You gonna keep defending the recent actions of U2 after reading this?

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Yes, I am still going to defend U2. Yes, I think the letter is shiet.


a repost from another thread...

Any fool could have seen this debacle coming from 1000 miles away. U2.com has a history of being crap.

I however am not too disturbed. And I got screwed out of the pre-sale by it all happening at a bad time. No cash for the presale due to some other bad financial stuff.

Do I blame U2 for what has happend? Of course not. U2 does things to accomodate their fans that alot of bands do not. Being able to in some situations guarantee good tickets to their fans is a hard thing to do. U2 has a management team, they have people who handle all of this and these things cost money. Who pays the staff's salaries? I don't think U2 is charging this to make extra money but to cover expenses and yes, make sure it doesn't cut into the profit line.

Big deal. You didn't HAVE to buy the Premium membership for $40. You can attempt to buy tickets like the rest of the world when the General Sale occurs. That REALLY is the only supposed benefit of the U2.com Premium mebership. And common sense should have told you there are no guarantees. Anyone that has tried to buy tickets online for a presale should know this.

If you don't like it, you don't have to partake in it. U2 is still keeping ticket prices reasonable for a band of their caliber. $50 for the best seats (GA) is a great price for a band like U2.

The ending of Propaganda was the end of an era and it should be mourned. Most of us knew in our hearts that it would not be anywhere as cool and guaranteed as Propaganda.

Shit happens. Things change. This is life. Seeing a U2 show is not a God given right. It has now become IMPOSSIBLE for U2 to guarantee every fan has a chance to see them. Scalpers obviously subscribed to U2.com. Did U2 have the ability to stop that?

Stop bitching about things you have no control over. This is not your fault, it is not U2's fault. It is just life in a world where U2 is the most popular band with a huge fan base that insists on playing tiny arenas.

I think it is LAME and so FAIR-WEATHERED fan to blame U2 for this. They didnt MAKE you buy the U2.com membership.

I for one am sick of the U2 backlash and wanted to say something about it.

And no, I don't have tickets and don't expect to end up with any unless a fan ends up with an extra one and sells me one at face value.

Oh well. I am an adult. I will deal with it. This is a reality of U2 fanhood in the new millenium. We can't ALL see them when they choose to play arenas.

Deal with it.
 
jick said:
While I have been somewhat defending U2's actions in the past, if there really was a wrong committed I think it would be unfair to blame "management" or the ones running the website for being incompetent. If something's not right with U2, then it IS U2. The blame should fall squarely on them because they ultimately call the shots, not their "team."

It's kinda like the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, the ones who take the heat are directly the top level people - Bush and Rumsfeld, even if they may not have been the ones to actually perpetrate the crimes.

If there was a wrong, U2 should be blamed.

Cheers,

J
Click to expand...

Wow from U2's ticket fiasco to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in the space of a few sentences. Great choice of comparison, I like it heheh.
 
MrBrau1 said:
Have you all requested refunds?
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Mr. Brau, I called Fanfire at 11am Central Time this morning to request a full refund and I was denied by the supivisor on the phone with me, Diane. I was on the phone with her 15 minutes and she would not make any concessions for all the problems, from the ticket problems, to the unsent items, to the U2.com forum glitches.
 
Damn U2. I've been defending them for the longest time. But this is it.

What's wrong Bono, Edge, Larry and Adam? Too incompetent to know what is going on around you? Or are you just trying to squeeze as much money as possible out of your fans?

120$ mill net worth is not enough? I expected this type of greedyness from bands like the Rolling Stones but not from you.


The old U2 are dead.
 
U2LA, I disagree.

There are 4 men, 5 if you include Paul, at the top of the U2 ladder.

They ARE ultimately responsible because it is ultimately their decision on how their product(music, fanclub, ticket sale, merchandising, etc.) comes across to their consumers. They did make the decision to let this half-ass company run their fanclub. It has made nothing but bad decisions and errors since its inception.

We were falsely promised priority tickets. While most of us are able to get seats, they were not the best seats, nor were there enough alotted for this presale.

Demand should have been anticipated.
 
*claps* that was well written and I'm starting to feel the same sentiment especially with what happend today with most.
 
the buisiness is important to who? you (nor I) can go into U2's heads and know what they're thinking, how do you (or anyone) know what REALLY caused these problems. yeah, ultimately, sure you can say its U2's fault, for not being as careful with everything, as they should have. but we should be happy with what we DO have.
 
All I can say is once all you fair-weathered fans who think U2 is a business leave, U2 will once again be a novelty for the fans who truly appreciate them and have diehard commitment and dont have a heart attack the firs ttime we dont get what we want.
 
