I would think that U2 wouldn’t really want to brag that they have “the largest album release ever” when it was an auto (forced) download to every iTunes account. That’s just bullshit. But then again, they are U2 – they don’t really care, do they?
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-11/-who-is-u2-ask-itunes-users-miffed-at-apple-s-album-giveaway.html
http://www.whoisu2.com/
They’re paid USD $100 million by Apple. Seriously, Apple what were you thinking? http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/u2-free-album-verdict-is-in–an-epic-fail-that-could-cost-dearly-20140917-10i2yc.html
— updated Sept 19 —
This article is true on all points. http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbyowsinski/2014/09/18/analyzing-apples-u2-mistake/
A colleague of mine typed out “who is you two?” on Google cause he really didn’t know U2. They were a great band – keyword here is “were“. They are an aging rock band now who – God forbid – may think that they are known by everyone now but that may not necessarily be a fact now.