The Complete U2 is a digital box set by Irish rock band U2. It was released on 23 November 2004 exclusively through the iTunes Store by Apple Inc. in partnership with Island and Interscope Records. The collection has been described as the first major digital-only box set by a recording artist, comprising 446 tracks spanning 1978–2004, including albums, singles, live recordings, rarities and previously unreleased material.
Background and release
Announced alongside the iPod U2 Special Edition, the set was positioned by Apple as the online music industry’s first “Digital Box Set.” Four titles were exclusive to the set: Unreleased & Rare, Live from Boston 1981, Live from the Point Depot and the Early Demos EP. (The booklet credits Four5One and Flanagan.)
At release the U.S. price was US$149.99; purchasers of the U2 iPod received a US$50 coupon toward the set. Files were delivered as 128 kbps AAC (.m4a). When Apple expanded its iTunes Plus offering, prior purchasers could upgrade their copies to 256 kbps for a fee, although the box set itself was no longer sold by that time.
Content
Although marketed as “complete,” the package necessarily repeated many tracks across albums, singles and compilations (for example, “One” appears in its album, single and compilation groupings). Several items in U2’s wider discography were not included.