Paul Brady has publicly criticised U2 over the band's deal with Apple to release their new album for free to iTunes users.
The Irish singer songwriter said the move was a “further and highly visible nail in the coffin of a sustainable music business”.
"Music costs money to make. It has value. It should not be given away free. Shame on you, U2," Brady wrote on his official Facebook page.
It has been reported that Apple paid around $100 million for the album Songs of Innocence, which was released to coincide with the launch of the new iPhone6 and Apple Watch last week. The album is available to download free of charge on iTunes until October 14th.
“I guess any of us would give away our work in return for reputedly $100 million,” Brady wrote.
“But what about the rest of the musical artists in the world who were kind of hoping that proceeds from the sale of their records to the public might go some way to offsetting the cost of producing them?
“This is a further and highly visible nail in the coffin of a sustainable music business from a band that continually waffles on about fairness and human values.”
The album’s release has boosted sales of U2’s back catalogue, with 15 old albums re-entering the Irish iTunes album download charts in recent days, and 26 entering the US iTunes charts.
