8 Sep: Apple’s $100m U2 Fail
When U2’s new album, Songs Of Innocence, was rumoured to be bundled in with the iPhone 6 on 8th September, 2014, the band’s official spokespeople denied any involvement with Apple’s product launch.
But the following day, U2 did indeed turn up at Tim Cook’s keynote – with an initiative to ‘gift’ the album, for free, to over half a billion iTunes users. Within days, the scheme backfired, and Apple had to create a bespoke website for users to remove it from their collections.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why users felt so violated when being given free music; explore the backlash within the music industry to the deal; and enjoy Bono’s milk-based almost-apology…
Further Reading: