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U2 jumps ship from Apple to Research in Motion - Page 3

post #81 of 112
3/9/09 at 3:01pm
I won't follow.

Sorry, but they jumped the shark at "In the Name of Love."

When was the last time they did something that could compare to "I Will Follow", "Gloria", "New Year's Day" or "Sunday Bloody Sunday?"
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post #82 of 112
3/9/09 at 3:12pm
Money Talks!!

Or....could the failure to agree a new licensing agreement between Google and the PRS have anything to do with it?
A reputation is not built upon the restful domain of one's comfort zone; it is made out of stalwart exposition of your core beliefs, for all challenges to disprove them as irrelevant hubris.- Berp...
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A reputation is not built upon the restful domain of one's comfort zone; it is made out of stalwart exposition of your core beliefs, for all challenges to disprove them as irrelevant hubris.- Berp...
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post #83 of 112
3/9/09 at 3:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by macFanDave View Post

Why is that phrase used to mean something bad? It can be a very, very good thing -- especially if you are on the receiving end.

I fully agree, but then I would've used it in the positive, receiving end...like "U2's last album is so great its balls were sucked until the end!!!"....errr, not...

iMac Intel 27" Core i7 3.4, 16Gb RAM, 120GB SSD + 3TB HD, Nuforce Icon HDP, OS X 10.8.2; iPad 3 64GB; iPhone 5 32GB; iPod Classic; iPod Nano 4G; Apple TV.

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iMac Intel 27" Core i7 3.4, 16Gb RAM, 120GB SSD + 3TB HD, Nuforce Icon HDP, OS X 10.8.2; iPad 3 64GB; iPhone 5 32GB; iPod Classic; iPod Nano 4G; Apple TV.

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post #84 of 112
3/9/09 at 3:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post

U2 has also patrnered with Amazon.com to offer their new album No Line On The Horizon at the drastically reduced price of only $3.99

Why? Because Amazon wants people to experience buying DRM music from them rather than iTunes. U2 gives Amazon the opportunity to introduce tens of thousands of customers to an alternative to iTunes.
It worked on me. This was my first time buying music from MP3s from Amazon and it probably won't be the last.

U2's "No Line On The Horizon" is only available for $3.99 for Amazon customers, and only from 48 states in the USA (plus Hawaii and two other places which I forgot) so it's not available world-wide.

You also need to installed the "Amazon MP3 Downloader" but saving $6 on this specific album might get people interested (I installed the Amazon MP3 Downloader yesterday evening) and a bit of fair competition never hurts customers.
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post #85 of 112
3/9/09 at 3:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by brlawyer View Post

U2 stopped being musically relevant at least 20 years ago, so I couldn't care less...and by the way, Bono, it's about time you changed those ridiculous "goggles"...they make you look like an alien.

Is it just me or is Bono starting to look like Robin Williams, Mick Jagger is starting to look like Don Knots and Paul McCartney is starting to look like Angela Lansbury?

U2's music, I can take it or leave it....

Regards,

Chris
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post #86 of 112
3/9/09 at 3:51pm
I was wondering when this would happen but it took about 5 years too long. U2 is such a retarded group anyway, mixing politics and music. I can't believe Apple saw any value in partnering with them anyway. I think Apple just wanted to get a foot in the door at the UN where Windoze is undoubtedly king and the Zune is probably as exciting as it gets with those boring politicians. Now maybe U2 will return to the 80's and leave the world alone (bunch of tater tots).
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post #87 of 112
3/9/09 at 4:15pm
I think everyone is missing one more key point. Other than Bono being a partner in Elevation Partners, another partner is Fred Anderson - Apple's former CFO who took the fall for the option back dating. Given that there are only five partners, Bono and Anderson probably have a pretty good relationship, and I'm sure Anderson has spoken about this with Bono given U2 relationship with Apple at the time. Anderson always had an excellent reputation as someone who does everything by the book and was very financially conservative (Why do you think this is the only exec Steve kept when he took over?). He was probably the wrong guy to pick to take the fall (with their GC, Nancy Heinen). My guess is this is one of the reasons you see U2 working with Amazon and not iTunes.

Regarding U2 - it does not really matter if you personally like the new album or not (I personally do), they will sell millions of albums and play to sold out venues around the world - I'd prefer to have this type of influence on my side rather than the competitions...Amazon, RIM or anyone else.

dofo
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post #88 of 112
3/9/09 at 4:50pm
Apple was never a promoter or sponsor for their last tour. The Apple/U2 partnership was for the iPod only and to promote their catalog on iTunes. Apple had nothing to do with promoting the band beyond iTunes. So this is not something to get upset about. Also, the U2 iPod was discontinued years ago. U2 doesn't need Apple to sell millions of CD's or tickets. They don't need RIM either. They do just fine on their music alone.
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post #89 of 112
3/9/09 at 4:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by macFanDave View Post

I won't follow.

