U2 BROADENS APPLE RELATIONSHIP

Billboard.com reports that “U2 and Apple Computer Inc. are expected to announce next week that they have signed a deal to sell custom iPods. According to a source, the Irish rock band’s upcoming album “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” due Nov. 23 via Interscope Records, will come preloaded on iPods that will be available the week of street date. Interscope, a unit of Universal Music Group, declined to comment; an Apple spokesperson could not be reached. E-mails from Apple chairman and CEO Steve Jobs and U2 members Bono and the Edge have invited members of the press to a “special event” scheduled for Oct. 26 in San Jose, Calif. U2’s new single “Vertigo” is featured in current television ads for the iPod. The track is currently No. 2 on Billboard’s airplay-based Modern Rock Tracks chart, and No. 44 on the Hot 100, which is based on both retail sales and radio airplay.”