Dragging U2 onstage to end Apple’s big iPhone 6 event was more than a disappointing denouement to an otherwise solid piece of marketing theater: It was a tacit admission that the recorded music industry is gasping for its last breath.
During his peculiar onstage banter with Bono, Apple CEO Tim Cook called the iTunes-exclusive release of U2’s new album, Songs of Innocence, “the largest album release of all time.” He also crowed that dumping the record for free on iTunes’ half-billion users would make music history.
It did, but for all the wrong reasons.
U2 album giveaway: Digital music sales are dying
By giving the album away, Apple hammers another metaphysical nail in the coffin of music sales. Digital music sales declined last year for the first time since the advent of iTunes, which hastened the demise of the compact disc a decade ago.
In the face of competition from streaming services like Spotify, Pandora and the Apple-owned Beats Music, there’s simply no compelling reason to own music anymore, aside from picking up a CD when your favorite indie band rolls through town so you can get an autograph (and they can get some gas money).
Plenty of people — digital hoarders, mostly — will undoubtedly grab their free copies of the new U2 album during the iTunes-exclusive window, but how many will actually play the files they download? If you’ve got the Internet, why would you need them clogging up your smartphone or your Apple Watch?
The future is streaming
Photo: Apple
Don’t get me wrong: Music isn’t dead. Nobody will ever stop human beings (or elephants, for that matter) from making music.
But selling records or even downloads? That’s basically a thing of the past. Bono’s ragged rock star act, once capable of entrancing a stadium full of U2 fans, looked old and sad in the context of a tech company unveiling its latest, greatest product. All the disorienting swirly lights couldn’t hold a candle to the real star of the show: the Apple Watch.
Cook framed the whole thing as an affirmation of Apple’s commitment to music and creativity, but the performance felt more like a remnant of the record industry’s old-boy network — a favor for a couple of old friends who’ve seen better days.
Some question whether Apple has lost its innovative touch; others wonder if Cook has the genius streak that made Apple co-founder Steve Jobs such a hard act to follow. Buying Beats and adding music bigwigs like Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre to the Apple staff might have been a shrewd way of injecting new life into Cupertino’s musical endeavors.
But trotting out aging Irish rockers after you’ve wowed the world with the first glimpse of the glorious Apple Watch? That’s not thinking different. That’s a pity-fuck for a band that’s lost its edge, and an unfortunate bum note for a company that’s rarely perceived as tone-deaf.
Watch U2 perform at Apple’s iPhone 6 event
Lewis Wallace is the managing editor of Cult of Mac and author of our weekly newsletter, The Weekender.
He’s a San Francisco-based writer and editor specializing in technology and culture. He loves his iPhone, hates Siri, and appreciates any hardware that combines form and function.
Prior to Cult of Mac, he juggled words and ideas as culture editor at Wired.com, homepage editor at TechTV, news product manager at NBCi, copy editor at PC World, reporter at The (Hayward) Daily Review and editor in chief of EveryBody’s News in Cincinnati.
He earned a bachelor of general studies degree with a journalism certificate from the University of Cincinnati. While in school, he worked as the entertainment editor of The News Record and as editor in chief of Clifton Magazine.
He’s also a bass player, who’s recorded and performed around the United States with Those Darn Accordions, The Electric Boogie Dawgz and The Mad Maggies. When not writing, editing or laying down bass lines, he plays darts and serves on the board of the San Francisco Darts League.
81 responses to “U2’s sad show was a swan song for iTunes”
The Apple Watch the star? You’re really drinking the Kool-Aid. The Apple Watch is being mocked mercilessly. If Samsung has trouble selling a watch, Apple will – especially at that ridiculous price point. Kool-Aid drinkers will buy and think they’re cool. The rest of us will laugh at ya’ll.
U2 looked far better than the Apple Watch. They didn’t look tired, but fresh. And in case you didn’t notice, they are actually promoting a new paradigm by giving the album away. More albums are still bought than streamed. Streaming is the future unless an album is free – but giving it away promotes it and draws even more for the paid gig, which is where the money truly is for a band. Live Nation is managing them and their business is radio via Clearchannel and concert promotion. Chances are good that more people will listen out of curiosity. Unlike the goofy Apple Watch, they don’t have to plop down money for the U2 album.