Sorry, but they jumped the shark at "In the Name of Love."

When was the last time they did something that could compare to "I Will Follow", "Gloria", "New Year's Day" or "Sunday Bloody Sunday?"

Simple: The Joshua Tree and Auctung Baby
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post #90 of 112
3/9/09 at 5:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dofo View Post

I think everyone is missing one more key point. Other than Bono being a partner in Elevation Partners, another partner is Fred Anderson - Apple's former CFO who took the fall for the option back dating. Given that there are only five partners, Bono and Anderson probably have a pretty good relationship, and I'm sure Anderson has spoken about this with Bono given U2 relationship with Apple at the time. Anderson always had an excellent reputation as someone who does everything by the book and was very financially conservative (Why do you think this is the only exec Steve kept when he took over?). He was probably the wrong guy to pick to take the fall (with their GC, Nancy Heinen). My guess is this is one of the reasons you see U2 working with Amazon and not iTunes.

Regarding U2 - it does not really matter if you personally like the new album or not (I personally do), they will sell millions of albums and play to sold out venues around the world - I'd prefer to have this type of influence on my side rather than the competitions...Amazon, RIM or anyone else.

dofo

Excellent post. (Ftr, I am not a U2 fan - find their music rather bland and uninteresting - but I agree that they are influential. As a shareholder, I'd rather have them on Apple's side than not).
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post #91 of 112
3/9/09 at 5:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by solipsism View Post

However, I do think this is a big deal, but from another perspective. This shows that RiM is definitely moving into a more competitive role against the iPhone by clearly moving away from business-only devices with little to no real multimedia support. This is a good thing.

Right, it sure does show that, because as we all know, when we want cutting edge info about the inner workings of tech companies and the future of the tech world, we need look no further than what Bono's doing.

• • Programmer and designer of Ship out of Luck, an action/arcade game for iPad • • 

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• • Programmer and designer of Ship out of Luck, an action/arcade game for iPad • • 

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post #92 of 112
3/9/09 at 5:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post

This just shows that U2 can be bought by anyone.

Who cares anyway?
The first album was excellent, everything else since has just been going through the motions IMO.

Did U2 really bail on Apple or was it the other way around?

As of late it seems like Apple has had dealings with a multitude of musicians & appears to be moving away from singling out an artist of any sort. Maybe they felt singling out U2 so much & sponsoring them might hurt their relations with other artists, which in turn hurts their efforts with iTunes.

U2 probably doesn't care much who sponsors them so long as the company is not controversial. RIM probably offered them a sweet deal. Doesn't surprise me that RIM would copy Apple in this regard though, seems a lot of companies are copying Apple these days. "Apple got U2 for all those years & it helped their iPod sales! Lets get U2, maybe it will help ours!"
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post #93 of 112
3/9/09 at 6:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hillstones View Post

Simple: The Joshua Tree and Auctung Baby

Not even close.

I would have been thrilled if they kept up the greatness throughout their whole career, but it just hasn't happened. And don't confuse commercial success with quality music.
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post #94 of 112
3/9/09 at 6:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post

Is it just me or is Bono starting to look like Robin Williams, Mick Jagger is starting to look like Don Knots and Paul McCartney is starting to look like Angela Lansbury?

You're a sick, sick individual...

Proud AAPL stock owner.

 

GOA

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Proud AAPL stock owner.

 

GOA

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post #95 of 112
3/9/09 at 7:18pm
U2 is not and never was alternative. And the use of the word "ally" makes no sense at all to describe their relationship with Apple or anyone else. They had a partnership with Apple to produce special edition iPod for a charity cause - that's it.

Furthermore, U2 has been a sell out from every album they've released since Rattle and hum. They went from making socially conscious rock to mostly pop music pap. Although their public persona has addressed worthy causes and Bono has done lots to improve awareness of issues, their music stopped doing so long ago.
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post #96 of 112
3/9/09 at 7:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hillstones View Post

Simple: The Joshua Tree and Auctung Baby

Their best song IMHO was Bullet the Blue Sky. Although their first album was groundbreaking, Joshua Tree is their most polished musical effort, both lyrically and musically. Unfortunately, Achtunt Baby started their decline.
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post #97 of 112
3/9/09 at 7:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by teckstud View Post

That sounds like the Vista theme.

