Apple has begun helping people boot U2 off their iTunes accounts after a cacophony of complaints about not wanting the automatically downloaded free album by the Irish rock band.

U2 performed at the close of an Apple event last week marked by the unveiling of new large-screen iPhones, a smartwatch from the California company, and word that free copies of the band's new 'Songs of Innocence' album were instantly delivered to the more than half-billion iTunes accounts around the world.

Free gift: The promotion announced by U2 Apple's Tim Cook was not appreciated by all. Credit:Reuters

The musical gift hit a sour note for some iTunes users who took to social media to complain about precious iPhone storage space being taken up by a digital album they didn't want and couldn't figure out how to get rid of.

"If you would like U2's 'Songs of Innocence' removed from your iTunes music library and iTunes purchases, you can choose to have it removed," Apple said at a freshly launched SOI Removal web page that let people delete the album with a click of an on-screen icon.