U2 apologises for spamming iTunes library

U2 singer Bono on Wednesday apologised for the Irish band's latest album landing unbidden in the record libraries of 500 million iTunes users.

"Oops. I'm sorry about that. I had this beautiful idea - might have got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing," he said in response to Songs of Innocence being added for free to iTunes record collections without the permission of the owners.

In a Facebook question-and-answer session, Bono said the ploy reflected a "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."

Songs of Innocence did not make No 1 in the Official Charts Company listings, making it the first album by the band not to debut in the top spot since Achtung Baby came out in 1991.