Bono Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ for U2’s iTunes Disaster

Bono says he takes “full responsibility” for U2’s iTunes controversy of 2014 in his upcoming memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.

The tech big gave away the band’s Songs of Innocence album for free to each iTunes consumer however confronted a backlash after clients found it had been mechanically uploaded to their accounts and, at first, there was no technique to delete it.

In Surrender, Bono writes (through The Guardian) that Apple CEO Tim Cook responded with “mild incredulity” when the singer defined the concept to him.

“‘You want to give this music away free?'” Cook stated. “‘But the whole point of what we’re trying to do at Apple is to not give away music free. The point is to make sure musicians get paid.’

The singer adds, “‘No,’ I stated, ‘I do not suppose we give it away free. I feel you pay us for it, and then you definately give it away free, as a present to individuals. Wouldn’t that be great? … Like when Netflix buys the film and offers it away to subscribers.'”

Cook remained uncertain, saying, “There’s one thing not proper about giving your artwork away for free. And that is simply to individuals who like U2?” Bono replied, “I feel we should always give it away to all people. I imply, it is their alternative whether or not they wish to hearken to it.”

The singer admits the idea was “overreach” but remained optimistic that it would ultimately succeed. “If simply getting our music to individuals who like our music was the concept, that was a good suggestion,” he writes. “But if the concept was getting our music to individuals who won’t have had a distant curiosity in our music, perhaps there is likely to be some pushback. But what was the worst that would occur? It can be like spam. Wouldn’t it? Like taking our bottle of milk and leaving it on the doorstep of each home within the neighbourhood.

“Not. Quite. True.

“On 9 September 2014, we did not simply put our bottle of milk on the door however in each fridge in each home on the town. In some instances we poured it on to the nice individuals’s cornflakes. And some individuals prefer to pour their very own milk. And others are lactose illiberal.”

Bono says that at first, he thought the controversy would quickly pass, but then he realized “we would bumped right into a severe dialogue concerning the entry of massive tech to our lives.” He also says the onus falls squarely on him.

“I take full duty,” he writes. “I’d thought if we might simply put our music inside attain of individuals, they could select to achieve out towards it. Not fairly. As one social media wisecracker put it, ‘Woke up this morning to seek out Bono in my kitchen, consuming my espresso, carrying my dressing robe, studying my paper.’ Or, much less type, ‘The free U2 album is overpriced.’ Mea culpa.”

Still, Bono credits Cook with supporting the idea. “‘You talked us into an experiment,’ he stated. ‘We ran with it. It could not have labored, however we have now to experiment, as a result of the music enterprise in its current kind shouldn’t be working for everybody.'”

The misstep also forced the rockers to move more carefully and deliberately going forward. “We’d discovered a lesson, however we would should watch out the place we’d tread for a while,” Bono writes. “It was not only a banana pores and skin. It was a landmine.”

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story is scheduled for worldwide release on Nov. 1.