Apple may have paid $100 million for that U2 album

In another partnership with U2, Apple announced last week that all iTunes users would receive a free copy of U2’s latest album ‘Songs of Innocence’. It didn’t cost the consumer anything, but if reports are to be believed then Apple paid $100 million (£61 million) in royalty fees and marketing costs for the privilege of giving the album away.

Bono himself was reported by the New York Times as having said “First you would have to pay [for the album], because we’re not going in for the free music around here”. So as charitable as he likes to make himself appear, he isn’t willing to gift his music to the world.

U2’s manager also confirmed that it wasn’t the band who decided that the music should be given away free, it was purchased by Apple and then given to its customers as a gift out of the kindness of its own heart.

While ‘Songs of Innocence’ has been very well received critically, some people have expressed frustration that they don’t have a choice in whether they have the album because it downloads automatically. But that’s a completely different problem.

Want to read more? Here’s our coverage of the recent Apple announcements, including everything you need to know about Apple’s ‘phablet’, the iPhone 6 Plus, and smartwatches buying guide, or if you’re sick of Apple completely, here’s our rundown of our 14 favourite dating apps, from Tinder to eHarmony.