"U2 confirm 2013 album"

[Niceman]

And you've been in contact with U2 and Universal at some point in the last 3 years to determine this?

We don't know how U2 or Universal are looking at things. They could very well be looking at it solely from a sales perspective, sure. But after No Line's relative failure (and no, it wasn't a failure, but I'm sure it disappointed sales wise to them, through no fault of Boots or a March release, but just through the fault that CD sales just aren't there anymore unless you're appealing just to a tweenager audience), and 360°'s raging success, I'd say that the tour is the most important thing for U2 in terms of sales.

In terms of "success," I think they're looking for one song that will be all over the radio, in Starbucks and getting good reviews among the music bloggers. They're looking for something that will be successful to a huge variety of people. And even if they come up with that song, it'll make little impact on that album's sales.

I'm sure that somebody at Universal and somebody inside U2's camp realizes this. I'd be willing to bet that being home for the holidays and touring when they like to the most (summer months) means more to them than an extra 150,000 units sold at Best Buy at this point in their career.

Of course, *I* haven't been in contact with anybody either, so it's just my speculation versus yours, but I don't think it's fall or bust anymore. I just don't think that mentality can really exist in 2012-13, when all the money is made either digitally or on tour.

Again, it boils down to this: it'll be released when U2, collectively, think it is ready to be released, and not a moment sooner or later.

Yes, I have no other recourse but psychic powers to determine that Universal and U2 care about record $ale$.
If you want to call this speculation, be my guest, but I don't believe Universal Music see themselves as a not for profit. Their recent crowing about what a good year 2013 was going to be for them was clearly based 100% on expected record sales, and not on tour sales - of which I'm not even sure how much profit Universal even sees.
Sales in 2012 might not be what they were in 1992, but the music industry still cares very much about maximizing it. And I don't believe I'm speculating when I say so.

 

[Steved1998]

Who said anything about 4 minutes? The song is 7.5 on the album, and you'd likely be able to whittle that down to 5 minutes without losing too much of the heart of the track.

If you want a hit it better not be more than 4 1/2 mins long. The song would lose its soul.

 

[U2DMfan]

Universal-Interscope released Lady Gaga - Born This Way in May 2011.

Biggest opening week sales ($1 million) in 5 years.

 

[Steved1998]

Correct. GOYB is semi-brilliant, but it's release was TERRIBLY timed. It looked like a retread of Vertigo 5 years later.

Boots tried to sound like everything else on the radio. No one wanted that. It's a good song and even better live. U2 are just not relevant on the radio anymore. The sooner they realize it the better

Not directed at you: As for releasing MOS because it would be daring and gutsy, stop looking at the song through fan colored glasses. It would bomb.

 

[Steved1998]

Universal-Interscope released Lady Gaga - Born This Way in May 2011.

Biggest opening week sales ($1 million) in 5 years.

Lady Gaga releases albums and tours constantly. Lady Gaga always makes the music news. Lady Gaga is popular. U2 no longer is outside of it's fans and the adult alternative market. Vertigo was their last hurrah.

 

[popacrobat]

Lady Gaga releases albums and tours constantly. Lady Gaga always makes the music news. Lady Gaga is popular. U2 no longer is outside of it's fans and the adult alternative market. Vertigo was their last hurrah.

So?

Lady Gaga would probably not have sold considerably more had her album been released in November.

 

[nielsgov]

Universal-Interscope released Lady Gaga - Born This Way in May 2011.

Biggest opening week sales ($1 million) in 5 years.

You could buy the album for 1 dollar on Amazon during the first week/day (I'm not sure).

 

[LemonMelon]

It would bomb.

Not one person in this thread has claimed that MOS would be a hit, or anything approaching it. GOYB was not a hit, nor anything approaching it. Assume you hear both, let's say the last 30 seconds of each. Which would kill your interest in NLOTH? The argument is that MOS would at the very least not destroy interest in the record. Boots was a joke, and many treated the band (and, by extension, the album) as irrelevant because the song was aimless and silly.

Better yet, let's assume they aren't complete fools and instead of resting all of their hopes on MOS release it online to build interest in the record. It is followed up on the radio by the title track or something more conservative but still good like Magnificent. By doing this, they've put their best material forward, the music that will actually convince someone that they need another U2 record. Releasing whatever is most upbeat when the song is so bad that it convinces people that the U2 name (the primary thing selling U2 records at this point) no longer can be associated with quality...it doesn't work anymore. U2 doesn't need gimmicks, they just need a good, U2ey song.