I thought that was the theme song for Spotlight.
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post #98 of 112
3/9/09 at 8:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post

Is it just me or is Bono starting to look like Robin Williams, Mick Jagger is starting to look like Don Knots and Paul McCartney is starting to look like Angela Lansbury?

You nailed it with Bono (and I'll leave the other two comparisons to other readers), but I'd add that he looks like a cross between Robin Williams and my middle-school shop teacher, y'know, with the safety goggle and the spiky crew-cut.
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post #99 of 112
3/9/09 at 8:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post

Is it just me or is Bono starting to look like Robin Williams, Mick Jagger is starting to look like Don Knots and Paul McCartney is starting to look like Angela Lansbury?

Apparently it's not just you....


Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"
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Dick Applebaum on whether the iPad is a personal computer: "BTW, I am posting this from my iPad pc while sitting on the throne... personal enough for you?"
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post #100 of 112
3/9/09 at 11:03pm
My 2-cents worth.

I believe that Live Nation are behind a lot of this - U2 signed a BIG deal with them last year (I think for 10 years) that covers pretty much everything around U2 tours. I'm guessing that the deal was struck between LN and Blackberry. Furthermore the 'official' response from the band has been made by the manager - Paul McGuinness - and not any of the band .... further proof that this was a cold business decision, rather than anything to do with the band.

I'm surprised at all the negative posts about the new album - I'm not their biggest fan, but the new album has, largely, been positively received by the critics. Yup, they're media whores at the moment, but they need profile to sell product. To those that long for the 'I will follow' and 'Gloria' days, can I point out that these were (at the time) minor hits in Ireland and the UK - didn't even register in the US. What have they done since? - Bad, One, Elevation, Vertigo, Stuck in a moment, etc. Compare their recent album sales with those of the other aging wrinklies - The Stones - and you should be able to quickly garner which ones have become tribute acts of themselves. You mightn't like it, but it seems lots do. At least they do continue to make 'new' music - and I'm sure the bean counters at Apple are enjoying the additional revenue that's now rolling through iTunes as a result of No Line on the Horizon.
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post #101 of 112
3/10/09 at 4:38am
I couldn't agree more. The 5th generation iPod ad featured some of the most awful, out of tune vocals I've ever heard. U2 made some great albums back in the day, but musically they've been irrelevant to me for a long time now...


Quote:
Originally Posted by axual View Post

I could care less about Bono and Edge and U2. This is all about money, and they've obviously decided to venture forth for more cash. Shows they are more about themselves then anyone else. Live and let live.
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post #102 of 112
3/10/09 at 4:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2 View Post

This just shows that U2 can be bought by anyone.

Who cares anyway?
The first album was excellent, everything else since has just been going through the motions IMO.

Ummmm You have it the other way around. Bono is a partner of a 39% share. I think he is the one who is owning something and choosing what's in his best interest [non conflict of business]. He's a multi-millionaire outside of music from opportunities he worked hard for as an artist and parlayed that into mad benjamins. Fuckin' boss. You obviously have never attempted anything creatively and/or artistically otherwise you'd understand the leap.
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post #103 of 112
3/10/09 at 5:42am
My first thought when reading this was seeing an ad with U2 in concert and the camera pans back and shows a bunch of middle age and older business men/women and executives watching the concert with their blackberries. All wearing suits.
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post #104 of 112
3/10/09 at 12:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by macFanDave View Post

Sorry, but they jumped the shark at "In the Name of Love."

When was the last time they did something that could compare to "I Will Follow", "Gloria", "New Year's Day" or "Sunday Bloody Sunday?"

Thank you! I was starting to wonder if I was the only one who felt that way. Yeah Joshua Tree had a few decent songs, although ironically the best song from the album (The Sweetest Thing) wasn't even on it.

It's a shame that U2's music hasn't kept up with Bono's ego, as the man can really sing when he wants to. Anyone who hasn't heard his duet on Clannad's In A Lifetime is really missing out on some great vocal work.
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post #105 of 112
3/10/09 at 1:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by rain View Post

Listen to the album before you condemn. It's a worn out, irrelevant piece of garbage. U2 is no longer relevant, and Apple is moving away from Top 40 crap.
If you haven't noticed, they have been showcasing a lot of indie bands, unknowns, and innovating bands. Bands with something exciting to say, bands who think different.

U2 is what you listen to if your a soccer mom on your way to Ikea to buy candles on a Sunday afternoon and do your laundry. Why would Apple want to associate with that?

