U2's 'Songs of Innocence' Not Eligible For Next Grammys

"The album must be commercially available in order for it to be eligible, and the official release date determines its eligibility in a particular awards year," a Grammys rep told Billboard. "In this case, the album is commercially available on Oct. 14, 2014, so it will be eligible for consideration for the 58th Grammy Awards." 

Those deadline terms apply to all entries. The source explained, "All entries -- singles, tracks, albums -- must be commercially released, nationally distributed and available from any date within the eligibility period." 

U2 Not Launching a New iPhone, But A New Album?

With iTunes' exclusive rights to the release for more than a month, U2 has received an undisclosed sum as part of the deal and two sources familiar with deal terms told Billboard that Apple will spend in excess of $100 million on an ad campaign supporting the project that will include lead single "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)."  

A source close to the band reached by Billboard Tuesday was unaware of the Grammy detail, and hoped to start a dialogue with the Academy on Wednesday. "We’re celebrating this moment, and tomorrow we’ll figure out what this means," said the source.

"Invisible," another single the band released earlier this year as part of a Super Bowl campaign with Bank of America and (RED), would technically be eligible for Grammy consideration, however.