Microsoft had trouble selling tablets before the iPad came out. We all know how the rest unfolded!
Yeah, the iPad is nosediving in the market when competition has come up and offered better value.
Same will happen to the iPhone as contracts slowly become a thing of the past. Apple has thrived off carrier subsidies, but if people pay the full price they will start looking elsewhere. That will happen and everywhere where people have to pay full price for an iPhone, the marketshare is much smaller. Apple will have to cut prices by at least $100 or more on each model, trimming over $8 Billion from their profits every year.
Apple was brilliant to position themselves where they did, but T-Mobile began the killing of contracts and now other carriers are beginning to follow. Within four years they will be gone and Apple will be forced to compete at full price without big corporations subsidizing the price and hiding the cost.
Look at the plummet of iPad sales. They can’t maintain larger market at high prices when consumers pay the full cost. People won’t pay a premium for a watch either when all they need is a smartphone – it’s redundant and they can get a Fitbit for much cheaper for fitness.
Apple is out of ideas. When subsidies come off the iPhone their profits will plummet by 33% and their stock and market cap will plummet too.
Microsoft at least has a far more diverse business with over a dozen products that make them over a Billion a year. Apple is increasingly an iPhone only company. It’s a bad idea to have your profits so reliant on one product.
And Google is not in much better shape since they are an ad company basically. Apple is in better position than they are long term.
But mark me down as saying the Apple Watch will flame out after its first quarter. It’ll launch impressively as Apple Kool-Aid drinkers jump on, but they also have a lot of sensible iPhone owners who only got the phone because they know the name.
the problem is that I think you haven’t used a Fitbit yet. Have you?
So what you’re saying is that the iPad is finally failing after five years or so. In this day and age, five years is a huge success and if the Apple Watch comes anywhere close to even half of that time, it would be seen as mission accomplished.
Did you guys not see the adoption graphs? The iPad 2 is practically the entire iPad business right now. Almost nobody bought the iPad Air and it’s the least owned iPad. Don’t say because it’s relatively new because the other ones between the iPad 2 and Air are just as small of a percentage.
This is coming from someone who does own an iPad Air and enjoys it. But the truth is… he is right. The full price made me way more reluctant to purchase an iPad. Luckily I have a good job and can afford to splurge every so often. But not many people can even afford healthcare let alone $1000s of dollars to buy all this crap.
The fact that we treated the release of a PHONE and a WATCH like it was the most important thing this year (while ISIS beheads journalists) makes me worried for the future of mankind. It’s like a religious ceremony for a f*cking gadget. We are NOT spiritually ready to handle all this technology clearly. It just shows that technology is our new god.
But the Apple Watch looks way too nerdy and kind of girly looking to me. Looks like a toy watch and not a luxury item like the rest of their lineup. I was very underwhelmed and I’m a big Apple fan. The whole “Swiss watch makers better watch out” and “the most historic announcement ever” didn’t help curb my expectations either.
But it’s clear Apple wants a new pipeline and so they released a fat bulky watch first so they can sell us a new watch every year until we finally get to the REAL product 5-6 years down the line with all the sleekness and thinness and better features. (no iPhone needed, etc;)
The watch is having an identity crisis. It’s full of apps that perform smartphone functions but the watch still requires you to carry the iPhone for it to work. That makes NO sense. The people who want to use a watch the MOST (fitness people) will have to carry a phone with them too if they want GPS when bike riding, running, or hiking.
Not to mention the majority of Americans are fat lazy asswipes and the common Apple user definitely doesn’t even know what fitness means.
So I blame Apple and Johnny Ives corny voice overs…
….and this guy
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BxHl5AECUAEEJdU.jpg
holy shib get a life.
“We are NOT spiritually ready to handle all this technology clearly”
you must be on crack.
How does one “spiritually handle” technology?
“””The iPad 2 is practically the entire iPad business right now. Almost nobody bought the iPad Air and it’s the least owned iPad.”””
Were did you get this BS?
“””iPad Air accounted for 41 percent of iPads sold, while the fourth generation “iPad with Retina Display” made up another 13 percent. The lowest price iPad 2 represented only 5 percent of sales. Together, the full sized iPads were 59 percent of Apple’s tablet sales.
