Could U2 ever do a free tour?

[Chizip]

Bono always thanks the crowd for giving them a good life, and thanks them for giving them their hard earned cash. Well that's all very nice, but why not take it to the next level and do something to repay the fans, like a free tour?

Before ya think, hey that's crazy, nobody would ever do such a thing like that!! Well Ozzy Osbourne is doing just that...

Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne has announced that the next edition of his popular summertime rock extravaganza Ozzfest will be free for fans.

The music world was likely expecting another f-word when Osbourne began spraypainting onto an Ozzfest 2007 poster at a concert industry trade event in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

However, everyone was shocked when the word the rocker and former reality TV star ultimately spelled out was "FREE."

"It's our 12th year and we wanted to shake it up a bit and do something different," Sharon Osbourne said in an interview.

"It's not saying that I'm now Mother Teresa or that Ozzy is a saint, but you know what? He's been doing this a long time and his audience has been really good to him," she said.

Wouldn't it be cool if U2 did something like 30 stadium shows for free, with like fanclub members getting first dibs at the tickets?

 

[U2Man]

no way, sucker

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

It's hard enough getting tickets now... Can you imagine???

 

[Chizip]

They could form a partnership with Apple, a bit of sponsorship to help recover the costs, and then they could make all of the recordings of the shows available to download on Itunes to help cover the costs even more.

It could definitely be doable.

 

[BVS]

Could they? Sure...

How feasible is it? Near impossible...

Just like I think Ozzy will have a hard time making a whole tour that's free.

One or two shows, sure. Whole tour, good luck with that...

 

[LMP]

They could form a partnership with Apple, a bit of sponsorship to help recover the costs, and then they could make all of the recordings of the shows available to download on Itunes to help cover the costs even more.

It could definitely be doable.

I wish.

They'd just need a one-nighter in every major US and European city.

What would be even better is if they polled maybe 10 random fans in the front of the line for new song suggestions.

 

[Caroni]

no way, sucker

 

[vaz02]

Hhaha what would larry say

 

[2morrow]

It would be impossible to do a whole free tour...how would the crew get paid? I'm getting imagining the massive crowd rush for tickets.

Didn't U2 almost go bankrupt during the Zoo Tv tour...? This could explain why no free concerts, I just don't know how yet.

 

[Chizip]

Popmart cost what, 250,000 dollars per show? Ok, so if they did a free tour they could scale the production down a lot, maybe put on a show for 100,000 a night.

Hmm, if they did 30 shows, that would be 3 million out of their pockets. The Vertigo Tour gorssed close to 400 million, I think giving 3 million back to show an appreciation towards the fan could be a nice thing.

Even if it cost 10 million, if you get a sponsorship from Apple they could probably pay half of that, then from the profits of the bootlegs you could sell from every show on Itunes, it wouldn't be THAT big of a sacrifice for the band, if they wanted to do it.

 

[U2Man]

but wouldnt people start saying: "hahahaha, u2 can no longer sell tickets. they have to play free shows!".

 

[Chizip]

but wouldnt people start saying: "hahahaha, u2 can no longer sell tickets. they have to play free shows!".

no theyd be saying, damn thats awesome they are doing that for their fans, i respect the hell out of them. maybe they arent greedy bastards afterall.

kind of like how i was never a really big fan of ozzy, but respect the hell out of him for trying this.

 

[vaz02]

It would be impossible to do a whole free tour...how would the crew get paid? I'm getting imagining the massive crowd rush for tickets.

Didn't U2 almost go bankrupt during the Zoo Tv tour...? This could explain why no free concerts, I just don't know how yet.

u2 almost went bankrupt during popmart but shirt sales saved them.

Zoo tv was a sucess.

 

[elevated_u2_fan]

u2 almost went bankrupt during popmart but shirt sales saved them.

Zoo tv was a sucess.

I thought it was the other way around...

Where are the "Peeling off those dollar bills" nerds when you need them?

 

[LMP]

u2 almost went bankrupt during popmart but shirt sales saved them.

Zoo tv was a sucess.

are you kidding me?

they broke even for ZooTV.

 

[annie_vox]

they couldn't do an entire free tour... they'd go bankrupt. But they could do a couple of free shows... that wouldn't hurt. But the best thing they could do was reduce the ticket prices even if it was just a bit... that would be a great idea...

 

[discothequeLP]

a stadium show in each major city with a somewhat scaled-down set would be fantastic. has any other band done something like this before?

 

[gman]

Hows about a few free gigs in a massive feilds in a few selected locations where 200 000+ a time could attend. that way costs would be kept to a min yet demand could be easier met

 

[U2Man]

if rolling stones or coldplay did a free tour, this forum would be mocking them endlessly.

 

[angelordevil]

Somehow, I don't see the 'free' thing happening in the near future.

 

[vaz02]

are you kidding me?

they broke even for ZooTV.

Still was a huge sucess.

 

[AtomicBono]

How the hell would you get tickets? Fan club members maybe? That'd be lame; I'm not a member of U2.com anymore... if they gave free concerts for Interference members though...

it's a nice thought but I just don't see how it's feasible...some special shows maybe, but a whole tour? no way.

 

[LMP]

Still was a huge sucess.

How?

 

[JCOSTER]

It would be mayhem...

 

[vaz02]

How?

It supported the album brilliantly.
Not all tours are to make money from , making money is just a added bonus.

So you think zoo tv was a failure ...... you think 5.4 million people attending one tour is a failure ..... no offence but are you for real ?

 

[BVS]

no offence but are you for real ?

No one called it a failure, they just showed you had your facts wrong.

 

[vaz02]

I didnt have my facts wrong though

 

[BVS]

I didnt have my facts wrong though

You did, it was ZooTV that survived only due to t-shirt sales.

 

[LyricalDrug]

The real reason Ozzfest can offer free admission is because hundreds of corporate sponsors foot the bill. Would you really want a "free" U2 tour that's polluted by advertising banners and corporate booths, giving away trinkets? Blech...

 

[vaz02]

You did, it was ZooTV that survived only due to t-shirt sales.

im quite sure actually 100% sure that it was popmart that survived only due to t shirt sales.