Sorry U2, we don’t want you. Apple may be a fan of the Irish band U2, but not everyone is, as the company recently found out.
U2 released their new album Songs of Innocence last week and it was available as a free download for iTunes users — whether you wanted it or not — as part of Apple’s launch event for its new iPhones and Apple Watch.
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The problem was that if you turned on your Automatic Downloads feature on your iTunes software or other Apple devices, the album downloaded to your device. And to make matters worse, it was not easy to delete.
This made users very angry that the album was downloaded without their permission, and after being inundated with complaints, Apple has now decided to solve the problem by allowing iTunes users to delete the tracks easily: with a one-click removal option.
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“If you would like U2’s Songs of Innocence removed from your iTunes music library and iTunes purchases, you can choose to have it removed,” the web page explains. “Once the album has been removed from your account, it will no longer be available for you to redownload as a previous purchase. If you later decide you want the album, you will need to get it again. The album is free to everyone until October 13, 2014 and will be available for purchase after that date.”
Guess the free things in life aren’t necessarily the best, right? Well, at least according to some people.
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Bono, front man of the super-band, noted that not everyone would be thrilled to own their album.
“Part of the DNA of this band has always been the desire to get our music to as many people as possible. In the next 24 hours, over a half a billion people are going to have Songs of Innocence… should they choose to check it out. That is so exciting,” he wrote on the band’s page last week.
“People who haven’t heard our music, or weren’t remotely interested, might play us for the first time because we’re in their library,” he continued. “And for the people out there who have no interest in checking us out, look at it this way… the blood, sweat and tears of some Irish guys are in your junk mail.”
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