Apple’s iPad mini models accounted for 41 percent of sales, with the base model representing 25 percent of all sales and the availability-constrained Retina version making up 16 percent of the mix.”””
Thats Q1 2014. There has been a slight fall in overall iPad sales afterwards (around 15%), but still with the same division of sales. Plus no new models. Let’s see what the holiday quarter brings, and what happens when a new model is introduced.
I am not predicting the Watch will be a rousing success. I am still skeptical there is a legitimate market for it, but I’ve gone from being completely against smartwatches to being intrigued by some of the concepts I saw today. Time will tell…
Other than that, your arguments here are full of more holes than swiss cheese.
Great narrative Jeff. Quality fiction writing in the genre of self delusion and fantasy. Now before you start making anything else up, you might want to adjust the meds.
‘Nosediving’?
Last I looked the sold just under 18 million third quarter (fiscal) ’14. Down a billion from last year, and two quarters post launch (with an exciting rumor mill building on a larger iPhone (or two). iPad Air2/retina Mini 2 — and during the April, May, June quarter. No holidays. Still by a MASSIVE margin, the biggest selling tablet. One and two. Keep that in mid. Tablet. Not a phone. That’s important as we upgrade computers less often, I’ve found the same to hold true with the tabs. I’ve still got the one and two. The former for nostalgia, the latter for my nine year old son.
iPad Air/rMini/5s —A7 launch last Fall …as an owner of each iPhone and iPad since their genesis was hand’s down the BIGGEST line-up improvement to the iOS line up since 2007. As well, the third release of ‘Lione’ …the refinements to Mavericks has been superior to any experience on ANY system I’ve used in 32+ years ‘computing’. The new, now coming up on third generation rMBPs (hands down the best laptop in history IMHO—I just bought the refreshed Haswell model as eve found the 2012 original 15″ to be damn near everything we need— not to mention the ‘experience’ of using it; the display, speed, power and efficiency, size and IO options with thunderbolt docks now available and reasonably priced for optical media if you need, GBit Ethernet, outboard DAC, HDMI/DVI/VGA, USB 3….)
And this fall they’re going to aggregate the two. OSx. And iOS. And now the iPad has just increased it’s ‘vakue’ (not monetarily, I’m talking about as a tool) THAT much more valuable! Handoff and continuity between phone, tab and computer. New programming language ( you’ve NO IDEA what Swift’ & Metal) mean for development AND ‘end-user’ experience. NONE if you’re truly ‘concerned’ about Apple’s ‘mass decline in iPad sales’ (1 billion less than the record breaking quarter last year! The first year if the mini and by that point they we’re refreshing to the retina mini, remember?)
Anyway, found your comment kind of humorous. If there was a single thing to whine about, your author, Lewis absolutely nailed it!
U2. Period. IMHO, they’ve successfully ‘reinvented’ the aging and declining use of a wrist watch. Those slamming the …I’m sorry Apple watch are the same that did so pre iPad and iPhone. The Apple Watch, IMHO once again …another fgamechanging product, reinventing an old yet still popular and fashionable ‘tool’ many of us still use.
Then they added it’s own OS, are putting together an SDK for the third parties, and DAMN, did those new iPhones look SWEET!
(I work not for Apple nor Google but I own products from both …my business phone is a Note 3, personal .5s …& I ‘persinally’ DO see many an Android user considering the ‘switch’ with the display size increases)
Time will tell but good luck with that attitude. iPad is a grand slam and going nowhere. One tablet from ONE manufacturers that comes close to competing …if you can name one I’m ears because I’ve YET to find one worth a damn! I’ve still got the Xoom and Samsung’s latest NoteSProx12.2 whatever it’s called …was able to play with it a bit. Cool, bit without third party development, useless …and I’ve tried Nexus 7&7.2, definitely NOT for me, or anyone that enjoys using a tablet for anything other than watching a movie)
I did attempt editing the dozen grammatical and punctuation mistakes made. Unfortunately on my Note,I’m inable to keep the ‘comment’ section Ina specific area. Doesn’t work, hopefully you see Lion and not Lione. My apologies for the errors!
