# Bono admits U2’s ‘Songs of Innocence’ iTunes album giveaway “went too far”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/bono-admits-u2s-songs-of-innocence-itunes-album-giveaway-went-too-far/
- Published: 2026-10-28T17:23:31+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T04:31:20+00:00
- Original publisher: NME
- Original article: https://www.nme.com/news/music/bono-admits-u2-songs-of-innocence-itunes-album-giveaway-went-too-far-3974486?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bono-admits-u2-songs-of-innocence-itunes-album-giveaway-went-too-far
- Topics: Art, Business, Companies, Culture, Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Bono says U2’s iTunes giveaway went too far.
- The album appeared in more than 500 million accounts.
- Apple later introduced a tool to remove it.

## Summary

Bono has reiterated that U2’s 2014 decision to put “Songs of Innocence” into iTunes users’ music libraries without warning “went too far”. The giveaway, arranged with Apple, was intended to get a company to pay for the band’s music and distribute it, but many users objected to having the album added without choosing it.

Bono said he took sole responsibility for the approach, despite manager Paul McGuinness and Apple chief executive Tim Cook questioning it. The album was placed in the accounts of more than 500 million iTunes customers, and Apple later provided a removal tool after the backlash. Guitarist The Edge said taking risks and learning from mistakes was part of the process; U2 are due to release “Carnaval de Luz” on 13 November, their first album of new material since 2017.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.