From a marketing standpoint, RIM is going to be saying this:

Blackberry... meh

You are just one example of how Apple "fans" these days are bunch of douchebags. You have no idea what you're talking about and are sorely out of touch. Worst offense, though, you're just not funny.

If I had the money Bono does, I'd give away free iPhones to the first 1000 people that showed up to a warehouse somewhere. Then, I'd box you all up with your stupid phones and ship you off to China. That would be 1000 less obnoxious kiddies demo'ing their beloved iPhones for everyone, as if it validates you somehow. I'm gonna put a beating to the next guy I see doing that, btw.

Losers.
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post #106 of 112
3/10/09 at 1:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wtbard View Post

My first thought when reading this was seeing an ad with U2 in concert and the camera pans back and shows a bunch of middle age and older business men/women and executives watching the concert with their blackberries. All wearing suits.

What's age got to do with it? Just because you still live in your mom's basement, doesn't mean there aren't young people succeeding in business.

And no surprise you don't work in advertising with that stupid idea.
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post #107 of 112
3/10/09 at 1:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by digiboy View Post

Worst offense, though, you're just not funny.

I dunno. I thought it was pretty funny.
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post #108 of 112
3/10/09 at 2:20pm
  • e1618978
  • will burn in the Fiery Pit of Hell.
Quote:
Originally Posted by digiboy View Post

You are just one example of how Apple "fans" these days are bunch of douchebags. You have no idea what you're talking about and are sorely out of touch. Worst offense, though, you're just not funny.

Sounds like somebody is tired of being driven around by their Soccer Mom to ikea...
45 2a3 300b 211 845 833
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45 2a3 300b 211 845 833
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post #109 of 112
3/10/09 at 5:55pm
First of all I'd like to qualify and say that I'm a huge fan of U2 and Apple.

So much so that I even liked the last U2 album (How to Dismantle...), I play guitar and I own a lot of the same music gear that The Edge owns (yes, I have a Korg SDD-3000 digital delay, and I even sold one to The Edge last year).

But imo this new album just doesn't do it for me at all.

And I'm really disappointed in U2. They don't "need" a sponsor for a tour, their net worth is over $5 billion USD and they have never had a sponsor for tours before.

And in the authorize biography "At the End of the World" when they were doing the Achtung Baby tour, they thought of having sponsors but realized they didn't need them and that it went against their ethics.

So now 16 years later has their ethics changed?

imo this is not a good move by U2, it really gives me the impression they're in this for the money, and they mailed in the new album.

As for Apple, it's corporate policy that this company does not do sponsorships at all, and very rarely is it overridden, Steve doesn't like doing them.

Nonetheless, U2 never needed sponsorships for tours before, why now?
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post #110 of 112
3/11/09 at 11:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post

U2 has also patrnered with Amazon.com to offer their new album No Line On The Horizon at the drastically reduced price of only $3.99

Why? Because Amazon wants people to experience buying DRM music from them rather than iTunes. U2 gives Amazon the opportunity to introduce tens of thousands of customers to an alternative to iTunes.
It worked on me. This was my first time buying music from MP3s from Amazon and it probably won't be the last.

Of course it's cheaper, it's MPEG1 ! I wouldn't expect to pay the same price for a Blu-ray as a DVD either.

McD
Android proves (as Windows & VHS did before it) that if you want to control people, give us choices and the belief we're capable of making them. We're all 'living' the American dream.
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Android proves (as Windows & VHS did before it) that if you want to control people, give us choices and the belief we're capable of making them. We're all 'living' the American dream.
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post #111 of 112
3/11/09 at 11:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by McDave View Post

Of course it's cheaper, it's MPEG1 ! I wouldn't expect to pay the same price for a Blu-ray as a DVD either.

McD

You missed the point. The whole album has been discounted more the 50%.
Most digital download albums on Amazon are $8.99
No Line on the Horizon is only $3.99

New releases aren't typically discounted, they are jacked up to maximize profit.
Amazon is slashing the price to draw customers away from iTunes.
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post #112 of 112
3/11/09 at 11:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by McDave View Post

Of course it's cheaper, it's MPEG1 ! I wouldn't expect to pay the same price for a Blu-ray as a DVD either.

MP3 isn't significantly different than AAC when you're using the higher bitrates.

Second, I've never seen codec used as a reason to charge more or less for internet downloads of audio.

Codec is different from resolution. DVD and Blu-Ray have different resolutions, I don't think Internet audio has different sample rates or bit depths, just different codecs. I don't think Blu-Rays with AVC are priced higher than those with VC1 or MPEG2.
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