Apple says 33 million iTunes account holders have accessed U2′s free album.
The company issued a statement Monday from senior vice-president Eddy Cue with the first usage numbers for the surprise Songs of Freedom release by the company. Apple gave the album to 500 million iTunes account holders last week during the company’s iPhone 6 unveiling news conference.
Cue called the number record-breaking, but did not elaborate. The figure includes customers who downloaded the album from their iCloud account, streamed it or used iTunes’ radio player to hear it.
However, some iPhone users are not happy that the album was automatically added to their iTunes music library. In response, Apple is releasing a special tool that lets people remove the album from their collections.
U2 played at an Apple event last week that included the unveiling of the iPhone maker’s new smartwatch and updated iPhone models.
While it was already possible to delete the album, Apple’s tool makes it possible in one step.
Apple paid the Irish rock band for a five-week exclusive window during which the album is only available to its customers. Songs of Innocence will be released Oct. 14 to the general public.
