U2 to launch new album on iPhone 6, play at Apple event?

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Jimmy Iovine, Bono, Steve Jobs and The Edge
Jimmy Iovine, Bono, Steve Jobs and The Edge
Photo: Apple

Apple’s event on September 9th is going to be huge. Sure, iPhone announcements come around every 12 months, but this year Apple’s going bigger than ever with two product launches, a gigantic venue, and a mysterious white cube.

We investigated Apple’s mystery box ourselves last week and still couldn’t piece together what it’s for, but according to rumblings on the Internet, U2 will be the headlining act during next week’s event, and will launch their next album by pre-loading it on every new iPhone 6.

It may sound too crazy to be true, but U2 fans are already convinced Bono and The Edge will tear up the stage at the Flint Center, and there’s come compelling proof.

Here’s the evidence:

Exhibit A: New Album en route

U2’s plans to release an album in 2014 have been pretty well documented. The first single is set to release on September 9th, which wouldn’t give them much time to ramp up promotion for the album’s release two weeks later, but what better way to instantly go platinum again than embedding your album into the hottest tech product of the year.

Exhibit B: A rock video without a band?

U2 has reportedly been shooting a new music video with Mark Romanek, who just so happens to have produced a few Apple commericials. Production shut down the Samuel Beckett bridge in Dublin on Sunday. The band was nowhere to be seen, but supposedly the video will heavily feature the iPhone 6.

Exhibit C: Friends in high places

Julian Lennon – son of the late Beatle and friend of Bono’s – told U2 en Espana, “I think they are shooting an Apple commercial,” when the site met up with him in the south of France, where U2 has been putting the finishing touches on the album.

Exhibit D: The rumor mill

Apple reporters are now starting to chime in on U2 rumors. Shara Tibken at CNET says she’s heard Bono might be a special musical guest on 9-9-14. 9to5Mac has also received tips that Apple and U2 have entered some sort of partnership.

Exhibit E: The cube is a sound stage

Photo: Jim Merithew/ Cult of Mac.
What’s inside? Photo: Jim Merithew/ Cult of Mac.

Reports from Cupertino indicate that Apple constructed a massive sound stage inside its white cube at the Flint Center. Security around the construction project has been tight, but some people strolling the campus have noticed “lights on a grid above the stage being built in view of a nearby fountain and duck pond.”

Exhibit F: Old ties

The partnership wouldn’t be completely unprecedented. Apple’s newest VP Jimmy Iovine help Apple and U2 team up for the release of the (RED) iPod. Apple has sold a number of other (RED) products to support Bono’s quest to find the cure for AIDs. Jobs and Bono enjoyed a warm friendship and Jony Ive and Bono have carried on the Apple connection by joining up for events and charities in the past as well.

Preloading an album an a device would be a first for Apple, but after Jay Z released his album Magna Carta Holy Grail exclusively to Samsung Galaxy users last year, the move would certainly make sense for U2. Album sales are practically nonexistent nowdays. Why not juice up sales by giving it away for free?

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