“My iPhone Has a Virus Called U2, How Do I Uninstall It?”: Controversies Surrounding the Digital Release of U2’s Songs of Innocence

Szymon Pietrzykowski

Instytut Historii Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu

mgr, absolwent Wydziału Historycznego Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, doktorant w Zakładzie Historii Powszechnej XIX i XX w. Instytutu Historii UAM. Obszar zainteresowań to: historia powszechna po 1945 r., Holocaust Studies, dwudziestowieczne reżimy autorytarne i totalitaryzmy, intelektualiści a polityka, popkultura, historia Islamskiej Republiki Iranu. Stypendysta Fundacji Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu na rok akademicki 2016/2017.




Abstract

Controversies surrounding the digital release of U2’s 13th studio record Songs of Innocence, reported extensively in this article, also served as an excuse to (i.e.) disclose the phenomenon of the Irish group or conduct more general reflections concerning the condition of modern-day music industry and attitudes towards pop culture, which are completely different among the so-called Millennials and Baby Boomers, U2 followers and supporters of other bands. However, thanks to a contract between U2 and Apple, this album reached a record number of 500 million people, but the form of its release (it was automatically added to iTunes users’ personal libraries) caused critical backlash and even hatred.


Keywords:

U2, Songs of Innocence, Apple, popular culture, digital distribution, haters/admirers


Apple’s New U2-Removal Service, [online] <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAxmGAZBBtY>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Apple & U2 Release ‘Songs of Innocence’ Exclusively for iTunes Store Consumers, [online] <https://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/09/09Apple-U2-Release-Songs-of-Innocence-Exclusively-foriTunes-Store-Customers.html>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Assar V., Apple’s Devious U2 Album Giveaway is Even Worse than Spam, [online] <http://www.wired.com/2014/09/apples-devious-u2-album-giveaway-even-worse-spam/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Barton B., Stinson S., Thanks Be to Bono, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform [e-book]2013.
Billet A., Songs of Emptiness, [online] <https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/10/songs-of-emptiness/>,dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Bono, Remember Us?, [online] <http://www.u2.com/news/title/remember-us>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Chaciński B., U2: Wreszcie znaleźli to, czego szukali, [online] <http://polifonia.blog.polityka.pl/2014/09/10/u2-wreszcie-znalezli-to-czego-szukali/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Chen A., Millennials, U2 Deserves a Listen, [online] <http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/millennials-u2-deserves-a-listen>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Cook J., People Are Freaking Out over Apple Forced Download of U2’s New Album on iTunes, [online] <http://www.businessinsider.com/everyone-is-freaking-out-over-u2s-new-album-2014-9>,dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Crouch I., Our Hate Has Saved Nickelback, [online] <http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/hate-saved-nickelback>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Cutlack G., Achtung Freebe: U2 Album Gives the Internet Another Reason to Hate iTunes, [online]<http://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/achtung-freebie-u2-album-gives-the-Internetanother-reason-to-hate-itunes-1265387/2>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
DeGusta M., The REAL Death of the Music Industry, [online] <http://www.businessinsider.com/these-charts-explain-the-real-death-of-the-music-industry-2011-2>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Dolan M., How Ronald Reagan Changed Bruce Springsteen’s Politics, [online] <http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/bruce-springsteen-ronald-reagan-107448>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Eakin M., Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins on Why He Hates U2’s ‘Discothèque’, [online] <http://www.avclub.com/article/foo-fighters-taylor-hawkins-why-he-hates-u2s-disco-204670>, dostęp:30.12.2016.
Ehrlich B., Bartz A., Stuff Hipsters Hate: A Field Guide to the Passionate Opinions of the Indifferent, Berkeley 2010.
Exclusive: Bono Reveals Secrets of U2’s Surprise Album ‘Songs of Innocence’, [online] <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/u2-surprise-album-songs-of-innocence-apple-itunes-free-20140909>,dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Forde E., 10 Things to Know about the UK Music Market in 2015, [online] <http://musically.com/2016/01/06/uk-music-market-2015-bpi/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Forde E., U2’s Apple Launch: What It Means for the Band – and the Company, [online] <http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/sep/10/u2-apple-launch-means-band-and-company-songs-of-innocence>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Fricke D., U2 ‘Songs of Innocence’ Album Review, [online] <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/u2-songs-of-innocence-20140911>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Ganguli A., The Night Dylan Went Electric, [online] <http://www.thestatesman.com/mobi/news/features/the-night-dylan-went-electric/77729.html>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Grebey J., Taylor Hawkins Thinks U2’s New Album ‘Sounds Like a Fart’, [online] <http://www.spin.com/2014/11/u2-foo-fighters-songs-of-innocence-taylor-hawkins-fart/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Gregory J., The Drums’ Jonny Pierce: I Hate U2 and Coldplay, [online] <http://www.gigwise.com/news/66204/the-drums-jonny-pierce-i-hate-u2-and-coldplay>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Halperin S., Hampp A., The Download Heard ‘Round the World: iTunes Numbers Show 81 Million‘Experienced’ U2 Album, [online] <http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6274359/itunesnumbers-u2-songs-innocence-album>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Harcourt N., U2: When Art Becomes the Ad (Guest Column), [online] <http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/earshot/u2-art-becomes-ad-guest-734273>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Henschke A., U2’s Songs of Innocence: The Most Deleted Album in History, [online] <http://www.theage.com.au/comment/u2s-songs-of-innocence-the-most-deleted-album-in-history-20140919-10j6o0.html>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Kinos-Goodin J., From U2 to Coldplay, 10 Songs That Made People Hate the Band, [online] <http://music.cbc.ca/#!/blogs/2014/4/From-U2-to-Coldplay-10-songs-that-made-people-hate-the-band>,dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Kreps D., U2 Detail ‘Innocence + Experience’ World Tour, [online] <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/u2-detail-innocence-experience-world-tour-20141203>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Lang N., Why We Hate Nickelback, [online] <http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/why-we-hate-nickelback/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Lazarro S., Nickelback the Meme: A Complete History of How We Came to Hate a Successful Band, [online] <http://observer.com/2016/01/nickelback-the-meme-a-complete-history-of-how-we-cameto-hate-a-successful-band/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.