I hope the mainstream music media finds out about this fiasco and lets the whole world know. I'm beginning to think public humiliation and bad P.R. is the only way U2 is going to do anything to make amends and keep their most loyal fans from getting screwed over. What makes me mad is it should never have had to come to that. What the hell was U2 thinking letting Ticketbastard have anything to do with the presale? :mad: :madspit: Everyone knows that company is the spawn of Satan.
 
namkcuR said:
LINK HERE
In the last few years, I feel you've changed, and this was hammered home completely today.
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I've been a fan for nearly 24 years and I don't think they have changed at all in how they approach their careers. I have remained a fan for all these years because I love U2's music. I don't begrudge them their fame and wealth. They have worked hard for it. But since the beginning the U2 organization has been about one thing and one thing only - to be the biggest band in the world both musically and economically. Please don't kid yourselves about this. They have always been marketed in such a way as to increase their visibility and their CD and concert sales. Look at the whole Rattle and Hum extravaganza in 1988 and 1989. Concert movie, book, CD all hitting the market at once with the intention of elevating U2 to true superstar status. Of course, it ended up backfiring on them and creating a U2 backlash which resulted in the band having to 'dream it up all over again' and coming back a few years later with ZooTV.

I honestly believe that the band members themselves truly do appreciate each and every fan and are extremely grateful for the support. In the early years they were involved in every aspect of U2 from t-shirts to ticket sales. But as they have gotten bigger and bigger over the years and as their organization has increased in size, I think it has reached the point where the band just does not have much input into the business side of things, at least not nearly as much input as they used to have. I'm sure that they have final approval over things such as the ipod deal but I doubt that they get as involved in the day to day operations as they once did.

Which leaves things to Paul McGuinness and his staff. I have never thought much of McGuinness. I have always felt that he was a small-time manager who happened to latch onto the right band at the right time. I think that some of the missteps that U2 have made over the years (did I mention the Rattle and Hum overkill?) could have been prevented with a top-flight manager to guide them. But I seriously doubt McGuinness will ever step down as their manager and, unfortunately, U2 will not ever fire McGuinness who, as the head of their organization, is ultimately responsible for things such as ticket sales.

So to answer the question posed in the thread title - yes, I am going to defend U2 the band because they are still doing their part by making music I love. They should not be blamed for the actions of their organization led by McGuinness.
 
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Thats why U2 can prove to us the fans where there loyalty stands- to the fans or for the money- that is what this tour is all about, U2 CAN START A REVOLUTION- BONO, LARRY ADAM, THE EDGE- DO IT!!
 
Re: Re: You gonna keep defending the recent actions of U2 after reading this?

Zootomic said:
So to answer the question posed in the thread title - yes, I am going to defend U2 the band because they are still doing their part by making music I love. They should not be blamed for the actions of their organization led by McGuinness.
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U2 are more than just making music. They are a corporation. They should take the blame for any wrongdoings that may have been done against their fans. There is also the concept of wrongdoing by negligence or inaction. Clearly, U2 did not take any action to remedy the fiasco in their website membership. They just let it go, or perhpas they were even the ones who orchestrated it. No matter what, U2 should take the blame. If you think they just make music and let their team take care of the rest then you are dead wrong.

Cheers,

J
 
This is the response I emailed to U2.com this evening:

Count me among the thousands of disappointed fans who paid $40.00 of my hard-earned and was denied to chance to purchase ANY decent tickets this morning during the pre-sale.

I wonder if band management alloted more than a dozen tickets for the Madison Square Garden pre-sale. Judging by the overwhelming amount of responses from livid U2 paid subscribers I'm guessing the answer is no. It is, however, painfully clear who did get their hands on premium tickets - brokers, thanks to tour promoters providing them with an ample supply of the tickets that U2's paying fans were expecting to have access to this morning.

Since I'd expect hell to freeze over before getting my subscription cost refunded I'll simply say that U2's management has alienated a lot of the band's supporters, and that in turn will adversely affect revenue the band generates. Along those lines, you can count me among the thousands of disappointed fans whose subscription will not be renewed.
 
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Spiral_Staircase said:
I know I should probably just keep my mouth shut, but I guess I'll comment anyway.

I was a Propaganda subscriber who only got 2 issues of the magazine, never got a letter and discounted u2.com membership. I e-mailed u2.com and fanfire for 2 months and got nowhere. Finally I sucked it up and payed the $40 on sunday. They I found out on Monday that they haven't announced a date in Minneapolis (where I live). So my only option is to go for Chicago. I wanted GA tickets and didn't get them. All this was rather disappointing.

But...

I knew what I was getting in to when I shelled out my $40. Yeah, I wasn't really interested in any of the u2.com content, but that's my problem, not the website's. The one thing I was interested in was priority ticketing. As disappointed as I was with this morning's events, the fact of the matter is that I got the priority ticketing I was promised. I can log on to ticketmaster right now and buy tickets to see U2. Everybody else has to wait until saturday when the shows may sell out and people will be left standing outside venue. I can grab a spot inside right now if I want it. That's what we were promised, along with a u2.com e-mail address, some crappy plastic card, and some bonus downloadable content. That's what we got.

I don't know if U2 has changed or not. I still see these pictures of Bono giving fans rides in his car around Dublin. I hear stories of the boys going out of their way to greet fans. It seems like they still want to connect with fans. But I can't say for sure.

