U2 Threatens to Release Album Early on iTunes

Uninvited Guest writes "After a rough cut of U2's latest unfinished album was stolen earlier this week, the band has vowed to release the entire album on iTunes if the music appears on P2P networks. Bono told the London Daily Telegraph, 'If it is on the Internet this week, we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops by the end of the month.' Is this the exact opposite of the Smashing Pumpkins' last album, which the band rushed to release on P2P networks, before it could hit the stores?"

Comments

sooo?

[the_argent]

If it's available for free on P2P networks, we'll make it available for people to buy online?

Just don't get that.........

Re:sooo?

[GlassHeart]

If it's available both legally and illegally, fans will be faced with the same old choice. History tells us that a good number still choose to buy.

However, if it's available only illegally, then a fan who wants to hear the album has no choice but to break the law. Having acquired the music, the fan will be less likely to pay for it when it is released legally.

Once you understand that this is not meant for the people who never would've paid for it, the logic becomes quite simple.

Re:sooo?

[EvilAlien]

There won't be any "real fans" until U2 has a chance to overhype and overplay their songs in conjunction with movie soundtracks.

Re:sooo?

[Vellmont]

What choice do they have if it gets to P2P before any other channel? If they didn't release it on iTunes the ONLY way to get it would be illegally through P2P. Many people that would have just bought the album (given no other choice) would take that route. On the other hand if they release it on iTunes you capture part of that DL market. They were obviously already going to release it on iTunes at a later date, so there's no compromise of distributor deals, etc.

In other words you can either compete with the black market, or just roll over and play dead. U2 has decided to compete.

Re:sooo?

[BlueCup]

What's sad is it's the "real" fans that are going to be hurt by this. The fans that care enough about only hearing the finished product... to me this is like U2 pissing on their fans, all in the interest of making a few extra bucks.

Re:sooo?

[Anonymous Coward]

No chance but to break the law? Are you serious. How about exercising the slightest bit of self-restraint and waiting another 2 weeks. Oh I forgot, there is nothing we shouldn't have for free and damnit we deserve it right? I feel sorry for you.

Re:sooo?

[Daleks]

to me this is like U2 pissing on their fans, all in the interest of making a few extra bucks.

They've done it before. You've heard their album Pop, haven't you?

Re:sooo?

[afidel]

Hmm, you forget:
Achtung baby, 1991 #10 on rolling stone readers alltime best albums list 2002, #62 on the editors top top 500 alltime albums
All that you can't leave behind, 2000 #16, #139
Zooropa, 1993 #70, -

All that you can't leave behind is probably too high on the reader list due to the proximity between release and poll time but the other two definitly earned their spots.

Re:sooo?

[allgood2]

That's true, but not exactly U2's fault. Technically speaking, the original album planned for November will NEVER be produced, and that's due to someone stealing it. They could proceed on a normal timeline but everything would be tainted by the theft. Not bad or good, just tainted, sometimes these things can throw artist into hyper-overdrive and what they produce in the aftermath is incredible. Other times, a great big sucking sound of their creative energy gets tied up in the thought of the theft, and whatever is produced afterwards is just halfhearted.

I come to this from two sides, I downloaded the Lillywhite Session from the Dave Matthews band, and purchased Busted Stuff when it came out. While I fully enjoy the Lillywhite Sessions for what they are, in fact often enjoy them more than I do Busted Stuff, I do also recognize that they are not finish material. For the band to "complete" the album, they had to totally re-envision the songs, and in that since Busted Stuff is good and great to have as a comparison and contrast of what happens when creative vision is derailed.

I think U2's desire is to get something out that they feel is close to a finish product rather than having an album out for months that isn't near what they wanted the final album to be. For me that's a respectable decision. For their part, they've vowed to work rapidly on the album, canceling vacation plans and other activities so they could finish it at a reasonable production level. Note, I say production level, because it could be months or years, before whatever creative impulses that drove them to do this album return to a level that would be good enough to allow them to proceed "normally."

U2 encouraging p2p?

