Almost 40 years after it was formed, Irish band U2 continues to rock.
Apple has just confirmed that U2's latest album, "Songs of Innocence," has been played 81 million times on iTunes, according to a Billboard report.
U2 officially released its surprise album on September 9, during an Apple event in Cupertino California as an iTunes exclusive until October 13, Pitchfork said in an earlier report.
"Songs of Innocence" is U2's latest album as a follow-up to the band's 2009 album titled "No Line on the Horizon," stated Pitchfork.
Eddy Cue, Apple senior VP of internist software and services, told Billboard that during the U2 album's free period, "81 million customers worldwide heard at least one song from the album, and 26 million users downloaded the whole thing."
Cue said that those are significant figures because before the promotion, only 14 million iTunes users had purchased U2's music since iTunes Store opened in 2003.
Apple customers have been listening to U2's "Song of Innocence" album by playing or streaming songs through iTunes, iTunes Radio and Beat Music, cited the Billboard report.
"U2 has gone from setting records to breaking them, and with the band's game-changing partnership (with) Apple, (it is) simply defying all imaginable expectations," Billboard said.
U2, led by lead vocalist and guitarist Bono, expressed appreciation to the astounding reception of its latest album on iTunes.
In a statement issued to Billboard, U2 said: "Apple is a tech company fighting to get musicians paid. The idea that they wanted to make a gift to the very people that actually purchase music is both beautiful and poetic. And for that we are very grateful."
Despite giving the album initially for free on iTunes, U2 will still target physical sales for "Songs of Innocence."
Engadget via MSN News, reported that a deluxe edition of the latest U2 album will be released to all other retailers on October 14. It shall feature 10 additional bonus tracks that are unavailable on iTunes.
The Pitchfork report detailed that the physical release will also come with a 24-page booklet. Of the 10 additional bonus tracks, six would be acoustic versions of the six songs included on "Songs of Innocence." The four other bonus tracks include "Lucifer's Hands," "The Crystal Ballroom," "The Troubles (alternative version)," and "Sleep Like a Baby Tonight (alternative perspective mix)."
The Apple-U2 partnership has indeed set an interesting precedent for the future of music distribution. People are actually asking whether freebie albums would become the new trend in the music industry.
To download U2's "Songs of Innocence" album on iTunes, just follow the steps on this link: https://www.apple.com/U2/