Graycap23 said:

Further devaluation of the art form that I love.

How so?

MendesCity said:

After listening - maybe Bono & Princey can get a twofer deal at a hook-writing workshop

I've listened to it a few times now. I think that's my issue with it. I'm glad the anthems are back. But there aren't a lot of memorable melodies here.

SoulAlive said:

Askani said:

This will backfire on U2. They've made their first album in 5 years (after one that was fairly lackluster) a footnote to someone else's launch. It will be completely forgotten by the time it goes on sale to the 5 people in the world without an iTunes account.

I disagree.They already made their money from this album (Apple paid them a large sum),got tons of media attention and will now focus on a sure-to-be sold out world tour.There was no way they could lose with a deal like this.Expect to see more artists and bands try to get a deal like this with other companies.

I think that they will lose in the sense that it's been 5 years since their last album, and it didn't really go over very well even then. They are getting a decent amount of press out of it, but they stymied themselves by allowing what should have been a major announcement to be part of someone else's bigger announcement. This album will be forgotten before a tour even begins. I'm sure they'll sell all their tickets and probably quite quickly, but they are taking themselves further and further out of the zeitgeist with this deal.

missfee said:

Graycap23 said:

Further devaluation of the art form that I love.

How so?

People are all ready getting music illegally for free and now officail product is becoming more and more free. I'm looking at this from an artist standpoint.........and it's not good.

SoulAlive said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Neversin said:

And in the meanwhile Prince is back with WB trying to get his shit released...
I guess U2 will overshadow him yet again by a great marketing move...

.

Note how this was a complete secret until after it happened, while Prince's "mega announcement" on GMA was spoiled hours earlier. But then he didn't bother turning up anyway and the "mega announcement" involved three people nobody cares about saying absolutely nothing interesting while a song was barely audible.

.

Wouldn't be surprised if we're heading for a new Rave-like disaster. The simple fact that Funkenberry is already talking about a compilation with a bunch of tracks missing from the two albums is just frikking hilarious, even if it's just him making shit up.

What do you mean "we"? According to your profile, you are not a fan.

Jimmy Iovine Already Polishing Apple;
Former Unknown Scoring Massive Hit;
a Radically Altered Chart in the Works

TWO WORLDS COLLIDE: When Apple announced its $3.2b deal with Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre’s Beats Electronics in mid-May, UMG chieftain Lucian Grainge alluded in conversation to the "unintended consequences" of said deal, which he expected to occur down the line. On Tuesday, the first of these unintended consequences arrived with a bang, as Apple gifted its more than 500m iTunes users with a free download of U2’s long-awaited album, Songs of Innocence, ahead of its 10/14 official release on Interscope, in a five-week window of exclusivity to iTunes and Beats Music.

Naturally, Iovine’s fingerprints are all over this deal, as he parlays his connections across the music and tech worlds into a colossal twofold launch—that of Apple's new line of devices, cross-marketed with U2’s album and upcoming tour. It’s not unreasonable to conclude that no one other than Iovine could have orchestrated such a symphony of synergy. The agreement between the tech giant and Universal will result in an outlay of more than $100m, encompassing marketing/advertising expenses and payment for the album, which will be split between the rights holders—UMG and the band. Most believe that foremost among the big winners of this deal will be Michael Rapino’s Live Nation and band manager Guy O, who are in the planning stages of the worldwide stadium tour, as the U2 brand gets a dramatic lift from this huge exposure.

Can U2 possibly sell significant numbers on the new album despite having given it away on such an astounding scale? The fact is, Songs of Innocence still has a sizable potential audience. Consider those millions of Android users who didn’t get the album, and all the subscribers to streaming services apart from Beats Music and iTunes Radio who can’t even hear it, as well as the fact that iTunes has far less penetration in other countries than it does in the U.S.—and today’s business is global in scale. What’s more, who’s to say that the band’s core constituency won’t readily spring for the deluxe package, with its cache of additional tracks? It’s not outside the realm of possibility that U2 can actually have it both ways with this album.

lastdecember said:

SoulAlive said:

I disagree.They already made their money from this album (Apple paid them a large sum),got tons of media attention and will now focus on a sure-to-be sold out world tour.There was no way they could lose with a deal like this.Expect to see more artists and bands try to get a deal like this with other companies.

It will still sell because there will be stuff on the cd not on the free release that is already confirmed plus a deluxe edition which loyals always buy. Everyone got paid big on this and the attention is already more than the last 2 U2 albums combined

Damn that's cold (but very true)!

[Edited 9/12/14 5:58am]

I bet this is the most deleted album in history.

Marrk said:

I bet this is the most deleted album in history.

Ouch.

If there's another U2 album due to come out, this album is probably the throw-away songs from that one...

Every time a U2 album comes out, they say that they've got another one that they're finishing up and ready to release. And then it never comes out.

I just read three reviews of the new U2 album. One called it brilliant, the other decent, and the other utter crap. Pfff, rock critics.

Marrk said:

I bet this is the most deleted album in history.

Well. Whatever. U2 got paid. They don't care. They make their money touring anway. As for the album, it's like all their other albums since Achtung Baby. A couple of great songs amongst a couple of nothing special songs. As it is now, I prefer their previous ones.

SoulAlive said:

If Apple had approached Prince a few months ago and asked him to sign up for this deal,you can bet that he would have jumped at the chance. he likes deals that pay him a lot of money upfront

Apple can't dangle ownership of his masters in front of him, however.

Saw "Voices" (think thats what it's called) during the NFL game. Sounds good.

