The "Apple Stunt"

[CosmoKramer]

Here is my take: Thin line to walk but in the end, brilliant move.

In 2009, U2 sold ~4.5 million albums worldwide. Its fair to say that people illegally downloaded their songs and listened to them on YouTube but at the end of the day, they got their product in the hands of 4.5 million people over a 12 month period. The fact that as an "older" band, it is harder (not impossible by any means) to get radio play on top 40 stations, makes reaching new fans very difficult. So in the age of Justine Beiber/Miley Cirus, how do you reach a new audience? How do you get in front of people who never heard of you(true irrelevance)?

U2 found a way and in the end it's a win win. As I mentioned, they got their product in the hands of 4.5 million people in 12 months, most of whom were already U2 fans (I bought 2 copies myself, shit, Interference alone probably accounted for 2 million in sales). They didn't really expand their audience and if they did it was by very little.

But on Tuesday, they cracked a code(perhaps not THE code but a code), they got their product in the hands of 500 million people in 5 seconds.

And I have news for you...it worked. Yes, we all read the tweets, You Tube Comments and comment section of various blogs about "I'm pissed that I have this trash" or "why was this old ass band forced upon me". Guess what folks, the fact that these people got a FREE album from a major artist and are making these comments mean U2 would have never gotten them anyway(give me a free Madonna or Prince album and if I don't like it, Ill just remove it).

But the people who genuinely don't know U2, kids or young adults or even some older adults will listen to it and some WILL like it and WILL be turned on to U2.

Us diehards or even general fans don't care, we love U2 and we love free, so free U2 is going to go over well with us.

People who don't like U2 like free but then there is that whole U2 part, so they will delete it and so be it.

but people who never knew of U2 will now have it handed to them to try and some will hate it and some will like it and THAT is the goldmine U2 wanted in order to extend their legacy.

If just 10% of people don't delete the album and actually listen to the songs! thats 50 million people.....50 MILLION! Who are not just listening to your lead single but your full album. If U2 can gain even just 5 million new fans, thats 5 million people who will discover the Live Aid performance...Joshua Tree...Achtung Baby....ZooTV....the 2002 Super Bowl performance. They may potentially create a whole new generation of fans.

I end with this.....I read a review on iTunes. It was from someone named Edgar Garcia who wrote something along the lines of "Never heard of this band but glad I was given this album because I really liked it. I will for sure check out their other stuff."

It may have been a fake review and or it might be the only person that writes that type of comment for all I know but thats 1 and Edgar was the reason U2 did this(I hope someone can find that review and take a screen shot because it is what this Apple thing was all about).

By the way, when I said win win, this is a huge win for Apple. They just pulled off getting a major artist to distribute their album exclusively via Apple...no record company needed....hmmmm.....perhaps a new industry business model is being created(who needs a label when you can get free advertising from Apple and an audience of 500 million plus???)


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[MrPryck2U]

 

[prbiker15]

This definitely was a win-win for U2. I don't think it can get any bigger than this.

 

[achtungbabe]

I'm a senior in high school, so I'm part of the generation that for the most part is not full of U2 fans. There were quite a few people streaming the iPhone 6 broadcast or whatever you want to call it. I watched the first few minutes (unfortunately I was occupied when U2 came on, and thus didn't hear about the album until hours later) but I know several people watched it all. After school yesterday this freshman kid came up to me and started talking about "this new album" that "Apple put on my phone for me" and how it was "pretty good" and he'd "listen to it again." If that's not success in reaching the younger generation, I don't know what is.

 

[LadySpinHead]

I'm a senior in high school, so I'm part of the generation that for the most part is not full of U2 fans. There were quite a few people streaming the iPhone 6 broadcast or whatever you want to call it. I watched the first few minutes (unfortunately I was occupied when U2 came on, and thus didn't hear about the album until hours later) but I know several people watched it all. After school yesterday this freshman kid came up to me and started talking about "this new album" that "Apple put on my phone for me" and how it was "pretty good" and he'd "listen to it again." If that's not success in reaching the younger generation, I don't know what is.

It worked!

 

[RoKKeR]

Great post, agreed with a lot of your points.

