For an album that many iTunes users complained they didn’t want – not even for free – U2’s “Songs of Innocence” album has done well when it comes to actual downloads. Re/Code reports that the album has been downloaded over 2 million times in the three days it has been available.
Since the scale of the giveaway is unprecedented — Apple says more than 500 million people will have access to the album — it’s hard to put those download numbers in a meaningful perspective. It’s additionally complicated since some users’ iOS or Mac machines were set up to automatically downloaded the album.
The free album has spurred sales of U2’s older albums too, with 17 of their previous albums currently ranking on the iTunes Top 100, with a remastered version of “The Joshua Tree,” the band’s 1987 release, at the No. 12 spot.
“Songs of Innocence” will be available as a free download to iTunes customers until the middle of October.
