I have been a U2 fan since the 80’s. In many ways they were “my band”. There was no real indie scene at the time….no YouTube, no internet. The Sony Walkman was the cutting edge music technology. You had to find bands like U2, The Alarm, The Dead Kennedys etc… on your own. You would talk to friends or read underground mags and then go to a record store and take a chance with your $7 or $8 on the record. This was how U2 started. They were in the trenches busting ass, and making great music. Only a hand full of us really knew who they were and even fewer owned their records. They grew their success slowly over the course of several albums. With each new release they honed their craft and expanded their sound. They were never known for anything that would be considered pandering. They didn't try to second guess their audience. They made the music that they loved and as it turned out many of US loved it too. I was happy with their success in the late 80’s, 90’s and beyond. I was never one of these people who wanted a band to stay small. I was happy for the Police’s success as well as REM’s and Metallica’s success. Today they are arguably the biggest band in the world. So …what the hell is this business with the iPhone? Dammit guys…. what the hell are you doing??? You are still the biggest band in the world. This stunt with the new iPhone… and that’s EXACTLY what it is. It’s a stunt… makes you look like amateurs. There is no reason to force every iPhone user to own your record, and as a band that has and continues to have such major success you send dangerous message to the music business that even the biggest band in the world needs to give away their music for free. The real kicker is that this isn't even a sound marketing strategy. All good marketers know that to have a successful product you must narrow your approach to tightly focus on your niche. The idea that all iphone users are potential U2 fans, just waiting to discover their music is HIGHLY DUBIOUS at best. This isn't going to garner them one more fan, album sale or ticket sale. This is something that we might expect from Justin Bieber or Miley Cyrus, NOT from one of the most influential and successful bands of all time. I suspect that a publicist or or some other marketing “expert” sold this to the boys. The sad thing is that they are still a great band and this sullies their reputation. They might want to look at the band Rush. Rush as not only endured for 40 years they have grown and thrived. There is really no “trick” to it. The formula is pretty simple Stick to making great music. Give the audience your heart and soul and make every record and every tour awesome.
On the other hand….
What if U2 is getting a percentage of the new iPhone sales. I haven’t heard that yet, but if they are, then U2 is selling the iPhone and not the other way around? If that is the case, and I do not know that it is… then U2 may not only be the biggest band in the world but they may be some of the best business people as well. But this is pure speculation. I would think that they MUST be getting something out of this. U2 is one of the biggest (most expensive) tours out there. Is Apple paying for their tour? This seems to make more sense… but more info is needed.
We could go on and on here… but Sharon Osbourne makes some good points here. So we will close today’s post with and insiders point of view...
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