Check your iTunes library right now: you'll find a surprise!

How do you sell over 500 million albums on iTunes?

Step one: be U2.

Step two: get Apple to help.

During Tuesday’s Apple Event in Cupertino, Apple and U2 announced that U2’s new album “Songs of Innocence” would be available for free to all iTunes customers worldwide, and that is exactly what happened later that evening.

Every single iTunes customer, whether they were looking to download it, or didn’t, found the album in their iTunes library, ready to play, and registered as purchase.

It’s unclear why the album couldn’t have been simply offered as a free download, instead of sending it directly to every iTunes customer, but those who appreciate U2 will definitely be happy about the freebie.

iCloud users with multiple connected devices will also find the album automatically downloaded on their iPhone, iPod and iPad, among some devices.

U2 headlined at the Apple Event, soon after the biggest announcements, which included the iPhone 6, HealthKit, and the Apple Watch. U2 has had a close relationship to Apple, going back roughly a decade, since their first promotional video for the launch of a U2-themed iPod.

Apple was able to give away the album for free on iTunes, after negotiations with Guy Oseary, U2’s current manager, as well as U2’s label, Universal. Apple paid an unspecified, but certainly exorbitant “blanket-royalty” fee for the privilege to distribute the new album. U2’s lead singer Bono also hinted to the deal on stage, with Tim Cook.

While already present in everyone’s iTunes library, effective Tuesday night, the album will not be free forever. It will be available for download until October 14, after which date U2 will begin the official sale of the album, as well as distribution on streaming services, such as Spotify and Pandora.