I'm a senior in high school, so I'm part of the generation that for the most part is not full of U2 fans. There were quite a few people streaming the iPhone 6 broadcast or whatever you want to call it. I watched the first few minutes (unfortunately I was occupied when U2 came on, and thus didn't hear about the album until hours later) but I know several people watched it all. After school yesterday this freshman kid came up to me and started talking about "this new album" that "Apple put on my phone for me" and how it was "pretty good" and he'd "listen to it again." If that's not success in reaching the younger generation, I don't know what is.

Holy shit, I think I've found somebody on this board younger than me. What!?

What up fellow 90's kid!

 

[Gilead12]

~200,000 in the first 24 hrs

Is this good?

I guess this strategy isn't the kind of thing you can measure on a short time frame.

 

[Afliktor]

But on Tuesday, they cracked a code(perhaps not THE code but a code), they got their product in the hands of 500 million people in 5 seconds.

And I have news for you...it worked. Yes, we all read the tweets, You Tube Comments and comment section of various blogs about "I'm pissed that I have this trash" or "why was this old ass band forced upon me". Guess what folks, the fact that these people got a FREE album from a major artist and are making these comments mean U2 would have never gotten them anyway(give me a free Madonna or Prince album and if I don't like it, Ill just remove it).

But the people who genuinely don't know U2, kids or young adults or even some older adults will listen to it and some WILL like it and WILL be turned on to U2.

Us diehards or even general fans don't care, we love U2 and we love free, so free U2 is going to go over well with us.

People who don't like U2 like free but then there is that whole U2 part, so they will delete it and so be it.

but people who never knew of U2 will now have it handed to them to try and some will hate it and some will like it and THAT is the goldmine U2 wanted in order to extend their legacy.

If just 10% of people don't delete the album and actually listen to the songs! thats 50 million people.....50 MILLION! Who are not just listening to your lead single but your full album. If U2 can gain even just 5 million new fans, thats 5 million people who will discover the Live Aid performance...Joshua Tree...Achtung Baby....ZooTV....the 2002 Super Bowl performance. They may potentially create a whole new generation of fans.

Couldn't agree more. What they did is actually rather extraordinary in an over-saturated music market - while the internet is a great marketing tool, it's really more of a curse than a blessing for most musicians. There is not only an infinite amount of music out there, but it's pretty much all available for free, whether illegally, through sites like Soundcloud and Bandcamp, or streaming (which gives the artists very, very little compensation). That makes it quite difficult to get your music heard. Freedom looks like too many choices. Getting your music to 500 million people in 5 seconds is groundbreaking.

Also keep in mind that internet reviews are inherently biased. People are much more likely to comment about something if they feel very strongly about it, whether love or hate. You're not going to get as many comments that say "This album is pretty good," most are either going to be angry or gushing. But those people who just kind of like the album have the potential to become diehards, as CosmoKramer pointed out.

 

[prbiker15]

~200,000 in the first 24 hrs



Is this good?



I guess this strategy isn't the kind of thing you can measure on a short time frame.

It was downloaded 200,000 times in the U.S., per that Billboard article, so there should be more downloads elsewhere.

 

[achtungbabe]

Great post, agreed with a lot of your points.



Holy shit, I think I've found somebody on this board younger than me. What!?

What up fellow 90's kid!

Heyyy haha December of '96 here, wouldn't really call myself a 90s kid because I don't remember a second of it! How old are you? I've long suspected I'm one of, if not the, youngest people on here, haha. Not that I've been here for long....

 

[LyricalDrug]

It's very nice to see my favorite band get their new album in so many people's ears, immediately, for free - it was a clever, creative idea.

The cynic in me thinks that if they'd released this album normally, it would have done extremely poorly. Worse than NLOTH, by far. Why? Well, the state of the music industry, for one. Two, there are no hits on this album. There won't be any songs that even really chart, is my prediction. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and I applaud the band for making music they want to make, I suppose.

Did the band get spooked, realize there were no hit singles, and decide to give it away for free? Maybe. This way, they can brag about it having record download numbers, and any sales figures down the road will be "invalid" due to the unique distribution format. Paul McGuinness would be proud.

