U2 still have 3 albums to do in their latest contract with Universal. Or wait, is it Live Nation now? I know Live Nation handles the touring, but did they take over the record deal from Universal?
No.
U2 have no albums "to do" at all - ever. And they would never sign a recording contract that somehow required that. And what label in their right mind would give an advance for music when so few people still buy music? Nobody is on the hook here as far as future obligations that can't be met. The only obligation here is for if/when an artist DOES decide to put out new music.
Translation - those 'advance' recording contracts don't exist anywhere anymore. And they never did w/U2. Madonna got an advance in her Live Nation deal but she included her music. U2 didn't do that. And in any case, Madonna's advance from LN, like U2's, is all about touring.
There are lots of topic covered here on the last two pages...
First of all, Seagram purchased Polygram which was then bought by Universal in 1998 and IIRC, the old U2 deal from circa '93 was restructured and it included the 'three compilations' as adding value to to the Polygram side of things. I don't remember what U2 got in return, but whatever. U218 fulfilled it. Their move from Mercury to Island was around this time too. 2006. The bottom line is, this deal doesn't matter anymore.
The only obligations U2 would have today (if any) are on the touring side of things. Their Live Nation deal doesn't have anything to do with the music. They were promised something like $25 million - and were paid in stock (prior to 360). It was reportedly 1.6 million shares according to one report I just read in the atu2 archive. So they would be on the hook to Live Nation for $25 million. Although U2 might have taken less than Madonna (she got something like $100 million) for two reasons. 1) Unlike Madonna, they didn't fork over ANY music content. 2) They were paid in equity/stock, worth $25 million in late 2008, it might be worth more today, five years later and beyond.
So there is a question of what is exactly owed to whom in that deal. So while U2 toured 360 and surely Live Nation made a boatload of cash from it (at least $25 million?), any future obligations are...who knows? These particulars would only be known by people that have seen the actual contract.
My gut tells me that regardless, U2 are going to tour one more time 2015/2016 and given the expiration of that Live Nation deal (expires in 2020), that's probably one more gigantic tour. You could probably take that much to the bank. (plus a new album too, anyhow). That Live Nation deal is for YEARS - not tours. And considering how much money 360 made overall - you might even speculate Live Nation has been paid back $25 million already - the advance. Maybe, hard to say.
The moral to the story is - we don't know what they might owe to Live Nation, if anything. But they certainly owe nothing to their record label. Again, U2 wouldn't be given an advance by their label and weren't. It seems this has to be repeated every 60 days or so around here.
Common sense. If two members died tomorrow, is Universal (Interscope/Island) going to force the two surviving members to hire two news guys and make new music as "U2"? No. They can't be obligated to provide that kind of future content. It's just that IF they do decide to make new music, they are contracted to do it under the Universal umbrella.
In this respect, U2 don't owe one more new song to anyone, ever again. Why would U2 do a deal like that...forget that, why would these labels do such a deal? They wouldn't, not anymore. Not in an era where the #1 selling album in the U.S. sells 2 million copies. There is no real money being made here.
I'll be repeating this in...about August when someone else says "But U2 are contracted for three more albums! They can't quit!!!" They can quit yesterday. And the only obligation they might have is to Live Nation. And if so, and if they wanted to quit tomorrow - they would just sell the Live Nation stock, I would guess. Or there may be a clause where that stock reverts back to Live Nation at a certain point if X, Y and Z obligations aren't met. In other words, it might not even be 'real money' to U2 at this point. Just know one thing - Paul McG knew what the fuck he was doing when this contract was signed. U2 were always, even in the earliest days, more about controlling their own destiny than squeezing the most money they could get.
U2 can retire whenever they want. Regardless, we're clearly getting one more album and tour - and the stars are lining up so that they can truly, comfortably call it quits after this cycle, if they want to. I mean, I think they can call it quits today if they really wanted to and it wouldn't break them.
Just stop paying attention the album deals, folks. They mean nothing as far as whether U2 will continue to make new music.