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"Bomb" Away: U2 Piracy Nightmare
by Charlie Amter
Nov 9, 2004, 8:45 AM PT
This isn't the kind of bomb U2 expected to be dropped.
Pirated copies of the Irish group's forthcoming How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb hit file-sharing sites late last week--some two weeks before disc's official release date.
The disc has long been scheduled to drop Nov. 23.
Paul McGuinness, the band's manager, is reportedly in high-level discussions this week with both the band's label, Interscope, and Apple iTunes executives in an effort to possibly move up the album's release date to stave off wholesale looting of the band's 11th studio record.
The move would certainly not be an unprecedented one this fall. Several high-profile fourth-quarter releases have already seen their release dates moved up due to piracy concerns.
Eminem's new release, Encore, was just moved up four days, to Nov. 12; shortly thereafter, Geffen Records announced it was bumping up Snoop Dogg's new album, R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece, one week, to Nov. 16.
While cursory searches of several file-sharing sites have so far failed to turn up any Snoop or Eminem tracks (the latter's two new singles notwithstanding), there are now several new U2 songs in circulation.
Aside from the lead single "Vertigo," at least two other cuts--"City of Blinding Lights" and "Miracle Drug"--are making the rounds on the Web to the consternation of record execs but to the delight of fans, who can't wait to get a hold of the new (and by all accounts stellar) material. The music represents the band's first new studio set in nearly four years, and those who have heard the disc are already saying it is the band's best work since The Joshua Tree.
Earlier this year, the band reported the theft of an early, unfinished version of Atomic Bomb while the band was recording in France. Whether or not that MIA disc represents the source of the Internet leak is not clear.
After the France July theft, Bono said he would rush-release the album online to counteract piracy.
"If it is on the Internet this week," he said, "we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops [as soon as possible]…Once it's out, it's out."
Such a move could compromise the U2's carefully orchestrated promotional schedule.
The band's music is already getting crucial prime-time exposure via Apple's ubiquitous iTunes spots featuring "Vertigo" and a new black U2 iPod is due in stores later this month. Meanwhile, the Grammy winners' music has been appearing on CSI and The O.C. and the group is confirmed as the Nov. 20 musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
--E! Online
by Charlie Amter
Nov 9, 2004, 8:45 AM PT
This isn't the kind of bomb U2 expected to be dropped.
Pirated copies of the Irish group's forthcoming How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb hit file-sharing sites late last week--some two weeks before disc's official release date.
The disc has long been scheduled to drop Nov. 23.
Paul McGuinness, the band's manager, is reportedly in high-level discussions this week with both the band's label, Interscope, and Apple iTunes executives in an effort to possibly move up the album's release date to stave off wholesale looting of the band's 11th studio record.
The move would certainly not be an unprecedented one this fall. Several high-profile fourth-quarter releases have already seen their release dates moved up due to piracy concerns.
Eminem's new release, Encore, was just moved up four days, to Nov. 12; shortly thereafter, Geffen Records announced it was bumping up Snoop Dogg's new album, R&G (Rhythm & Gangsta): The Masterpiece, one week, to Nov. 16.
While cursory searches of several file-sharing sites have so far failed to turn up any Snoop or Eminem tracks (the latter's two new singles notwithstanding), there are now several new U2 songs in circulation.
Aside from the lead single "Vertigo," at least two other cuts--"City of Blinding Lights" and "Miracle Drug"--are making the rounds on the Web to the consternation of record execs but to the delight of fans, who can't wait to get a hold of the new (and by all accounts stellar) material. The music represents the band's first new studio set in nearly four years, and those who have heard the disc are already saying it is the band's best work since The Joshua Tree.
Earlier this year, the band reported the theft of an early, unfinished version of Atomic Bomb while the band was recording in France. Whether or not that MIA disc represents the source of the Internet leak is not clear.
After the France July theft, Bono said he would rush-release the album online to counteract piracy.
"If it is on the Internet this week," he said, "we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops [as soon as possible]…Once it's out, it's out."
Such a move could compromise the U2's carefully orchestrated promotional schedule.
The band's music is already getting crucial prime-time exposure via Apple's ubiquitous iTunes spots featuring "Vertigo" and a new black U2 iPod is due in stores later this month. Meanwhile, the Grammy winners' music has been appearing on CSI and The O.C. and the group is confirmed as the Nov. 20 musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
--E! Online
...they rock
