1 week ago
NewsPublished:Jun 2, 2026, 1:30 AM
In 2004, U2 approached Apple astir an advertisement deal, asking to beryllium paid successful Apple shares. Steve Jobs refused and alternatively steered the set into a no-fee run built astir a peculiar iPod U2 Edition, implicit with achromatic casing, reddish click instrumentality and engraved signatures. The tie-up drove a deed merchandise and large income without cutting the set a check.
Published: Jun 2, 2026, 1:30 AM
Key Takeaways
- U2 sought Apple shares successful 2004; Steve Jobs rejected equity and reshaped the deal.
- Apple’s 2004 iPod U2 Edition boosted sales, showing product-led selling power.
- Jobs’ 2004 strategy inactive influences marque partnerships and personage tie-ins today.
Back successful 2004, U2 tried to commercialized prima powerfulness for Apple stock. Steve Jobs said no, past flipped the pitch, persuading the set to beforehand a run for free. The effect was a achromatic iPod with a reddish click instrumentality and U2’s signatures etched connected the back, a constricted variation that flew disconnected shelves and printed revenue. It is simply a crisp acquisition successful leverage, branding, and the propulsion of a perfectly timed merchandise tie-up.
A bold transportation met with an unconventional request
By 2004, the iPod had turned Apple into a taste force, yet the institution was inactive sharpening its selling edge. This is the lawsuit erstwhile U2 came calling with an antithetic proposal: look successful a high-profile ad, but beryllium paid successful Apple stock. The set saw upside successful Cupertino’s momentum and wanted a stake, not conscionable a check, according to accounts from radical adjacent to the talks.
Steve Jobs’ counteroffer: nary shares, a visionary merchandise instead
Steve Jobs, past CEO, didn’t wound connected the equity request. He said nary to shares, but yes to a antithetic benignant of deal. Per the communicative shared implicit the years, Jobs pushed for a concern centered connected merchandise and spotlight. Apple would physique thing memorable for fans, and the set would lend its beingness without nonstop currency compensation.
The instauration of the iPod U2 Edition
The effect was the iPod U2 Edition, a achromatic iPod with a reddish click instrumentality and the band’s signatures etched connected the back. It arrived alongside a punchy advertisement soundtracked by “Vertigo,” tying Apple’s plan polish to U2’s planetary reach. The merchandise stood retired successful stores and connected billboards, giving Apple caller momentum astatine the registry and putting U2 connected millions of integer euphony players.
The win-win result: selling mastery successful action
The collaboration highlighted however Apple melded civilization and merchandise to substance sales. For U2, the run delivered worldwide visibility connected a tech level winning caller listeners by the day. For Apple, it was a savvy determination that sold hardware and reinforced the iPod’s chill factor. Looking back, the iPod U2 Edition reads similar classical Jobs-era calculus: physique the product, ain the moment, and fto the marque bash the talking.
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