 

[mikal]

I really don't have much to add other than the fact that I got much joy reading all the angry tweets about the album showing up in their iTunes. Made the album continue to trend.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Sergiodino]

Worldwide iTunes Performance

 

[prbiker15]

Worldwide iTunes Performance

I'm surprised they even show up on that list.

 

[achtungbabe]

I really don't have much to add other than the fact that I got much joy reading all the angry tweets about the album showing up in their iTunes. Made the album continue to trend.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

Yeah, that was kind of funny. Today I had fun telling a bunch of fellow teenagers to go listen to U2's new album, getting muttered replies about how they aren't going to pay for it, and then showing them that it is literally already on their phone. Their faces were just bewildered. It was hilarious.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[ozeeko]

If this is working then good on them. Obviously I thought it was a bad idea but then again I'm an unsuccessful songwriter so what do I know

I've grown weary of these big release strategies, but I guess it's necessary in this A.D.D. culture we live in. The romantic in me would've loved to have them just release a song without all the bells and whistles and have it go viral just based on its awesomeness. Easier said than done.

 

[CosmoKramer]

I'm surprised they even show up on that list.

It might be due to all of their catalog being discounted (it is here in the US) combined with the exposure they have been getting from the SOI release. I mean, Joshua Tree is number 1 in Poland!

The impact of this release is pretty wide in scope. for them to be ahead of One Direction (hottest thing going ing today) on ITunes WW chart is relevance and that was their goal!


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference

 

[prbiker15]

They're going to have to do U2360°: Part II.

 

[Scrumtralescent]

Another thing that's cool about this strategy is how it has likely reached the more casual U2 fans. I know several people personally, who, if the album was released traditionally, would likely never buy it, at most they might download it illegally and forget about it, but because it was delivered free via iTunes they downloaded it and checked it out (and the reviews are positive.)

 

[CosmoKramer]

It might be due to all of their catalog being discounted (it is here in the US) combined with the exposure they have been getting from the SOI release. I mean, Joshua Tree is number 1 in Poland!

The impact of this release is pretty wide in scope. for them to be ahead of One Direction (hottest thing going ing today) on ITunes WW chart is relevance and that was their goal!


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference

Heck...Joshua Tree is #35 in the US...lol

Joshua Tree is going to re-chart in the billboard 200 next week!


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference

 

[Yahweh]

All of U2s back catalog are putting them where they are if you look at the numbers many of them have went up 2000 places.

This move is paying off in the early stages even for stuff that is being charged for.

 

[prbiker15]

I'm sure they're loving this.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Hey, one more thought about this Apple stunt.....what if the "agreement" extends into the tour and all of a sudden we are getting live albums weekly(a-la Pearl Jam)?

Perhaps a show from each continent/country that only goes on sale in that territories iTunes? If U2 do this and multiple live albums, maybe they purposely shake up the setlist and start opening shows with Streets or closing with 40 or bring back Do You Feel loved!


Oh, the possibilities are endless...........this might be a huge content opportunity for us fans!




Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference

 

[RobertWiscy]

Here is my take: Thin line to walk but in the end, brilliant move.

In 2009, U2 sold ~4.5 million albums worldwide. Its fair to say that people illegally downloaded their songs and listened to them on YouTube but at the end of the day, they got their product in the hands of 4.5 million people over a 12 month period. The fact that as an "older" band, it is harder (not impossible by any means) to get radio play on top 40 stations, makes reaching new fans very difficult. So in the age of Justine Beiber/Miley Cirus, how do you reach a new audience? How do you get in front of people who never heard of you(true irrelevance)?

U2 found a way and in the end it's a win win. As I mentioned, they got their product in the hands of 4.5 million people in 12 months, most of whom were already U2 fans (I bought 2 copies myself, shit, Interference alone probably accounted for 2 million in sales). They didn't really expand their audience and if they did it was by very little.

But on Tuesday, they cracked a code(perhaps not THE code but a code), they got their product in the hands of 500 million people in 5 seconds.

And I have news for you...it worked. Yes, we all read the tweets, You Tube Comments and comment section of various blogs about "I'm pissed that I have this trash" or "why was this old ass band forced upon me". Guess what folks, the fact that these people got a FREE album from a major artist and are making these comments mean U2 would have never gotten them anyway(give me a free Madonna or Prince album and if I don't like it, Ill just remove it).

