Believe it or not, the music industry is ending 2015 on a high note. After a decade of doom and gloom, the music business is cautiously optimistic heading into 2016 as profits across the board are up for the first time in years. This is due, in large part, to the success of albums and singles from artists such as Taylor Swift and Adele, which out-sold even the most ambitious forecasts. Nevertheless, 2015 still saw a number of bad moments for the music industry, singers, bands and even music television shows. So, with sales up and optimism high for 2016, we take a few moments to look back on the 10 worst moments in music from 2015.
10. U2 Has to Apologize for Giving Away Its Latest Album
When U2’s latest album, Songs of Innocence, was given to everyone with an Apple iTunes account at the end of 2014, it was billed as a Christmas gift of sorts from both the band and executives at Apple Music. Unfortunately, the public saw the gesture more as a crass publicity stunt and were having none of it. The backlash against U2 for giving their album away for free was so intense that the Irish rock quartet was forced to start off 2015 by apologizing for the gift. This seemed truly bizarre as it was the same people who, for years, had been illegally downloading music online that were now complaining about being given an album for free. Dissenters seemed to be complaining more about the corporate involvement of the album giveaway than the fact that the music was being made available for free. They also didn’t like the fact that Songs of Innocence appeared in every iTunes account automatically whether people wanted it or not. Nevertheless, seeing U2 frontman Bono state in television interviews “Sorry for the free music” was cringe worthy.
http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/10/15/6983115/bono-apology-bad Source: Vox.com