I'm certainly disappointed with u2.com. ...But Propaganda was about the most backward organization I've ever seen, and I can't blame U2 for trying to get into the age of the interweb. Unfortunately it turned out to be a train wreck.


-Spiral
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I really agree with you, Spiral. I have had exactly the same experience; I could have written this.

I have somewhat of a unique perspective on this in that I work for an organization that brings well-known writers to town for readings. Since it's a small city that doesn't get a lot of excitement, these readings are hugely popular. The venue holds 850 people and they always sell out. We're non-profit so we don't make any money on these events and we even give away for FREE a couple of hundred tickets to schools because we view these events more as educational, getting students excited about literature, rather than providing entertainment for the public. You would not believe the hate mail we get when an event sells out quickly and someone doesn't get a ticket. We don't sell the tickets; the venue and ticketmaster sell them for us. But today--just about an hour after my own U2 ticket nightmare experience--a woman shows up at our office accusing us of selling tickets in an unethical way. Why? Because she didn't get a ticket. I happened to be the one who answered the door and had to deal with this. There is an event tomorrow night with a hugely famous person; tickets sold out in 30 minutes and she didn't get one so we must have an unethical approach to ticket sales. We have had elderly people call and yell at us because we give priority to students instead of the elderly. If we bring a writer from another country, we get yelled at from every person in town from that country who did not get a ticket; somehow, we should have set aside x amount of tickets to have on hand for these unknown people. We get accused of holding back tickets and giving them to all of our friends (in truth, each staff member gets exactly one guest ticket, and there are 10 people on staff). I mean, it's endless. When people get a ticket, they call and thank us for the wonderful work we do for the community. When they don't get a ticket, they accuse us of some conspiracy to keep certain people from getting tickets. So it was interesting being on the other side of things today in particular.

But of course this issue is more about the $40 people paid vs. what they got, but I agree with Spiral. They promised us an opportunity to buy tickets before every one else did and that's what we got. It's an imperfect system and supply doesn't equal demand.
 
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U2 was kidnapped by UFOS on the end of the last Popmart gig in SA, back there in 98. The aliens allowed them to record 2 magic songs after that (The Ground Beneath Her Feet & Stateless) and that was it.


They were soon replaced by humanoids and the results are ATYCLB, HTDAAB and the new U2 inc.

We get the shit, saturnians get a music revolution.

My cousin, who was kidnapped by aliens too, told me U2 is making a musical revolution in Saturn. They kept going from where Pop ended and created 2 albums since 2000 that are considered the best albums ever in Saturn.

Hope Nasa get in touch soon with the real U2...
 
I have no problem with anyone, U2 band members included, wanting to generate large amounts of revenue. That's nothing to apologize for. However, U2's management has done the band a huge disservice in light of today's pre-sale debacle. I don't blame Bono, Edge, Larry or Adam, but there are obviously people in their employ whose actions will negatively impact the band's reputation and future earnings, and it would serve U2 well to address this matter quickly.

James
 
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lb for lb Bono and his mates are the best that your concert dollar can buy.

so
stop
your
sniveling
:angry:



thank u

db9
poor guys have took the heat from the sun..
 
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A couple thoughts:

1. REM, DMB and Pearl Jam aren't nearly as big a draw as U2 is. Period. There are going to be problems with a band that has the fan base that U2 does.

2. I would guess that extra shows will be announced on Saturday. I know there ain't nobody else who's gonna be using the FleetCenter the last week in May...
 
U2_Guy said:
U2 was kidnapped by UFOS on the end of the last Popmart gig in SA, back there in 98. The aliens allowed them to record 2 magic songs after that (The Ground Beneath Her Feet & Stateless) and that was it.


They were soon replaced by humanoids and the results are ATYCLB, HTDAAB and the new U2 inc.

We get the shit, saturnians get a music revolution.

My cousin, who was kidnapped by aliens too, told me U2 is making a musical revolution in Saturn. They kept going from where Pop ended and created 2 albums since 2000 that are considered the best albums ever in Saturn.

Hope Nasa get in touch soon with the real U2...
Click to expand...

:lmao:
 
Flying FuManchu said:


U2 has always been a business from day 1, just as every other band out there. The few exceptions (if there are any) is your local church band or personal garage band...
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Why don't people get this? Like back in 85 they gave tickets away for free?
 
miss becky said:


In one of those "I don't effing believe this" moments, I actually got my keychain in the mail today. And I signed up for the site the very day it went online.
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me too, completely surreal...
 
U2LA said:
All I can say is once all you fair-weathered fans who think U2 is a business leave, U2 will once again be a novelty for the fans who truly appreciate them and have diehard commitment and dont have a heart attack the firs ttime we dont get what we want.
Click to expand...

Wow...you speak for all non "fair-weathered fans" even "like" the ones who have been there for over 20 years?

THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING FOR ALL OF THE NON-FAIR WEATHER FANS

EXTREME SARCASM INTENDED
 
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