U2 and Apple planned the gesture for maximum publicity — a concert by the Irish megastars at the tech giant’s latest product launch, with the surprise that their new album had just been released for free to the world’s half-billion iTunes customers.

    As physical copies of the album, “Songs of Innocence,” go on sale Monday, the band has faced a backlash with some accusing U2 of turning music into spam.

    The Sept. 9 free release will still pay off handsomely for the already wealthy rockers, with several reports saying that Apple has committed US$100 million to distribute the album as part of its promotion campaign for the iPhone 6.

    But few predict that U2 has created a new model, with lesser-known bands unlikely to survive by giving away their music. So many people found it presumptuous that the entire world would want U2’s album that Apple offered special advice on its website on how to delete it.

    The Entertainment Retailers Association, which represents Britain’s music sellers, said U2 devalued music and hurt the industry’s future. “U2 has had their career, but if one of the biggest rock bands in the world is prepared to give away their new album for free, how can we really expect the public to spend 10 pounds (US$16) on an album by a newcomer?” the group’s chairman, Paul Quirk, said in a statement.

    (SD-Agencies)