[prof_peabody]

I think this just promotes a P2P release. Post it and we'll release it, almost a reward to the fans...

Re:U2 encouraging p2p?

[Vellmont]

Actually I almost wonder if the whole thing isn't a publicity stunt. It certainly has increased the media coverage of an album release that otherwise would have had about none. I for one would have had no idea U2 has released another album.

Even worse threat

[cr@ckwhore]

... and in a related article containing an even worse threat, "U2 Threatens To Release Another Album".

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!! THE CRAPPY MUSIC COMETH!

Re:Even worse threat

[wuice]

How is your opinion of U2 insightful in any way?

This is Slashdot. In most cases, Slashdot-style moderation almost always boils down to: Score +1, Me Too.

Wrong about Smashing Pumpkins

[Cyph]

Smashing Pumpkins did not rush to release their last album on P2P before it hit the stores, rather, they used P2P as the *only* way to release the album. They sent out 25 vinyl sets of the album to various community members to get a P2P release going.

Re:Wrong about Smashing Pumpkins

[generationxyu]

Kind of. Not really. Machina II (The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music) was, as the parent said, pressed to 25 vinyl copies and given to family, friends, and members of the community. A few radio stations got them, with instructions to play it in its entirety if they so choosed. A few members of online SP communities also recieved copies in order to promote the online distribution of the album. Very few non-mp3 sourced copies of it are available... I've yet to get my hands on one.

But as several people have said, only a few songs from Machina II ever ended up on commercial release - those were included on the second disc of the SP Greatest Hits compilation, called Judas O.

For more complete information, check here. For a copy of Machina II, try SoulSeek. There's an SP hub on Direct Connect, but they're kind of bastardly about letting people on.

Don't understand

[rokzy]

if it's a rough cut, then it won't be as good as the one you can buy.

if it's a practically perfect copy, then why haven't they released it already? (hint: outdated distributed method defended by useless middlemen unwilling to die gracefully)

maybe they're scared that p2p will allow people to "try before you buy", and just want people to be able to pay for it before they've heard it, cf MPAA wanting mobiles banned because people can talk to friends about crap movies as soon as they've seen it.

Two words:

[vegetablespork]

Publicity. Stunt.

Friends and Enemies of Modern Music...

[Slime-dogg]

You'd figure that it's all in the title of the Pumpkin's last album. The truth is that, though Billy Corgan loved the idea of free music, the band was only allowed to release it on-line after Virgin decided that they wouldn't make any money on it.

As it is, though the album has some great music on it, it is rough... very rough. Given the sales of Machina, which didn't exactly reach the figures that they wanted, F&E was released for free as high quality mp3's.

So, is U2 the friend, or the enemy of modern music? Is "modern" music that which is envisioned by the likes of Corgan, where expression is free in it's entirety, or is it that which rakes in the cash? I'd say that it's the former, since that's where the real expression comes out. U2's last album was somewhat of a whore for sales... it sounded nice and poppy, none of it was objectionable or edgy... and it sold a lot of copies. U2 is showing their true colors, now, by fleecing us with their name. Their music isn't special anymore, it doesn't have the content anymore, it's just meaningless pandering to the "modern music" crowds.

I'll stick with my Pumpkins for now.

Re:Friends and Enemies of Modern Music...

[No. 24601]

So, is U2 the friend, or the enemy of modern music? Is "modern" music that which is envisioned by the likes of Corgan, where expression is free in it's entirety, or is it that which rakes in the cash? I'd say that it's the former, since that's where the real expression comes out. U2's last album was somewhat of a whore for sales... it sounded nice and poppy, none of it was objectionable or edgy... and it sold a lot of copies. U2 is showing their true colors, now, by fleecing us with their name. Their music isn't special anymore, it doesn't have the content anymore, it's just meaningless pandering to the "modern music" crowds.

I'll stick with my Pumpkins for now.

This Casey Casum. Now on with the countdown...

Senate bill needed...

