this is an interesting article that has been mirrored at youtwo.net.
we all admire about the ability of the band to remain relevant, but is it practices like this that we are fans of? in my opinion things like this are, sadly, neccessary given the competition of the market and the attention span the target market is likely to give an 'aging' band.
the important thing to remember is such actions don't neccessarily contravene the ideals of U2, though in my opinion, they do walk the thin line that they talked about in popmart. it may be that the band had no choice however.
opinions?
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pssst: gravity pushes.
hmmm, nothing ground breaking really. i think the intent of all the TV appearances was pretty cool and more or less what is stated above. it is never the less interesting to see them talk about 'selling' U2 to a younger audience, especially as a band without a history. though it doesn't really elaborate on this too much i am wondering what peoples opinions are of this practice?March 27, 2002
From Advertising Age Magazine:
Mar 25, 2002 issue
Iovine learns U2's all about el-e-va-tion to a new demographic
Wayne Friedman
U2 HAS BEEN one band looking for elevation.
The band, around since the '80s, wanted to attract a new audience--a 12-to-18-year-old
audience-for its latest release, "All That You Can't Leave Behind" and build sales from
that demographic to make the album a hit.
Enter Jimmy lovine, chairman of Interscope Records and producer of earlier U2 albums.
Mr. lovine had one clear idea how to achieve the goal: make believe U2 was a new
band--with absolutely no history.
"It was one of the rare times that you could actually feel a marketing plan in the record
business," Mr. Iovine says.
U2 and Interscope had to do it differently--specifically, have a long-term plan-vs. the quick
hits of other musical releases. "We realized that this was an 18-month plan," says Steve
Berman, Interscope's senior executive of marketing and sales. "The key was how Jimmy
set the tone for marketing."
That tone included a number of high-profile TV performances--including halftime at last
month's Super Bowl, the National Basketball Association All-Star Game, "The Tonight
Show With Jay Leno" and "Late Show With David Letterman."
Perhaps the key was Viacom's MTV. Not only would there be videos--four different ones--
but U2 would do special appearances, such as a rooftop concert, a la the Beatles, during
MTV's "Total Request Live."
Mr. lovine "had a lot do with the band trying to shed their credibility fears," says Paul
Kremen, head of brand marketing for Interscope. "It harder to take a band that's been
around as long as U2 and make them relevant to 12-to-18-year-olds."
To target teens further, U2 also got involved with another Viacom unit, Paramount Pictures,
by including the band's third single, "Elevation," in the soundtrack of the summer 2001
movie "Tomb Raider."
All efforts helped U2 sell a sizable 4 million records in the U.S. and 11 million worldwide.
The band released four singles with the new album-"Beautiful Day," "Elevation," "Stuck in
a Moment You Can't Get Out" and "Walk On." Last month it won four Grammys as well.
we all admire about the ability of the band to remain relevant, but is it practices like this that we are fans of? in my opinion things like this are, sadly, neccessary given the competition of the market and the attention span the target market is likely to give an 'aging' band.
the important thing to remember is such actions don't neccessarily contravene the ideals of U2, though in my opinion, they do walk the thin line that they talked about in popmart. it may be that the band had no choice however.
opinions?
------------------
pssst: gravity pushes.