Bono Takes ‘Full Responsibility’ For the 2014 U2 iTunes Giveaway

Bono takes "full responsibility" for the now-infamous iTunes giveaway of U2's 2014 album Songs of Innocence.

The U2 frontman touches on the controversial moment in his new memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story, which comes out on November 1. An excerpt from the book about the iTunes hoopla was recently published by The Guardian.

Bono details himself and manager Guy Oseary meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple executives Eddy Cue and Phil Schiller. The singer pitched the whole deal to Apple and said to Cook the company would just buy the album and distribute it "...like when Netflix buys the movie and gives it away to subscribers." When Cook tells Bono Apple isn't "a subscription organization," he replied back to the CEO, "Not yet. Let ours be the first."

Even if you're not a fan of Bono, you have to give him some credit for (allegedly) seeing the future of music distribution.

Bono writes of the album giveaway, "It would be like junk mail. Wouldn’t it? Like taking our bottle of milk and leaving it on the doorstep of every house in the neighborhood. Not. Quite. True. On 9 September 2014, we didn’t just put our bottle of milk at the door but in every fridge in every house in town. In some cases, we poured it on to the good people’s cornflakes. And some people like to pour their own milk. And others are lactose intolerant."

Bono adds, "I take full responsibility. Not Guy O, not Edge, not Adam, not Larry, not Tim Cook, not Eddy Cue. I’d thought if we could just put our music within reach of people, they might choose to reach out toward it. Not quite."

The singer continues, "As one social media wisecracker put it, 'Woke up this morning to find Bono in my kitchen, drinking my coffee, wearing my dressing gown, reading my paper'. Or, less kind, 'The free U2 album is overpriced'. Mea culpa."

Many may have been furious over a U2 album suddenly appearing on their Apple device, but the deal was a shrewd business move. Billboard reported in September 2014 that the album distribution was part of an overall deal with Apple that was worth $100 million. Additionally, it led to a massive spike in downloads of the entire U2 catalog with every single studio release from the band hitting the iTunes top albums chart.

U2 has been one of the biggest bands of the past 50 years and for good reason: Their catalog is a prime example of a band evolving and growing up before the eyes of the world.

So far, U2 has released 14 studio albums. Their catalog also features live releases, box sets, compilations and more. In total, they have sold over 175 million records worldwide.

The legend of U2 had humble beginnings. Its four members -- Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. -- were all students at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin.

One day in 1976, Mullen Jr. put a flyer on the school's bulletin board searching for musicians to start a band. He was only 14 at the time. Among the people who responded were Bono (16), The Edge (15) and Clayton (16). The band's first practice was on September 25, 1976 in the kitchen of Mullen Jr.'s childhood home.

Who would've thought all of this success started with a just simple post on a bulletin board and a practice in a kitchen?!

U2's list of accolades is nothing short of insane. They've won 22 Grammy Awards out of 46 nominations. In 2005, they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The band received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2022.

In addition to those awards, they've been a massive tour draw. Per Pollstar, U2 has sold over 26 million tickets since 1980. Their tours have grossed a staggering $2.12 million. The only other act to make more money on the road is the Rolling Stones with $2.16 million.

With all of this mind, we thought we'd take on the daunting task of ranking U2's best song. Scroll through the list below to see which songs from their vast catalog we think are their 50 best!