[neil.pearce]

A rough cut of the disk disappeared from a recording studio in Nice during a photo shoot .
It's clear that a photo shoot in Nice has proved itself to be a device that could be used to illegaly copy music. I propose an immediate Senate bill to ban such technology.

The band was putting together the finishing touches. Most of the album had previously been recorded in Dublin.
It's clear that being present in Dublin has proved itself to be a device that could be used to illegaly copy music. I propose an immediate Senate bill to ban such technology.

U2 Threatens to Relase (a new) Album

[Jesterboy]

Am I the only one who read this headline "U2 Threatens to Relase (a new) Album"?

I suppose I just need to skim less...

It's a hoax.

[sakusha]

This story doesn't pass the smell test. Nobody brings a live CD to a photo shoot, where this CD was supposedly stolen. The usual industry practice is to shoot a photo of the packaging, which is provided without the actual CD, which may not even be complete at the time of the photo shoot.
I used to work in product packaging, and many many times I produced package comps (full quality mockups) for CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes that would not be finished for many weeks or months. The advertising production usually precedes the finished product. Anyone who would take the final unreleased product to a photo shoot, where there are a whole lot of bozos floating around just waiting to steal anything that's not nailed down, well, they're just asking for trouble. That's the whole reason to send faked comps instead of live product to shoots.

Re:It's a hoax.

[typhoonius]

Who knows; the band has a history of stupid leaks:

• Around 1981, before the release of their second album, October, a suitcase containing Bono's handwritten lyrics was stolen. Apparently, he sort of ad-libbed it in the studio.
• In 1990, a three-disc bootleg of outtakes from the Achtung, Baby sessions was leaked. It contained rough takes that would eventually become the songs on the album
• In 1996 or so, an MP3 of a rough edit of "Discotheque," the lead single for their Pop album, was leaked onto the internet.
• Around 2000, Bono apparently lost a laptop containing rough mixes of songs from their upcoming All That You Can't Leave Behind. It was returned safely, though, and there wasn't a leak.
• Later that year, though, the band decided to post 30-second snippets of each song from their new album. They were going to release one new snippet a week until the album was released. Unfortunately, the clueless webmasters had already uploaded all of the songs and just didn't link to them yet, so fans just guessed at the file names and downloaded all the snippets early.
• In 2002, several different mixes of "Electrical Storm" were played on radio stations and were leaked onto the internet.

In any case, this new album is about three years overdue. Their last album was released in October 2000, and the tour supporting it wrapped up in December 2001. What the hell have they been doing since then? I dunno, I sort of lost track. Kind of sad when you don't know that one of your favorite bands is releasing a new album soon until you read it on Slashdot.

Pink Floyd

[Mattwolf7]

U2 is just being babies....

Pink Floyd had Dark Side of the Moon bootlegs in stores....

"Pink Floyd played a concert version of Dark Side at London's Rainbow Theatre in February 1972. To their dismay, a bootleg recording of the concert sold 100,000 copies about a year before the official release." Article

And look what it became...

"In the USA, DSotM is the 18th best-selling album of all time and has spent a total of over 740 weeks on the Billboard magazine music charts with the longest continuous period lasting 591 consecutive weeks. It reached the #1 chart position in the US, Belgium and France; even in 2002, thirty years after the album's release, over 400,000 copies were sold in the United States, making the record the 200th bestselling album that year. "Time", "Money" and "Us and Them" have become radio call-in favourites (with "Money" having also been a bestselling single in the USA)." Wikipedia

If it is good enough people will still buy it. So if this record is phenomenal U2 should just finish it.

Priorities

[realStrategos]

"French police have launched a major operation to find the disc."

I just realized how screwed up this world really is. A major police operation has been launch to find a CD. Aparantly all other crimes have been defeated.

IP is a wasting asset

[siriuskase]

The faster you get it out, the more it's worth, but the minute it's out, it will start losing value almost immediately due to the ease of duplication. It would be a shame for them to lose out by not being first to market with their own album. By recognizing the way the music market works, they will give fans who prefer a nice clean "legit" version the option of being able to buy it.

