Why Artists Give Away Music

You’ll have to pay full price, minus any individual discounts, for Adele’s hotly anticipated new album “25” on Nov. 20.

The cost for some of Adele’s competitors is considerably less.

In some cases, new albums by U2, Miley Cyrus, Janet Jackson and Justin Bieber won’t cost you a penny.

U2 made a stir last year by delivering its latest album, “Songs of Innocence,” to all iTunes users free of charge. The megaband’s sales have been slipping of late, and even giving away its latest disc didn’t go smoothly. The band eventually apologized for sucking up so much memory space.

“Artists are prone to that kind of thing. Drop of megalomania, touch of generosity, dash of self promotion and deep fear that these songs that we poured our life into over the last few years might not be heard. There’s a lot of noise out there. I guess we got a little noisy ourselves to get through it,” lead singer Bono said at the time, a revealing confession from a certified rock god.

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In August, Miley Cyrus announced her newest album, “Miley Cyrus And Her Dead Petz,” was free for download during her MTV Video Music Awards appearance. Here was a popular (at the moment) singer performing at one of the music industry’s biggest events, and she couldn’t wait for fans to get her new music without paying a nickel for the privilege.

More recently, both Bieber and Jackson have been finding creative ways to share their music with the masses. Bieber tried a pair of tricks to push his new disc, “Purpose,” to his fans. He set up a Lyft-based deal where fans booked a $5 Lyft ride and got access to a free album download. Oh, and they also got a $5 credit for a future Lyft ride.

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

The superstar also gave out “Purpose” to some ticket holders attending this week’s Staples Center shows, according to Showbiz411.com.

Jackson, whose “Unbreakable” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart last month, teamed up with Lyft competitor Uber for similar album freebies among other deals.

These aren’t failing, flailing musical acts, but some of the biggest names in the industry eager to give away their hard work. Of course, some consumers have been stealing their songs for some time.

Digital music theft is rampant, and some fans skip over iTunes and similar outlets to download their favorite artist’s work without paying them so much as a penny. Artists have been torn over the issue for some time. Some have fought back hard against music thievery, while others like Lady Gaga and Neil Young essentially shrug their shoulders and decide it’s not worth the fight.

Are Bieber, U2 and company acknowledging that hard reality? It’s more likely they realize what Bono hinted at. At a time when the cultural noise is at an all-time high, any way an act can get someone to hear their music is a good thing.