U2 Bonus Package Release Plan for Retailers

September 12th

Read here.

Troubles is speaking to me right now...

This album so much more captivating than No Line on the Horizon. The band rocks with eye-opening aplomb and Bono's sharp, passionate lyrics enrich the music and remain the hallmark of the band.

ChickenMcNuggets said:

Sorry Apple and 'Bonio', the music may be awesome for all I know, but I won't be listening to it after you force-fed it to me. Deleted. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come, us not even having control of our own music libraries now.

^^Just another example for how stupid people truly are. "Boohoo, they gave me the album for free. How dare they?". You don't even have to download it, if you're not interested. So where's the harm?

This is a quality album.

Yes, this is a really good album and am not a big U2 fan generally. It also helps it has one of my favorite newer artists Lykie Li singing on it. I think the strategy is great also. Honestly, I would never go out and buy a U2 album because I'm not really a fan even though I like a few of their older songs from the radio. But I listened to this because it was free and liked it. So they reached someone like me who would otherwise not pay attention to their album. I think older artists need to find things like this to reach a broader audience and not just rely on a small hard core fan base who follow them on Internet forums and whatnot.

lastdecember said:

SoulAlive said:

I disagree.They already made their money from this album (Apple paid them a large sum),got tons of media attention and will now focus on a sure-to-be sold out world tour.There was no way they could lose with a deal like this.Expect to see more artists and bands try to get a deal like this with other companies.

It will still sell because there will be stuff on the cd not on the free release that is already confirmed plus a deluxe edition which loyals always buy. Everyone got paid big on this and the attention is already more than the last 2 U2 albums combined

It will still sell because it's U2.

I think drawing comparisons to Prince and saying that a U2 album will be quickly forgotten, especially when they will inevitably tour, is not on the mark.

U2 are the Madonna of rock as far as buzz, sustainability, and sales.

Besides, the material on the U2 album is some of their strongest in years--I can't say the same for the 2 Prince offerings--at least not from the tracks I've heard so far.

I like ANYTHING put out by U2

Blixical said:

lastdecember said:

SoulAlive said: It will still sell because there will be stuff on the cd not on the free release that is already confirmed plus a deluxe edition which loyals always buy. Everyone got paid big on this and the attention is already more than the last 2 U2 albums combined

It will still sell because it's U2.

I think drawing comparisons to Prince and saying that a U2 album will be quickly forgotten, especially when they will inevitably tour, is not on the mark.

U2 are the Madonna of rock as far as buzz, sustainability, and sales.

Besides, the material on the U2 album is some of their strongest in years--I can't say the same for the 2 Prince offerings--at least not from the tracks I've heard so far.

Well as i said before, people will always drag Prince into this discussion and say "Prince should do this" it was the same thing when Pearl Jam sold all their concerts everyone said "prince should do that" well, thing is Prince is not on u2's level, I dont really know who people think PRINCE is but he isnt u2, you basically are talking about a band that still has a huge WORLDWIDE following for old, new material and tours. And also Prince really does not have strong backing at this point, there is no one that can get him out there into that type of "following" its just that simple. The 2 new albums from Prince will come and go and probably catch on a bit here and there, but so far there is nothing more than bland RB songs still with the same twists. And another reason PRINCE can't do this is because apple would NEVER give him money upfront like that and trust him. I can guarantee you that APPLE has alot in writing that u2 HAS TO DO with this record, like tour, like promote, do videos, do apple commercials etc... Prince loses interest in his own work quicker than his fans do. SO why would APPLE give him 100 million for an album, and then hope he promotes and hopes he sticks to touring and doesnt pull the RAVE fiasco.

Less than 5% of Apple users downloaded U2's free album

U2′s free album downloaded by less than 5% of users

Bono’s ego may soon be in need of its own charity, as the band’s free release of their new record “Songs Of Innocence” has been downloaded less than 200,000 times since being dropped into more than half a billion Apple iCloud accounts earlier this week. According to Billboard (but refuted by the band’s label), the record has been met with massive waves of criticism from both retailers and those who have actual taste in music.

While it is understandable that UMG was quick to refute Billboard’s claims that the record had been downloaded by less than 5% of those given the option, this is likely nothing more than hopeful marketing for a record they knew would perform poorly. Billboard makes much of their reputation on accurate charts, and since they have no vested interest in whether or not an album does well, their word is far more reliable than that of companies with big money involved in the U2 brand.

The band’s thirteenth formal studio album was sent free to the account of every iTunes user, but the users must opt to stream or download the record to experience the musical mediocrity. This move has infuriated retailers, as it will no doubt impact their bottom line when the album hits shelves next month. Target has a policy of not carrying records that have been released digitally beforehand, and they found themselves in a tough spot with Beyonce’s album late last year. Amazon also takes similar tactics, often denying such releases a strong presence or featured spot. In an effort to combat this, Universal Music Group says the physical release will include four tracks that iTunes will not get until November.

Quickly addressing a concern of many music fans, The Official Charts Company, who run the sales charts in the UK, have stated that the record wi...e eligible for chart performance. Perfectly explaining what millions are thinking, they said that they, “only count music which consumers have made an active choice to acquire.” Given the history between the two companies in terms of counting, it’s safe to assume that Billboard will operate the same way, ensuring that this album will not be able to jump over classic records that moved huge numbers because people actually wanted to hear the music.

So the question becomes: are people finally tired of tepid, predictable, soulless rock in general, or just U2’s version of it?

Joel Freimark hosts a daily music-related webseries HERE and you can follow his daily music musings and suggestions HERE as well.