Here are a few of my thoughts on U2s music strategy. Firstly, I think they dont want the album to be unfairly judged on the back of one or two tracks. I think they want people to have access to the whole thing so they can experience it and may be fall in love with it. Secondly, I think it must be as good as what they say it is. I hated Auctung Baby. But years later came around to see it as a very fine album. Im doubtful Songs of .... Too preachy of a title ... will serve me tho.. Im a poor man. I dont need a billionaire musician to tell me to cheer up and help the poor. I am the poor. But thats ok. Thirdly, the power of any product is its ability to tease you to want it. Its like your life is incomplete without it. This strategy just says here it is. A generous act on their part, but Im afraid people dont respect what they are given. They are consumers after all and all consumption is ultimately driven by envy and jealousy. You and I want to be driven by envy and the need to have something someone else doesnt have or driven by identity and association and the need to belong to a tribe. We want to be part of the in crowd. Giving it to everyone means you cant sell it to anyone. There in lies the problem. You are not able to make me want it. If it is a thing of beauty, I think people will want it. Lastly, we are living in the dying embers of the hipster revolution. Hipsters cant piss off quick enough for me. They are ruining everything in an attempt to save everything. One of those things is rock and roll. Hipsters and hip hoppers and women artists are driving sales at the moment and rock acts just cant get a grip on sales. It doesnt help rock and rolls cause that most rock fans, men between 25 and 55, are the worst down loaders of illegal music. Thats right it is no surprise that the least generous and least integrity oriented segment of society is men between 25 and 55. I got my hands up :( thats me. U2 is a rock and roll band. They tried to do the Jaycee and Kanye thing to win over hippy hoppers and tried to do the Beyoncé and Alesia Keyes thing to win over women and have tried to be the grandfathers of hipster music - moody hipsters who are all about authenticity and no showiness. Yet U2 are caught up in the perception of a billionaire life style with more money they could ever dream of having. Thats anti hipster. Hipsters for all the things I hate about them do like frugality and living sustainably. Thats not a rock and roll value. Rock and roll is about Liberace, Elvis, and reckless selfish living. Anyway, what I would say is to all the skeptics and cynics of U2 ....stop being jealous and envious. People love them. Do something that would make people love you too. (See what I did there) Who the hell am I? My comments are of zero consequence or value. Just speaking my mind.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 09:57:10 +0000
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