Joshua Tree” it ain’t.)

“I take full responsibility…I thought if we could just put our music within reach of people, they might choose to reach out toward it. Not quite,” he said. “At first I thought this was just an internet squall. We were Santa Claus and we’d knocked a few bricks out as we went down the chimney with our bag of songs. But quite quickly we realized we’d bumped into a serious discussion about the access of big tech to our lives.”

“Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story”’s synopsis: “In his unique voice, Bono takes us from his early days growing up in Dublin, including the sudden loss of his mother when he was fourteen, to U2’s unlikely journey to become one of the world’s most influential rock bands, to his more than twenty years of activism dedicated to the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty.” It also includes 40 drawings from Bono…at no additional charge.

Netflix reportedly has a U2 biopic in the works from J.J. Abrams.