![]() ![]() When I heard about the removal tool I cockily thought, Why bother? I’ll never see this thing anyway.Īround 2016 or 2017, a couple years after Apple launched its CarPlay service, allowing your vehicle to sync with iOS, I started noticing something odd. Somewhere in Apple’s database it said that I owned the album, but so long as I never saw or heard it, it may as well have never existed for me. I remember the negative reaction at the time but didn’t pay it much attention I’d already turned off automatic downloads on my various devices to keep my meager hard-drive space free, so Songs of Innocence never found its way onto my phone or computer. It got so bad that, at one point, Apple released a (now-defunct) tool so people could manually remove the album from their accounts without having to contact Apple directly. people were like, ‘Hey, I’m dairy-free.’ So, you know, apologies for that.” Meanwhile, Apple’s support lines were flooded with calls from people demanding that the album be removed from their accounts (Apple never officially disclosed how many calls, but more on that later). There was media blowback Wired described the release as “spam with forced downloads.” Even Bono offered a mea culpa by way of a lactose-inspired analogy for the album’s backfired rollout, speaking to NPR the following month: “We wanted to deliver a pint of milk to people’s porches. And while there were likely U2 fans thrilled to receive a free album from their favorite band, most other iTunes users on the planet were instantly either confused, annoyed, or worried to see an album they didn’t purchase automatically downloading onto their computer or smartphone. Tim Cook, speaking as if he just came up with the idea on the spot, himself, said, “Well, you know, we do have iTunes.” The crowd laughed, apparently digging the cheesy vaudevillian bit.īono then responds to Tim Cook, really leaning into the bit: “You would consider putting Songs of Innocence out to over half a billion people, free, in, say, five seconds from now?”Ĭook then explained that every one of the then-500 million existing iTunes users would instantly get the album added to their accounts, no action required on their behalf … and definitely no consent. Apple’s annual iPhone events had become major cultural gathering points, and to spice this one up, Apple CEO Tim Cook invited U2 to perform a song from their not-yet-released 13th album, Songs of Innocence, on stage.Īfter the performance, U2 front man Bono stood in front of a screen depicting the new album’s cover art and, fully rehearsed, turned to Tim Cook, knowingly asking, “How do we get this to as many people as possible?” ![]() It is …įor those whose memories were spared: On September 9, 2014, Apple hosted an event to debut the iPhone 6, set to launch later that month. On a quiet, early morning drive to the farmers’ market, it returns. It appears, unsolicited, to spoil the beauty of the winding roads surrounding Minnewaska State Park. Every time I get into the car, it’s there. The air that doesn’t smell like your own breath being forced back up your nose under a mask on a hasty trip to CVS.īut on each of these trips, something has followed me no matter where I go. Something I never asked for. So, every few months, my wife and I take a rental car upstate to find some open, no-one-around-for-miles kinda air. Living in New York City during a pandemic has made finding safe, people-free outdoor space an even tougher mission than usual. ![]()
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