Songs of Surrender - New album discussion - 6

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Just want to point out, the Cure’s re-release of Wish which would be one of the most anticipated re-releases of the last 10 years when you consider scarcity, second hand market activity etc was announced a few weeks ago and just got bumped back to 25 November from October 7. So a couple of things:

- this would have been a massive production run for the vinyl market
- it would have entered production queues months ago
- the delay of 7 weeks was announced today
- the Cure are easily a big enough band for the vinyl demographic to warrant some sort of prioritisation

Considering the size of the collection (40 songs would be a complex package, have 5 or so discs and consume lots of scarce raw materials), production run volumes, timing of the rumour delay, and similarity in terms of vinyl markets for the two artists I’d say it is only a small leap of logic to assume a u2 delay is related to this. They would know full well they aren’t a massive streaming artist and would make most of their money from touring and then physical sales, of which vinyl is now a major contributor. They would certainly be weighing up delaying a digital release if they thought people may not buy it if it’s been out for months before they can get a physical copy.
 
I would be very interested to see U2’s standalone physical sales for the last two records, considering SOI’s digital deployment and SOE’s ticket bundling.
 
I would be very interested to see U2’s standalone physical sales for the last two records, considering SOI’s digital deployment and SOE’s ticket bundling.


Yeah, totally. Their money for SOI definitely came mostly directly from Apple, and you’d never be able to trust the SOE data, but there is good info on trends in the industry, profit on vinyl sales and streaming for older rock acts.
 
Just want to point out, the Cure’s re-release of Wish which would be one of the most anticipated re-releases of the last 10 years when you consider scarcity, second hand market activity etc was announced a few weeks ago and just got bumped back to 25 November from October 7. So a couple of things:

- this would have been a massive production run for the vinyl market
- it would have entered production queues months ago
- the delay of 7 weeks was announced today
- the Cure are easily a big enough band for the vinyl demographic to warrant some sort of prioritisation

Considering the size of the collection (40 songs would be a complex package, have 5 or so discs and consume lots of scarce raw materials), production run volumes, timing of the rumour delay, and similarity in terms of vinyl markets for the two artists I’d say it is only a small leap of logic to assume a u2 delay is related to this. They would know full well they aren’t a massive streaming artist and would make most of their money from touring and then physical sales, of which vinyl is now a major contributor. They would certainly be weighing up delaying a digital release if they thought people may not buy it if it’s been out for months before they can get a physical copy.
Sir? Logic is not welcome here
 
I would be very interested to see U2’s standalone physical sales for the last two records, considering SOI’s digital deployment and SOE’s ticket bundling.
tootsie-roll-owl.gif
 
There's always a way for the band to excuse. COVID, war in the Ukraine, vinyl-issues....
Even revealing the tracklist for the u2.com fangift is too much asked...
 
There's always a way for the band to excuse. COVID, war in the Ukraine, vinyl-issues....
Even revealing the tracklist for the u2.com fangift is too much asked...



If you think the track list and release timing of the fan gift are anything to do with the band members I fear to think what your opinions are on Santa Claus or the easter bunny.

A band prepping two album releases and a major tour fronted with a very real supply issue is probably higher stakes than the fan gift, and I think connecting issues with the admin of their operation with key strategic decisions is fairly insightless.
 
Big if, but if it is true a delay is because they can’t produce vinyl until early next year, I’d like to see them split up the 40 songs into chunks and release mini albums periodically as digital teasers. They could even play a few live for each release as promotion. Imagine a hype your that is:

November 1 - Songs of Surrender 1: The Age of Innocence. 10 songs from the first 10 chapters of the book
December - songs of surrender 2: rocks hottest ticket. Next 10
January - songs of surrender 3: into experience. Next 10
Feb as vinyl release. The rest
 
I just don't believe that a band as big as U2, with the clout them and their label has, who work as slowly/predictably as they do, wouldn't have current vinyl delays (w/some contingency) built in to their release plan.
 
I just don't believe that a band as big as U2, with the clout them and their label has, who work as slowly/predictably as they do, wouldn't have current vinyl delays (w/some contingency) built in to their release plan.


Delays of 9-16 weeks just became 25 as of about a week ago. They would have had a few months factored in, but not 6 months
 
I understand that there's an issue with vinyl that is a bigger issue than previously anticipated, and I understand how this could impact the release of an album on vinyl, and I understand how itcould catch even a band as large as U2 off guard.

I simply don't care.

It's 2022. Drop the digital release. The people who care enough to buy the album on vinyl will buy it regardless of when you release it.
 
So, if the tour is already in reserve/booking venue phase for mid-2023 and delays are causing the album of re-worked material to likely be the only release preceding the tour...

Am I the only one worried the band that would never do a greatest hits tour sounds an awful lot like they're gearing up for a hits tour?

I think the only way out of that kind of disappointment is if we've all been duped and we actually get the Zoo-versary tour (Zoo.com or whatever you want to call it)
 
The days of this band getting a #1 album on the first week of sales are over. They’re not bundling albums with concert tickets anymore and it’s getting more and more difficult for veteran acts to make a dent in streaming. Time to stop chasing the masses, stop second-guessing and just release the damn thing.

But one can dream. :wink:
 
Yeah I've been wondering about this. The U2songs rumours indicate that the tour is still going ahead, or at least no news that it's been delayed like the albums.

U2songs has indicated that SoS may still get a digital release this autumn - I wonder if it's at all possible the same might happen for the new album in march 2023?

Otherwise, I wonder if the band may release a few singles of new material throughout the year to perform during the tour (which then end up on the new album)?

I really can't see the band doing a tour of only old material, especially if they have a new album that's actually finished but can't get released due to vinyl production issues...
 
I understand that there's an issue with vinyl that is a bigger issue than previously anticipated, and I understand how this could impact the release of an album on vinyl, and I understand how itcould catch even a band as large as U2 off guard.

I simply don't care.

It's 2022. Drop the digital release. The people who care enough to buy the album on vinyl will buy it regardless of when you release it.

This X's 1000

Also, pretty cool idea of a 4 stage release by Dan. I mean, it would be interesting and be somewhat newsworthy music sites. At least it would be something different.
 
This X's 1000



Also, pretty cool idea of a 4 stage release by Dan. I mean, it would be interesting and be somewhat newsworthy music sites. At least it would be something different.



Another plus would be the resultant continuous stream of content for them to amplify through the typical music news/social channels.

4 album reviews over 4 months = lots of HITS (of the website variety)
 
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I honestly don’t think they would derail and delay an thought-out album release and subsequent tour solely because of a vinyl production issue. It’s still for all practical purposes a niche market, and as said above, it’s not like those people are going to buy a CD instead of waiting for whenever the vinyl does wind up appearing—and they can always listen for free on Spotify/Apple Music/etc. in the interim.
 
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