 

[lazarus]

In the words of Talking Heads, stop making sense.

It's not allowed in this part of the forum.

 

[Steved1998]

not one person in this thread has claimed that mos would be a hit, or anything approaching it. Goyb was not a hit, nor anything approaching it. Assume you hear both, let's say the last 30 seconds of each. Which would kill your interest in nloth? The argument is that mos would at the very least not destroy interest in the record. Boots was a joke, and many treated the band (and, by extension, the album) as irrelevant because the song was aimless and silly.

Better yet, let's assume they aren't complete fools and instead of resting all of their hopes on mos release it online to build interest in the record. It is followed up on the radio by the title track or something more conservative but still good like magnificent. By doing this, they've put their best material forward, the music that will actually convince someone that they need another u2 record. Releasing whatever is most upbeat when the song is so bad that it convinces people that the u2 name (the primary thing selling u2 records at this point) no longer can be associated with quality...it doesn't work anymore. U2 doesn't need gimmicks, they just need a good, u2ey song.

tldr

 

[trevgreg]

Out of curiosity, has anyone played MOS for friends or family that were nothing more than casual fans at best? If so, what was their thoughts on it? I did forward it to a friend through Spotify one time, among other songs, but never heard back with an opinion on it (not out of the ordinary though, since we usually forward batches of songs at a time to each other).

 

[AEKU2]

Out of curiosity, has anyone played MOS for friends or family that were nothing more than casual fans at best? If so, what was their thoughts on it? I did forward it to a friend through Spotify one time, among other songs, but never heard back with an opinion on it (not out of the ordinary though, since we usually forward batches of songs at a time to each other).

My Missus is not a fan of U2, but believes MOS is the best song in their repertoire.

 

[U2DMfan]

You could buy the album for 1 dollar on Amazon during the first week/day (I'm not sure).

I just mentioned it to underscore her massive popularity.

The idea is if they were willing to let a cash cow like Gaga put an album out in May, then there's no real reason to expect they'd want U2 to wait until the Fall. Not that they have any real say. U2 will certainly make the call on that.

You could also argue that more U2 fans would actually pay for the album versus Gaga fans that are surely younger and not only have a more disposable pop taste but possibly more inclined to downloading w/o paying.

I think U2 lean towards the Fall because that's who they are. Stuck in the old way of doing things but I think they are ripe for a change.

Look, it's not me that cares about these things. I fucking hate that it's such a concern for U2. But if you're gonna try to forecast what U2 might do with the next album, you've got to consider this shit.

 

[Niceman]

Out of curiosity, has anyone played MOS for friends or family that were nothing more than casual fans at best? If so, what was their thoughts on it?

I played MOS for my younger brother and my father, neither of which like any U2 post-Rattle and Hum. They were pleasantly surprised that it was U2, and didn't know until I told them.

 

[LadySpinHead]

Out of curiosity, has anyone played MOS for friends or family that were nothing more than casual fans at best? If so, what was their thoughts on it? I did forward it to a friend through Spotify one time, among other songs, but never heard back with an opinion on it (not out of the ordinary though, since we usually forward batches of songs at a time to each other).

My husband shrugged and said it was alright when I played it for him. Kind of my opinion, too, although it does continue to slowly grow on me.

 

[LemonMelon]

tldr

#wackygif

 

[zitherglow]

more importantly, how much will the super uber deluxe box set edition of the new album cost. i worry with dwindling album sales, hardcore fans are going to bear the brunt in making up for dwindling profit margins. AB tested the water and i fear a $500 new album is possible.

 

[mama cass]

more importantly, how much will the super uber deluxe box set edition of the new album cost. i worry with dwindling album sales, hardcore fans are going to bear the brunt in making up for dwindling profit margins. AB tested the water and i fear a $500 new album is possible.

people don't have to buy the super uber deluxe version though, i never do LOL

 

[nielsgov]

Damn, and I always thought you had to buy everything to be a hardcore fan.

 

[mama cass]

Damn, and I always thought you had to buy everything to be a hardcore fan.

i would not, in a trillion years, EVER, describe myself as a hardcore fan

 

[Gonna Run 2 U]

Moment Of Surrender is an absolute snooze fest. I've played this for casual u2 fans and non u2 fans and agreed it was a bore. Wasn't there enough evidence for this during the mass exodus when played at 360? It would have flopped as a lead single.

 

[U2girl]

#1 Who voted for an edited version? Not I. If crappy American Pie can get play, I'll give MOS it's chance.