J
8/10 on the troll scale. good job.
Apple Watch mocked? I guess the luminaries who launched a smartwatch recently are looking for walls where to bang their heads as we speak trying to figure out why on earth anybody could not imagine to use that damn dial… I can hear korean screams now…
1) “The Apple Watch is being mocked mercilessly.” If I remember correctly so did the iPhone. I remember watching that sweaty, bald headed freak of a CEO admit he was 100% wrong and caught with his pants down a few months later.
2) “The rest of us will laugh at ya’ll.”, As if people who really will use the watch for what it can help us accomplish will give a rats ass of what or who the “rest” of you people laugh at.
3) ” If Samsung has trouble selling a watch, Apple will – especially at that ridiculous price point.”. Please see #1.
4) I totally agree with you about U2. They were great!
Add the Mac to your list.
Mock away. We’ll see what happens. The iPod and iPad were mocked too, you might remember. How’d that turn out?
I’m saying this as someone who doesn’t even own an iPhone (or any kind of mobile phone) and so has no reason to buy the watch. You could be wrong, that’s all.
You’re clearly a genius who can see into the future – if it turns out you ARE wrong, please come back and explain why.
We’ll see. We’ll see. :)
I don’t even want the Watch, and Apple managed to make me want the Watch. As for U2? They looked freakin awesome. Bono looked fantastic, and I can’t wait for the tour. Great Keynote. Great band.
WOW!!! Someone needs a nap.
Jeez. So much MISinformation here. Uhh, check your facts before passing off your opinion as a “fact.” U2 sells out and has sold out stadiums all over the world. Their last tour was the most successful tour by any band, ever…in terms of tickets sold, sold out venues and money earned. Say what you will about their music, it’s clear you don’t care for it, you’re entitled to that. But to come off as saying U2 is “tired” and “sad” is definitely an opinion clearly NOT shared by the fans who still buy their records and attend their shows in the millions…all over the world.
Instead of a piece about the state of Apple and these brand new products just released, this is a horribly written “piece” about how much the “author” hates U2…when in reality, it shows how out-of-touch the author is in terms of music popularity. Not to mention that zero facts were apparently checked. Bravo!
“Bono’s ragged rock star act, once capable of entrancing a stadium full of U2 fans, looked old and sad in the context of a tech company unveiling its latest, greatest product.” Never have I read such a crock of shit!! U2 fills stadiums at every show at every corner of the world to this day. Once capable my ass…
u2 has seen better days? most bands wish they could fill stadiums around the world like they can. i’ve been saying it for awhile, give the music for free and make your money touring. that also kills piracy of music. iTunes is the biggest store. if you give it away for free to iTunes, thats 500 million people and growing that will get your music fast
Congrats, Lewis. You’ve managed to out crank Dvorak, but without his sense of humor. Yes, I’ll get off your lawn.
I hate streaming services. I’d much rather own my music, be able to play it offline, and not take a massive hit to the battery, thank you very much. I’d much rather pay for exactly the music I want and enjoy these things.
Everyone acts as if streaming services have every song ever recorded. I’d bet that the percentage of music they do have that has ever been released on CD is less than 50%. I’m buying more CDs than ever!
Another pundit trying to sound oh so cool while not getting it.
Jeez dude. I think your opinion is way off. This keynote was pretty great. The watch is pretty amazing and it’s the beginning of something great. U2 was amazing. Why are you being so negative?
He’s just saying what he’s been paid to say…
Worst article on Cult of Mac ever. U2 is one of the biggest and most respected bands in the world for the last 30 years. Anyone can get Macklemore or Rihanna or Miley, but only Apple can get U2 and they rocked.
saying things like “its a pity-f***” for them is just downright low brow and juvenile. Did U2 kill your family?
I expect more from Cult of Mac. I’m very disappointed.
Actually, it’s what I have come to expect from C of M…
Amen. You have to wonder how many of today’s “cool” bands will still be around 30 years from now touring and selling out stadiums – I doubt it will be many.