But the people who genuinely don't know U2, kids or young adults or even some older adults will listen to it and some WILL like it and WILL be turned on to U2.

Us diehards or even general fans don't care, we love U2 and we love free, so free U2 is going to go over well with us.

People who don't like U2 like free but then there is that whole U2 part, so they will delete it and so be it.

but people who never knew of U2 will now have it handed to them to try and some will hate it and some will like it and THAT is the goldmine U2 wanted in order to extend their legacy.

If just 10% of people don't delete the album and actually listen to the songs! thats 50 million people.....50 MILLION! Who are not just listening to your lead single but your full album. If U2 can gain even just 5 million new fans, thats 5 million people who will discover the Live Aid performance...Joshua Tree...Achtung Baby....ZooTV....the 2002 Super Bowl performance. They may potentially create a whole new generation of fans.

I end with this.....I read a review on iTunes. It was from someone named Edgar Garcia who wrote something along the lines of "Never heard of this band but glad I was given this album because I really liked it. I will for sure check out their other stuff."

It may have been a fake review and or it might be the only person that writes that type of comment for all I know but thats 1 and Edgar was the reason U2 did this(I hope someone can find that review and take a screen shot because it is what this Apple thing was all about).

By the way, when I said win win, this is a huge win for Apple. They just pulled off getting a major artist to distribute their album exclusively via Apple...no record company needed....hmmmm.....perhaps a new industry business model is being created(who needs a label when you can get free advertising from Apple and an audience of 500 million plus???)


Sent from my iPad using U2 Interference

Bam. You nailed it with this spot-on analysis. And I wonder if SoE will *not* be released free to a half-billion people for the same reason? But your main thesis about reaching a huge new potential audience is right on.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using U2 Interference mobile app

 

[RobertWiscy]

Heyyy haha December of '96 here, wouldn't really call myself a 90s kid because I don't remember a second of it! How old are you? I've long suspected I'm one of, if not the, youngest people on here, haha. Not that I've been here for long....

Would love to hear your opinions of U2's early stuff, i.e. the first three albums, made when they were not much older than you are now.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using U2 Interference mobile app

 

[nbelcik]

Heyyy haha December of '96 here, wouldn't really call myself a 90s kid because I don't remember a second of it! How old are you? I've long suspected I'm one of, if not the, youngest people on here, haha. Not that I've been here for long....

We're pretty close in age. I was born April of 95 and I'm a sophomore in college.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[cjboog]

I think you're absolutely right. This is smart. Once the announcement was made, all the casual U2 fans I know were texting me.

The tweets are harsh but active Twitter users ranting about free albums in their iTunes are not important. U2 was never going to win them, as you said, but they also are not representative of the general public and what the average fans and even non-fans think about this album.

My gut tells me SOI won't get the glowing critic reviews of some of their past albums (U2 bashers are becoming increasingly loud), but everyday fans and people will enjoy the album more than NLOTH, for example. The album has 8,462 reviews on iTunes right now (high for an iTunes album) and has a 4.5/5 rating so far - a significant number of the 1 star ratings are fans angry about not being able to download it. I think that's a pretty good temperature of people who might have any interest in the album - regular people who listen to it are finding it to be sounding fresh and colorful and the release strategy will guarantee millions of more people hear the music than otherwise would.

 

[RobertWiscy]

You gotta love the people bitching about getting something for free. LMAO

Sent from my SPH-L720T using U2 Interference mobile app

 

[RoKKeR]

Heyyy haha December of '96 here, wouldn't really call myself a 90s kid because I don't remember a second of it! How old are you? I've long suspected I'm one of, if not the, youngest people on here, haha. Not that I've been here for long....

Summer of 94 here so just ticked over to 20! Sophmore in college currently.

Sent from my HTC One using U2 Interference mobile app

 

[nbelcik]

Summer of 94 here so just ticked over to 20! Sophmore in college currently.

Sent from my HTC One using U2 Interference mobile app

What school? I go to the University of Oregon


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference