Bono has issued an apology for the automatic iTunes download of U2's latest album, Songs of Innocence, that has caused reactions ranging from amusement to rage among Internet users.

Sandwiched between questions during a video interview posted on Facebook today was the question from Facebook user Harriet Madeline Jobson: "Can you please never release an album on iTunes that automatically downloads to peoples playlists ever again? It's really rude."

“Uh…. Oops. I’m sorry about that,” Bono replied. “It was a beautiful idea, but we got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing. Drop of megalomania.

“Touch of generosity. Dash of self-promotion. And deep fear that these songs, which we’ve poured our life into these past few years, mightn’t be heard.”

“There’s a lot of noise out there. I guess we got a little noisy ourselves to get through it,” Bono said.

U2's new album was released to over 500 million iTunes Store customers in 119 countries from September 9th to October 13th, and was part of a collaboration between the band and Apple.

The album is currently ranked at number 11 in paid albums on the Amazon Best Sellers rank and number 3 in MP3 downloads for rock albums.