Pointless…
This must be the same guy who ripped apart the fact that the Foo Fighters played an Apple event a little while back. Please go back to listening to your crappy EDM music and stop ripping apart bands that have actual human beings performing and playing music and not using auto tune. Seriously dude you’re a pompous little shit who has no idea what your taking about. Cult of Mac ditch this troll already.
nope, that was me :) http://www.cultofmac.com/190181/really-apple-the-fking-foo-fighters-opinion/
I will be buying an Apple Watch not to impress anyone. I want it’s services for me.
On one hand, this article points out the decline of the music business. Yet on the other hand you criticize and mock a band and company who found a way to pay the artist, by offering a free service enabled by technology. Make up your mind. Are you actually sad for the music business and declining sales/revenue for artists? It sounds just like a personal opinion against the band. This rant betrays the very point you are trying to make.
Musicians (doesn’t matter how rich/poor or new/established) are all trying to find new ways to both deliver music, and ensure artists get paid. Yet this article starts with a false empathy for the declining sales going to artists, while later complaining that an artist got paid while customers and fans got something free. Stop masking your opinion of the band under false pretenses.
U2 just released a monster album and this guy is counting the wrinkles on their face? Lewis, your taste and creative perspective are way out the in left field. How did you pass the interview process at CoM?
What a pity-fuck of an article. Pure garbage.
i stopped reading when you claim U2 are old and tired and they were capable of entrancing a stadium full of fans….,you clearly must be living in a parallel world….U2 still sell out every single tour within minutes of releasing tickets….go and check their last tour for the stats.
This is one of the worse texts I’ve read on cult of Mac!
The 24 hours following Apple reveals is 50/50 click-bait and something worthy. Unfortunately, this commentary falls into the former category.
wow.. so, um, people who like U2 are sad too I guess? what a joke of an article.
Wow. I’m not even much of a U2 fan and I thought their performance was fairly great. Wondering what the author was watching.
Apple may be giving the music to iTunes customers for free, but from what I gather listening to the Cook-Bono banter, Apple paid U2 for the 500,000 copies of the album to distribute for free. Certainly lucrative for U2, as well has making the album go instant diamond x 50.
U2 can still fill stadiums. This was basically a PR stunt, a marketing gig, and they didn’t give their album away. Apple bought it from them and gave it to its users. Don’t be so quick to say music sales are dead. I buy lots of music and so do my friends. Subscriptions are just a second tier market. I already listened to the new U2 album. It’s pretty good. Love their sound. Always did.
I think Lewis nailed it, but the problem isn’t just that U2 the band is old. It’s also that they’re pushing out another regular traditional album, only giving it away for free with Apple footing the bill. That’s not different.
It’s not a new format for the album or a new experience, It’s not a new way to buy it. It was just a nod to the fact that Apple has made albums so worthless, that even one of the last living rock gods has to giveaway his work for free in order to make a dent in the music universe.
What band would you have wanted to see……..any that actually know how to play their instruments? People like Jay Z actually making a dime for the garbage he does, that any imbecile can do, is the joke the music industry has become. Today’s kiddies have no clue what music is.
I would of loved to see the iPad Air 2 perform at the end of the show instead. iA2 > U2
Let’s be honest here…U2 was a poor choice and it makes Apple look out of touch with today’s music scene. You not might get today’s music but that doesn’t mean it’s garbage. I’m sure your grand pappy didn’t “get” Led Zepplin either. Apple should have chose a more relevant artist than U2.
I totally agree with Lewis. I’m a big fan of U2 and admire almost everything they are involved in, especially their charity work and advocacy of social justice. I was even touched by their many tributes to The Clash, my favorite band of all time. But Lewis is totally right. Selling music is on the way out. Who’s going to buy albums in the era of streaming music? The only thing they can do is give this album away.
The problem with the article is not the notion that music sales are on the decline. Any one of us could have said that. It is common knowledge now. The problem with the article is its poor writing, and ill-conceived theories (for lack of a better word) and misplaced criticism.
