The Irish band U2 released Songs of Innocence for free in 2014.
U2 announced the album on September 9, 2014, during an Apple product event in Cupertino, California. Apple made the band's 13th studio album available at no charge to more than 500 million iTunes users, placing it automatically in many customers' music libraries. The unusual release was intended to give the album an enormous global audience immediately.
Songs of Innocence was produced with help from Danger Mouse, Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney, and others. Its songs draw heavily on the band members' youth, musical influences, family experiences, and early days in Dublin. The title alludes to William Blake's poetry collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience.
The release also caused controversy because some users felt the album had been added without permission. Apple later provided a dedicated removal tool. Thus, “free” describes how listeners received the digital album; Apple reportedly paid for the distribution arrangement.