Just 2860 Australians were willing to pay for the album U2 gave away on iTunes

ONLY 2860 Australians were willing to pay for the deluxe version of the new album by U2, the biggest band in the world.

The Irish band’s 13th album Songs of Innocence sold 2860 copies in Australia last week, entering the ARIA chart at No.7.
It is their lowest-charting album here since 1987, and their first since then not to debut at No. 1.
Songs of Innocence entered the libraries of 500 million iTunes users as a free gift as part of a lucrative promotional deal with Apple.
However the smart businessmen kept a handful of extra songs for a paid physical and digital release of Songs of Innocence for completist fans.
Yet only 2860 fans were enticed enough to buy the album last week.
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Bad idea ... Bono apologised for the launch of their album for free on iTunes accounts. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

Those figures include 39 downloaded digital copies of the album, presumably for people who either don’t have iTunes or somehow missed the free window.
The album was ineligible for charts until the belated paid release.
By comparison Triple J’s Like a Version Volume 10 was No. 1 with 14,212 sales, just ahead of Pink’s new project, You + Me, at 12,403 sales.
Since 1987, each U2 album has debuted at No. 1 in Australia, Songs of Innocence is their 16th Australian Top 10 album.
Songs of Innocence entered the UK chart at No. 6 and is expected to sell 25,000 copies to make the US Top 10 next week.
The album was accessed by 33 million people in its first week of release in September and 81 million users had listened to it after a month, with 26 million downloading the entire album.

Offending album ... Songs of Innocence, by U2. Picture: AP Source: Supplied

The band and Apple created a program to delete the record after a backlash from people angered about getting a free album they had not asked for taking up their memory.
Songs of Innocence will also be available on vinyl next week, including an exclusive remix.
iTunes will release an EP, selling for $8.99, on November 18 featuring extra songs from the deluxe physical version.
The band apologised for the “rude” iTunes invasion last week while promoting the physical release of the album.
“I’m sorry about that,” Bono said. “I had this beautiful idea and we got carried away with ourselves.
“Artists are prone to that kind of thing; drop of megalomania, touch of generosity, dash of self-promotion and deep fear that these songs that we poured our life into over the last few years mightn’t be heard.”
The band also hinted that their next tour will be in smaller venues than previous outdoor and stadium shows.