Bono, the Irish rock star and activist, speaks at the Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security following an appearance by President Barack Obama, Friday, May 18, 2012, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Apparently not everybody is a fan of U2.
Some iPhone users are not happy that U2's new album, "Songs of Innocence," was automatically added to their iTunes music library, free of charge. In fact, Apple has had to release a special tool that lets people remove the album from their collections. (Sorry, Bono!)
U2 played at an Apple event last week that included the unveiling of the iPhone maker's new smartwatch and updated iPhone models. In a surprise move, the Irish rock band performed at the event and put out its 11-song release.
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that the new album would be given to the company's 500 million iTunes users. The release showed up in users' iTunes music libraries. The company said Monday that 33 million iTunes account holders have accessed the free album.
But some iTunes users took to Twitter to complain and ask how to remove it.
While it was already possible to delete the album, Apple's new tool makes it possible in one step.
Lead singer Bono wrote a letter last week to explain the album release strategy.
“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,” he wrote. “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… What a mind blowing, head scratching, 21st century situation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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