GEN
Active topics
  1. On ITV this morning (UK Commercial TV Chanel) was an advert for the UK 360 shows and NLOTH. The advert stated that Wembley 14th and Sheffied are the only sold out UK shows. With the singles struggling and the album only remaining top 10 for a limited time even POP was not as badly recieved as this one. It sems such a difference to the HTDAAB launch and the Vertigo tour virually selling out instantly ( I got my Cardiff ticket 6 weeks before show time when additional tickets went on sale via U2.Com) Is this downturn due to the becuase of the worldwide recession or have the general public just got tired of Bono being Bono. Your thoughts?
  2. Kings Of Leon and Take That say its nothing to do with the downturn
  3. To my understanding the only remaining tickets are packages and expensive or in-the God-seats. I don't think there'll be a half-empty stadium.

    I do agree, however, that this album has disappeared without a trace and I suspect the sales figures are (comparatively) poor. I can't really decide if that bothers me or not. I'm quite happy for U2 to no longer be a mass-market juggernaut (hasn't done Bon Jovi and Bruce any harm for example - and by the way there are still tickets for Bruce's Hyde Park show available too - I think economics may have something to do with it as a casual listener isn't going to fork out £100 for a U2 concert), but I do wish the album would be heard by more people as I truly think it's up with their great works.

    Ho hum.

    I have the album and I'm going to Cardiff. Ultimately that's all that bothers me. But I would like the CD version of Magnificent, that pisses me off.


  4. Kings of Leon aren't doing stadiums and both acts are now huge commercial entities. U2 haven't done that this time and I think we're all glad of that. There's no doubt they could have written another ATYCLB or HTDAAB but a lot of us would be pissed of if they had.

    You wouldn't be here for a start..........
  5. Originally posted by djrlewis:[..]

    Kings of Leon aren't doing stadiums and both acts are now huge commercial entities. U2 haven't done that this time and I think we're all glad of that. There's no doubt they could have written another ATYCLB or HTDAAB but a lot of us would be pissed of if they had.

    You wouldn't be here for a start..........


    I'm happy with the shit sales. Use Somebody has been out for god knows how long and is still in the charts well ahead of both Boots and Magnificent.

    Something didn't click this time around with U2. Promotion was woeful apart from the short promo tour (with some of us judging some appearances as an act of desperation).

    The full on tour should deliver though but I do wonder how they'l pull off this setup when they couldn't sort out a CD single.. . .
  6. I think the masses get tired of U2. It's hate it or love it. Some love NLOTH and others don't. It was the same with HTDAAB but that one had succesfull singles and was released in a different period.
  7. I could care less
    More chance for us to get tickets....
    And at the end of the day they're still the guys who wrote Streets
  8. People get bored of other people who always been succesfull.
  9. I think the presale was/is the problem. It spoiled the hype for buying tickets
  10. Originally posted by djrlewis:[..]

    Kings of Leon aren't doing stadiums and both acts are now huge commercial entities. U2 haven't done that this time and I think we're all glad of that. There's no doubt they could have written another ATYCLB or HTDAAB but a lot of us would be pissed of if they had.

    You wouldn't be here for a start..........


    You hit the nail on the head!
  11. U2 's organisation have to be careful though. Although the LP has been critically well received, when they signed to Livenation they presumably got a large advance / sign on fee and Livenation will want / need to make a profit on releases and tours. I cant remember if it is a certain number of LP's type deal but if U2 stop selling big time on both levels Livenation could pull the plug leaving already recorded works (if any) in contractual limbo. The single releases from NLOTH have had no incentive for hard core fans to purchase due to the lack of new material on the 'bSide' so they are at the mercy of the General Public who like mentioned earlier either love or hate the songs and Boots seemed to fall into the later catagory and the albums staggered release date fell right into the hands of internet sites also affecting sales
  12. The single releases from NLOTH have had no incentive for hard core fans to purchase due to the lack of new material on the 'bSide' so they are at the mercy of the General Public who like mentioned earlier either love or hate the songs


    And it's too bad that the promotion in between the promo tour and the start of 360 has been so desolate and non-existent that the general public may not have even heard the songs enough to properly judge. Magnificent is more than radio-friendly; play it. It's Top 40 material and it's alternative material. It should be played on every radio station it can be on. If the general public doesn't like it, that's a different matter, but I haven't heard it on airplay enough I think for people to properly judge it. I don't know if that's just my area or what, but it's bothersome to me.

    I'm not familiar with all the hard work and complex strategizing that goes into promotion, but I have eyes. I'm a hardcore U2 fan, but I'm also part of the general public who still listens to the radio and does both buy physical CDs and download music. The band said at the Somerville show that they're trying to bring back that connection between the radio listeners and the music. That's great; how many times is Magnificent played? They want to utilize and embrace the digital medium at the same time because that's clearly the way things are progressing. That's great; that's why the iPod in conjunction with Vertigo's release was brilliant. If they wanted to capitalize on both mediums with this album, that's almost a failsafe strategy. I feel like they had that window of opportunity to use that already for their casual fan base outside of the hardcore fans, and they didn't do it properly, or they didn't utilize it enough. And that's really a shame, because it's not an unapproachable, difficult album, and whether you love it or hate it, it has its moments that will catch the ear of some unknowing listener. It's frustrating to watch an album like that of a great band just sit there on iTunes or on a store shelf because of poorly executed promotion.

    I don't know, just my two cents. Hopefully the tour will bring back whatever's been lacking.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.
U2start is run by fans for fans. Help us reduce personal costs. Consider to make a donation to support us.