#2 Whether it got play or not isn't the point. It's the album's best song and would have gotten U2 something they don't have a lot of right now: Respect.

#1 Good luck trying to get the radio to play the full 7+minute version song.

#2 It is the point since this is the lead single choice. It would help matters if it actually got played on the radio. There's great songs and there's great singles. And the people U2 may have lost with ATYCLB and Bomb aren't likely to come back in droves just because MOS gets exposure.

 

[U2girl]

Lady Gaga releases albums and tours constantly. Lady Gaga always makes the music news. Lady Gaga is popular. U2 no longer is outside of it's fans and the adult alternative market. Vertigo was their last hurrah.

Well, yeah. Great comparison though isn't it ?

 

[popacrobat]

Moment Of Surrender is an absolute snooze fest. I've played this for casual u2 fans and non u2 fans and agreed it was a bore. Wasn't there enough evidence for this during the mass exodus when played at 360? It would have flopped as a lead single.

there's a mass exodus toward the end of every concert, regardless what song is being played last. People headed toward the exits during 40 on Vertigo and even during Bad or Vertigox2 on Vertigo. People want to beat the traffic, especially for cities that primarily use subway systems for transit. So that's pretty poor "evidence."

 

[Blue Room]

there's a mass exodus toward the end of every concert, regardless what song is being played last. People headed toward the exits during 40 on Vertigo and even during Bad or Vertigox2 on Vertigo. People want to beat the traffic, especially for cities that primarily use subway systems for transit. So that's pretty poor "evidence."

I agree with your point, but people headed for the restrooms during Your Blue Room on 360 also, and THAT was an absolute snoozefest for a live song. Glad they tried it, but it did not work at all in a live stadium setting.

MOS is alright. Not great, not awful, kind of my opinion of the whole album.

 

[Galeongirl]

there's a mass exodus toward the end of every concert, regardless what song is being played last. People headed toward the exits during 40 on Vertigo and even during Bad or Vertigox2 on Vertigo. People want to beat the traffic, especially for cities that primarily use subway systems for transit. So that's pretty poor "evidence."

People left the stadium in Montreal after Walk On. Casual fans who have no idea about the setlists probably thought it was over after that. Or, they want to beat traffic as you said, so they don't care for the last few songs.

 

[macphisto54]

I still think releasing Crazy Tonight as the first single would have been best, strictly speaking in terms of airplay/success. Some type of modified version, with a mix similar to the blackberry ad, and have the song build up to the end, and maybe modify the end so that the "know I'll go crazy" chant that they did on the 360 remix is in there somewhere.

That would have been the best/most successful first single, in my opinion. Anything else is wishful thinking.[/QUOTE

I would like to hear that version. Sounds great in my mind.

 

[silkensky]

This ^

The Blackberry version still haunts me. That piano intro, Edges wah wah guitar, oh as short as this was it already sounded miles better than what they released. I still have a soft spot for the song as it is, but thank God for the remix.

 

[doctorwho]

i would not, in a trillion years, EVER, describe myself as a hardcore fan

I disagree.

First, what defines "hardcore fan"? The length of time one has been a fan? The number of concerts one has seen? How many CD's, books, promos, etc., one buys?

Based on your insightful comments here and your basic collection, I would feel you are a "hardcore fan".

However, you are not a collector. I would contend that a collector would want the big set - and even other versions - of whatever the band releases, as long as they can afford it. But I would not say that collector is necessarily any more "hardcore" than one who doesn't collect. They just enjoy collecting items. The enjoyment often comes in the hunt for older items as well as playing and cherishing them (properly displaying). Not everyone enjoys collecting and some don't have the room or the financial means to do so. However, these non-collectors can still be "hardcore fans".

 

[PhilsFan]

#1 Good luck trying to get the radio to play the full 7+minute version song.

#2 It is the point since this is the lead single choice. It would help matters if it actually got played on the radio. There's great songs and there's great singles. And the people U2 may have lost with ATYCLB and Bomb aren't likely to come back in droves just because MOS gets exposure.

What did U2 need to accomplish with NLOTH? They needed to bring a new sound, because that was what they promised for over a year leading up to its release.

MOS shows a new direction. GOYB sends people running away, saying, "Oh, here we go again." How many people dismissed the album because of that single choice? More than you think.

MOS was the best choice by a mile because it was the one that signaled a new sound. It's not my favorite song on the album. But it was clearly the best lead single choice.