Originally posted by AllBecauseOfU2:[..]
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.
Yep, very true on all accounts. I saw four boxes of No Line today (the ultra-fantastic-deluxo-magnificent version) today at my regular record store (JB HiFi), and they've sold one box so far in total. I bought a box from that very store!!!
The reason people knew about the Bomb was the promo show and time in between that to the tour was very fast, it was being promoted everywhere you looked, the singles were released in fast succession and the iTunes helped it out, plus the big digital set of all the tracks.
First single success: Moderate success, poor by U2 standards - 6 / 10.
Second single: Nowhere to be found, vinyl only (???), overpriced at that and poor song choices - 1 / 10.
Third and fourth singles: Surprised if there will be a third and fourth single.
Promotion by the band on TV and radio: Better than management at any time - 8 / 10.
Universal promoting it to the masses and in stores: Non-existent, it seems - 0.5 / 10.
Time between promo tour and 360 tour: Too bloody long - 2 / 10.
The album (regular, vinyl, digital, box-set) is just shoved into the U2 section next to the terribly overpriced remastered CDs and 18 Singles, rather than getting its own special section where only those who bother to go to that section would see it. Oh yeah...there's a small sticker saying ''U2's new album out now''. Fuck me, wanna help the cause??? The ''no CD single policy'' of Magnificent has fucked it further. At least Boots got a single, a killer video and people knew about it.
Fun fact for Desperate Times: No Line On The Horizon was being flogged next to the new Ronan Keating covers album and the new Annie Lennox covers album for Mother's Day.
Second fun fact: A song by the name of Jizz In My Pants (yes, seriously) has rated higher in the charts than anything from No Line.
Had a couple of conversations with friends yesterday about U2's relevance that set it off. 