Michaels S., John Lydon: I Don’t Hate Pink Floyd, [online] <http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/feb/18/john-lydon-pink-floyd>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Michaels S., U2’s Bono Disappointed with Latest Album Sales, [online] <http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/oct/26/u2-bono-disappointed-album-sales>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Millennials, [online] <http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/millennials/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Newsflash: U2 Sucks!, [online] <http://www.oldskool.org/archives/u2sucks>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
O’Connor R., 21 Surprise Albums, Ranked in Order of Surprisingness, [online] <https://www.yahoo.com/music/17-surprise-albums-ranked-in-c1424821315228.html>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Regnier P., Why I Hate iTunes, and You Should Too, [online] <http://time.com/money/3380348/u2-itunes-backlash/>, dostęp: 6.03.2016.
Reynolds S., Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984, London 2009.
Schonfeld Z., We Interviewed a Ton of Dads about Dad Rock, [online] <http://noisey.vice.com/blog/we-interviewed-a-ton-of-dads-about-dad-rock>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
‘Songs of Innocence’ by U2, [online] <http://www.metacritic.com/music/songs-of-innocence/u2>,dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Tannenbaum R., Op-Ed: Why ‘Dad Rock’ Became 2014’s Put-Down Du Jour (Sorry, Bruce andU2), [online] <http://www.billboard.com/articles/events/year-in-music-2014/6406531/op-edwhy-dad-rock-became-2014-put-down>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
The Real Reason People Hate U2?, [online] <https://rateyourmusic.com/board_message?message_id=1466572&board_id=1001&show=20&start=0>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Tsukayama H., You Can Now Remove That U2 Album from Your iPhone, [online] <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/09/16/you-can-now-remove-that-u2-album-fromyour-iphone/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
U2 (Almost) Apologise for Giving Their Own Album – The Graham Norton Show, [online] <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_9YWhyHmPg>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
U2 and Philosophy: How to Decipher an Atomic Band, red. M.A. Wrathall, Chicago 2006.U2’s Openning Acts, [online] <http://tours.atu2.com/opening/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
U2’s ‘Songs of Innocence’/50 Best Albums of 2014, [online] <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-best-albums-of-2014-20141201/u2-songs-of-innocence-20141201>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
U2’s ‘Songs of Innocence’: A Track-by-Track Guide, [online] <http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/u2-songs-of-innocence-surprise-album-guide-20140909>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
U2’s ‘Songs of Innocence’ Stunt Paid Off after All, [online] <http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-u2-album-songs-innocence-iphone-ios-apple-20150224-story.html>,dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Viken B., Did You Also Hate Getting the Latest U2 Album?, [online] <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141013212945-158201966-did-you-also-hate-getting-the-latest-u2-album>, dostęp:30.12.2016.
Whitney L., Apple’s Free U2 Album Perplexes, Annoys Some, [online] <https://www.cnet.com/news/apples-free-u2-album-perplexes-and-annoys-some-users/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Who is U2?, [online] <http://www.whoisu2.com/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Why do Most People Hate Bono so Much?, [online] <http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/ music/4307828>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Young A., “Who Is U2?” Inquiring Twitter Users Want to Know, [online] <http://consequenceofsound.net/2014/09/who-is-u2-inquiring-twitter-users-want-to-know/>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Zafar A., People Were Less than Psyched about U2 at the Apple Event, [online] <http://www.buzzfeed.com/azafar/the-Internet-really-does-not-like-u2-at-apple#.al5W49AwM>, dostęp: 30.12.2016.
Download


Published
2019-02-06

Cited by

Pietrzykowski, S. (2019). “My iPhone Has a Virus Called U2, How Do I Uninstall It?”: Controversies Surrounding the Digital Release of U2’s Songs of Innocence. Media - Culture - Social Communication, 1(13), 103–120. https://doi.org/10.31648/mkks.2990

Szymon Pietrzykowski 
Instytut Historii Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
<p>mgr, absolwent Wydziału Historycznego Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, doktorant w Zakładzie Historii Powszechnej XIX i XX w. Instytutu Historii UAM. Obszar zainteresowań to: historia powszechna po 1945 r., Holocaust Studies, dwudziestowieczne reżimy autorytarne i totalitaryzmy, intelektualiści a polityka, popkultura, historia Islamskiej Republiki Iranu. Stypendysta Fundacji Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu na rok akademicki 2016/2017.</p>  Poland

mgr, absolwent Wydziału Historycznego Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu, doktorant w Zakładzie Historii Powszechnej XIX i XX w. Instytutu Historii UAM. Obszar zainteresowań to: historia powszechna po 1945 r., Holocaust Studies, dwudziestowieczne reżimy autorytarne i totalitaryzmy, intelektualiści a polityka, popkultura, historia Islamskiej Republiki Iranu. Stypendysta Fundacji Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu na rok akademicki 2016/2017.