See my comment below, This article laments that artists are not getting paid. It is presented as if no one else sees this. Everyone already has, thanks. Yet also criticizes Apple and U2 for using a new model (yes new, you can count on 1 hand the number of times an album is given away by an artist of this status, while still getting paid for it): “All the disorienting swirly lights couldn’t hold a candle to the real star of the show: the Apple Watch… but the performance felt more like a remnant of the record industry’s old-boy network…But trotting out aging Irish rockers after you’ve wowed the world with the first glimpse of the glorious Apple Watch? That’s not thinking different. That’s a pity-fuck for a band that’s lost its edge, and an unfortunate bum note for a company that’s rarely perceived as tone-deaf”
The first part of the article makes a case for something everybody already knows. The second part of the article makes every excuse to just bash the band.
“The industry’s old boy network?” First Apple works with the industry,, they are not the industry itself, and are often at odds with the industry. So this comment makes no sense. Second, this comment was used to disparage against what is a new tactic – Companies like Apple paying artists directly. So the offhand snipes at Apple and U3 show a hypocrisy. Has this tactic been used before, yes, but few times and it is still new. It was also done very publicly with the exchange itself being part of the statement, and that was a first. They made a point of mentioning multiple times that the artist got paid.
So this article starts with handing us the obvious and already well known about he music industry, then ends sourly, making every excuse to fit in disparaging comments on the band (all of which are inaccurate, see everyone else’s comments on U2 ability to sellout every stop on in latest tour). And in doing so, it shows a hypocrisy in bashing something that is part of a solution, while giving zero solutions himself, or even the thought that he should try.
Complaining, then criticizing one of the few tactics which fully addresses said issue, is hypocrisy and clearly shows that all this author wants to do is complain.
But even worse, his specific complaints attack a solution, and have no relevance or accuracy.
I agree that buying CD’s through iTunes is on the way out, but the way that he said it was by bashing both U2 and Apple and not even a little bit. Calling it a “pity-F***” for a band that’s lost its edge” and a “bum note” was just crass.
There’s a way to sound intelligent and clever. He made himself sound angry, crass, crude and just pissed off at U2.
Even just one song off a U2 greatest hits has given more joy to the world than a ridiculous watch ever will. Nobody wears watches anymore. People have a phone in their pocket, they will continue to only have a phone in their pocket and no watch. This product will fail, Apple’s last innovative idea was in 2010. Google “Apple is out of ideas” and see the slew of articles written this week about this. It’s true. They are out of ideas.
“Pity fuck”? I’ll bet you were saving that analogy up for a long time Lewis Wallace. You’re just a useless blogger out of thousands looking for something to write about.
I also love how you say that Bono was once capable of filling stadiums. Yeah like the last time U2 went on tour recently. The only one whose irrelevant here is you and your impotent opinions. Now go back to creative writing class and let us know what type of tree you’d like to be.
Man this article just comes across as grumpy…..humbug ….
I think someone was ready for the show to be over when they came on. I don’t even like U2 and I thought the performance was good (the song was ok)
Even if the album is free they still get money from iTunes Match payers?
Ridiculous. So where are people going to get their music in this new Utopia the author relates. With artists not getting paid, I assume they’ll still create their music just for the art of it and distribute for free after working their day jobs at Pizza Hut.
Speak for yourself – I purchase all my music because with the amount of music that I listen to, it’s cheaper to buy the albums than to subscribe to spotify or another service. I find the ‘freemium’ models irritating due to the adverts and I only listen to the same music I have in my iTunes library anyway. The songs they play on ‘personalised’ radios never appeal to me and it ends up with me paying for a service like spotify to listen to songs I don’t like, mixed with some adverts. I will never be going onto streaming services at this rate.
The iPad Air 2 should of performed instead of The U2.
They killed themselves by opening the Zoo tour in K-Mart. They’ve been dead a long, long time now.
in 2 sentences you managed to get everything wrong. The ZooTV Tour was 1 of the most successful tours in history. since that tour, U2 and Rolling Stones have traded off being the most successful tour in history for that moment (they tend to tour on different years from each other.)
It was the Popmart tour that was announced at Kmart, not the ZooTV tour. The pop mart tour, had some trouble selling out in middle America. In went on to sellout everywhere else in the world, and in the large US cities on the Coast. As usual it was the most successful tour during its run.
