“Despite all the gripes that Apple had no right to shove U2’s Songs of Innocence into 500 million people’s iTunes libraries, a lot of folks apparently ended up listening to the album,” Victor Luckerson reports for TIME Magazine.
“The new LP, which Apple gifted to iTunes users in conjunction with the company’s iPhone 6 announcement, has been fully downloaded 26 million times, the company said,” Luckerson reports. “In total, 81 million people have “experienced” songs from the album, via Apple services including the iTunes Store, iTunes Radio and Beats Music.”
“For perspective, 14 million customers have purchased U2 albums from the iTunes Store since the digital store launched in 2003,” Luckerson reports. “The group’s best-selling album, The Joshua Tree, has sold more than 10 million copies in the United States (across all formats).”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Not too shabby for a “dismal failure,” huh?
For further reference, the Top Three Bestselling Albums of All Time:
1. Michael Jackson, Thriller, 1982, 42.4 million
2. Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon, 1973, 22.7 million
3. Whitney Houston / Various artists, The Bodyguard, 1992, 27.4 million
Related articles:
U2’s Bono talks 885 million iTunes accounts, new music format, and ‘haters’ – September 22, 2014
Unsurprisingly, bypassed music retailers call Apple’s free U2 album a ‘dismal failure’ – September 16, 2014
Why the anger over iTunes’ free U2 album ‘Songs Of Innocence?’ – September 16, 2014
Apple creates tool for removing free U2 album from iTunes library – September 15, 2014
Apple iTunes users download 2 million copies of new U2 album; 17 other U2 albums in iTunes top 100 chart – September 12, 2014
Apple’s new TV spot “Echoes” featuring U2, iTunes and iPhone 6 goes into heavy rotation – September 11, 2014
Some iTunes users upset over Apple’s U2 album giveaway – September 11, 2014
Apple and U2 release ‘Songs of Innocence’ exclusively for iTunes Store customers – September 9, 2014