IP of all sorts will get copied in spite of all the DRM and other crippling technology people can devise. It's not just music, if we can't prevent kids from downloading in rich countries, how can we expect to prevent motivated adults in countries without a history of IP protection from duplicating. In China, they clone cars , that's surely not frictionless. Someday, IP of all sorts will be marketed like other perishables with a finite shelf life. Copyright and trademark laws will need to adapt to this reality.

Musicians and Authors will be like Engineers and Programmers and Farmers, if they want to live off their IP, they will need to keep producing more of it. Which was kinda the whole point of IP laws in the first place

I pity their legal team...

[the_illuminatus]

...which is forced to ALWAYS work pro bono...

Summary of new U2 Album

[spezz]

To save you the trouble of downloading it (pay or free):

1. war is bad
2. the common man is good
3. we'd like another stadium tour now, please

Screw You and Our Fans Too

[Mulletproof]

"After a rough cut of U2's latest unfinished album was stolen earlier this week, the band has vowed to release the entire album on iTunes if the music appears on P2P networks."

...Yeah, and????

I mean, is that a threat? Because I truely am baffled. "By golly, since somebody stole our copy, we'll release the entire damn thing on iTunes!" Ok, so we're going to punish the large majority of our innocent fanbase who still easily outnumber the .mp3 wired, deny ourselves a huge revenue stream and put it strait to digital format so the pirates don't have to work too hard to get it.

Aside from the potential bonus of making iTunes more popular, there's no freakin' logic to this action. Millions of people who have never downloaded a song in their lives are being cut out of the loop for.... Uh, what was that reasoning again???

Yeah... You go U2. Show em who's boss. ^_^

What Is The Worry?

[superpulpsicle]

I don't know if anyone attempted to use Kazaa lately. But 98% of anything I download off Kazaa has been decrypted with an annoying buzz noise. You can't even get songs off Kazaa P2P anymore.

And sharezilla sucks, everyone I know who installed it has gotten blue screens of death. Is there a linux P2P alternative? There, U2 shouldn't worry.

Re:I don't get it

[Colonel Angus]

The Beatles were also head and shoulders a better band than U2. Personally, I can't stand them. Joshua Tree, great... since then it's just been ass.

To my knowledge, one of the biggest bands to rely on bootlegs and such are the Grateful Dead. They weren't big on studio work and there are shitloads of bootlegs available. A buddy of mine in high school was a huge Dead fan and had 4 shoeboxes full of bootleg tapes.

Metallica once thrived on bootlegs to get recognition. Then they got it and decided that it was a bad thing. That is a band that has lost a lot of respect from a large portion of long-time fans and they're not likely to win many back.

Re:What?

[anon*127.0.0.1]

You are, as you said, a solitary representative. Do you think every person who downloaded those files went out and bought the album the first week it came out? Probably not. Probably quite a few of them intended to buy the album, but they didn't quite have the money, or they saw something in the store they liked better, or they decided that the songs really weren't that great after all... for whatever reason, because they were able to download the songs before they were able to buy them, Rush lost a sale. Why didn't Rush complain? They probably didn't want to let everyone know that the songs were available on P2P.

Re:All a big publicity gimmick?

[Colonel Angus]

Bands often have many versions of their music on CD as the songs progress. They listen to it for missed beats, bad sound, possible enhancements, whatever. It's not uncommon at all.

Correct, and there's more ...

[zonix]

[...] they used P2P as the *only* way to release the album.

Correct. Billy Corgan stated it was a personal "fuck you" to Virgin Records for preventing them in releasing the album. It was then they stopped as the band Smashing Pumpkins, to which BC said it wasn't because of issues within the band internally, but that they were tired of competing with "all the Britney Spearses out there" (something like that).

All this makes the album title quite interesting: "Machina II - Friends and Enemies of Modern Music".

IMO, what they did was very commendable given the circumstances. Thanks Billy and friends for releasing the album!

z

In other news....

[ElvenMonkey]

... A French police spokesman talking about the stolen U2 album confirmed that "We still haven't found what we're looking for."