14 DAY TRIAL // In an unprecedented move in the music industry, rock giants U2 are giving their latest album “Song of Innocence” for free to anyone with an iTunes account. This controversial move comes one month before the album is officially released on CD and vinyl.
The famous Irish rock band announced their new album release in conjunction with the release of the new Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus, an event that sparked the interest of millions across the world.
An estimated half a billion users are expected to download the album. Frontman for the band Bono was overwhelmed by the concept and, according to the newspaper UT San Diego, and said in amazement, “Over 500 million people… that’s a billion ears.”
At the moment, it is unclear if Apple is going to cut the free distribution at 500 million copies or if that's the number of active iTunes users at the moment. In any case, the release of “Songs of Innocence” is already being called the biggest album release of all time, or, at least, the biggest free album release of all time.
“Songs of Innocence” is the band's 13th studio album and it's described as being an autobiographical record, that features collaboration songs with Ryan Tedder, Lykke Li, Danger mouse and Paul Epworth. It is thought out to be a representation of the band's varying styles and influences over the decades.