Also bands like Rolling Stones might break a new record with profit on occasion, during U2’s off touring years. U2 always outperform in terms of seats/tickets sold. Meaning U2 shows have more people going, they just charge less than bands of their stature. ($50 for GA Floor for a band that can sell out stadiums is unheard of. Prices maxed out in the $200s for last tour)
They might be dead to you, They have only grown in stature throughout the world.
Apparently you didn’t pay attention during their last tour. Packed stadiums. Curious definition of “dead a long, long time” you have there.
phhttt… and how did music artists make money pre-internet when their music played over radio airwaves for free, there is still a large market from us that go to concerts, re-purchase music from vinyl to 8-track to cassette to CD to MP3, and now going back & buying music to build a library of our past memories… this smells of the god-of-thunder (rock is dead as spewed thru his son’s blog) & hillbilly comeback kid (don’t re-sell my used CD’s)…
Why so negative? Despite the streaming issues,I thought Apple did an awesome job of showcasing the new Apple products and U2’s performance was cool too.
Leave the rich old Irish guys alone. They deserve to live, for now.
While I may not use the term “sad”, it was a bit old school. Kind of like having Paul McCarthy come out and do a song. But given the demographic of the room (30s/40s?) it probably was a fine decision.
U2 has aways been sharp when it comes to marketing, so this move made sense. They are gearing up for a tour, and have not gotten much Billboard charting done in the last few years, so they figure if millions have the album, maybe more people will buy tickets.
U2 (and Beyonce, Prince, etc) and anyone who has been around for decades has to really think how to market in new ways. This was a creative experiment, and “free” is very compelling.
U2 seems to be sliding into a Rolling Stones vibe, not changing a thing and rocking the same way no matter how old they are.
Of course everyone is sad until they get a break out hit single. Remember Duran Duran coming back with “Ordinary World” and “Come Undone” in 92/93? Suddenly they were hip again. But they did a move that ignored their cheery pop and veered into melancholy. It worked great, for them.
U2 wants to be hip again. Time will tell if this move does it for them.
What a ridiculous article. The hate and snark being “written” along with outright lies is amazing. All to boost his importance in his own delusional mind. U2 was awesome. Their album is unreal. They still fill stadiums with sold out record breaking tours. If anyone can make a watch work it’s Apple. Very few normal real people that I know use streaming services alone. Most still buy music. If some hipster band had done the same thing with samsung yesterday then this article would have been spouting what heroes they all were!
Way to try to turn something that was otherwise beautiful and entertaining into something that was ugly. With millions of song downloads from iTunes all over the world all the time, I really gotta wonder just how deep your hate for Apple runs.
U2 is far more successful than Lewis Wallace will ever be, and that is the root of his weird criticism. For “aging Irish rockers” that have “lost their edge” (really?), they are still pretty damn talented and entertaining. Far more than you will be as an aging tech writer years from now.
Get over yourself.
Wow what a bitter negative person you are, did you lose a music industry job or something?
You’re an idiot
Let’s be clear….
1. CDs will never die.
2. U2 for Baby Boomer attention.
3. Apple has real competition now.
4. Why buy a watch when your phone does that?
1. It’s pretty cool, but, I don’t need another gadget.
2. I keep trying to talk myself out of it. It’s $350!! I don’t need it!!
3. OMG! I just spent $350 on a watch.
4. This thing is awesome, I love it!
5. I wouldn’t want to live without it. Seriously, living without it would be torture.
I agree the watch idea is crap, ugly, not needed in today’s market and expensive. No plans for phones is the future. As for U2 let me know when they have their next RADIO hit!!!
Apple watch: future “remember this flop curiosity product?” And U2?!! Tim Cook is way too baby boomer smug. Watch out Apple — your quality is the best, but you’re becoming as boring as Amazon.com. And please……stay out of the useless “healthcare app” business for your devices. Forcing a flop album on people is intrusive enough.
This is sad. Streaming could be the death of the music industry. Thats the model non-music makers are going towards and the direction mindless music makers are promoting. Musicians will eventually stop making music that shit is expensive for the artist. The label can do whatever but they probably won’t need us artist. The days of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston type album sales are probably dead. This is a scary future.
Goddamn lol this send like something hank moody would write. Good show!
They haven’t lost their edge. He was right there on stage.
What’s even more sad is saying that someone looks old.