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March 28, 2024, 12:08:38 PM

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U2 Album Leak and Bono's Planned Response

Started by mr suit, July 24, 2004, 05:10:49 PM

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mr suit

Quote from: "NME.com"According to the Daily Telegraph, Bono said that they'd be willing to release the record early, rather than face an online leak four months before release.

He said: "If it is on the Internet this week, we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops by the end of the month. It would be a real pity. It would screw up years of work and months of planning, not to mention f**king up our holidays. But once it's out, it's out."

....

Band manager Paul McGuiness added: "The recording of this album has been going so well. The band is so excited about its release. It would be a shame if unfinished work fell into the wrong hands."

when you stop and read that, it shows that U2 are totally unconcered with the artistic merit of their works. they would happily rush release a possibly unifinished LP in an innapropriate format, rather than risk the possibility of decreased album sales.

"It would screw up years of work and months of planning". how so Bono? the only "work" and planning that would be ruined would be that of hype-building. the notion that fans will be able to hear how potentially piss-poor the new LP is before buying it is understandably one that scares the man.

i'm not claiming that downloading tracks is acceptable. especially if an unfinished LP leaks, as an artist, i would feel somewhat violated.

however, i remember downloading the unmixed "Hail To The Thief" before i bought the LP (day of release). it was a fantastic listening experience, and still an intersting comparison. other bands even intentionally release demos and early versions of tracks either as B-Sides or internet downloads.

what upsets me here is a major artist who personally has no need for the money, visibly caring only about the financial repercussions of any potential leak. this is not about poor artists and royalties. the situation is an incomparable one and is only relevant to the major megastars who could be the victims of such leaks. that it is Bono surprises me not-at-all. it's not the possibility that the art might suffer that worries him, its the damage done to the marketing department.

Rats

From what you say, it sounds like the albums finished, just the stuff that's been leaked isn't, probably rough mixes or something, they're just bringing the release date forward.

Lumiere

The way that their manager said "the recording of this album has gone so well" suggests to me that it's not finished yet.

My God, Bono's a twat. I always thought he was, and this is further proof.

mr suit

Quote from: "Rats"From what you say, it sounds like the albums finished, just the stuff that's been leaked isn't, probably rough mixes or something, they're just bringing the release date forward.

yep, i think you're right there. but i remember a time when getting a nice cover together and caring about giving the buyer a well-put-together package was more important than rush-releasing a "product" on iTunes "immediately" if it leaks.

the sort of people who really want the rough mixes (god knows who, i have difficulty imagining someone with that much love for U2) will not be put off by the finished album's availability. i got ahold of The Wall demos from a link someone placed on this site a while ago. i didn't flog my old vinyl afterwards.

alan strang

Didn't this shit happen with Achtung Baby as well? I'm sure I remember reading that a rough mix leaked out and was heavily bootlegged several months before the official release.

I smell an extremely large rat here. A publicity stunt, got to be. Has anyone encountered the leaked version of the new LP? Not that I expect many people on here have been looking that hard.

Quote from: "mr suit"i got ahold of The Wall demos from a link someone placed on this site a while ago. i didn't flog my old vinyl afterwards

When Pink Floyd premiered tracks from 'Wish You Were Here' (and 'Animals') live, an under-the-counter bootleg LP of the shows sold ridiculously well - apparently it was so well-packaged that some people just assumed it was the new Floyd LP ('Wish You Were Here' didn't actually appear on the shelves until months later). There was a lot of talk back then in the music press about how sales of the official forthcoming LP would be affected.

All balls of course.

mr suit

Quote from: "alan strang"A publicity stunt, got to be.

you're probably right y'know.

The Edge ("The Edge", for heaven's sake) "loses" a (probably unmarked) CD on the tube. the chances of it being picked up by anyone and played are stupidly low. if that did happen, odds are it would be quietly returned.

the chances of it being found, recognised, leaked and copied untraced are minimal.

loads of LPs are leaked (The Libertines and Interpol's new ones, i believe), and they've not "immediately" released them online. i bet both of those will sell as expected too.

Doctor Stamen

Fuck Bono Vox.  It doesn't matter one bit, they'll still sell enough albums to clear the third world debt he's always banging on about so he can just shut up.

Vermschneid Mehearties

This reminds me of when the final James album was accidentally leaked- by Mercury Records of all people. Their website ( http://www.jamesonline.com if it's still there) had a jukebox, and though there was only two tracks you could click and listen to, all you had to do was select a different number, and you could listen to the whole album.
This was kept very quiet though, and as a result, the mistake went unnoticed by Mercury Records until the album was released. Only the hardcore James fans on sites like http://www.jamestheband.com got hold of it, and kept it under wraps.

Some of the tracks on the album fucking stunk though and were completely wrecked from when I listened to them live. Eno altered them in production and ruined a couple of tracks. You can say what you like about Eno being a genius, but that record is badly produced. Just listen to it.

It doesn't surprise me that U2's latest album has been leaked. The way in which it has been leaked is quite...pathetic.