U2′s 180 deal
Jim Carroll
You don’t get to be the biggest beasts in the jungle by doing stupid deals. U2′s deal with Live Nation is further proof of just why the band continue to be the smartest operators in the business. Lets be straight here, this isn’t about the music – U2 have not released an album which was remotely groundbreaking in years – it’s about the business and no-one can touch them in this regard. From taking a percentage of their record label in lieu of unpaid royalties to a timely hook-up with Apple, U2 have always been bright boys when it comes to the business of being in a band.
All of which means that U2 were never going to do a Madonna. What, put all their eggs in the one basket? Give control of their records and publishing to a company like Live Nation who have yet to display any idea that they have a clue what to do with these aspects of a band’s career? Why would U2 leave Universal Music and all that expertise and knowledge and experience behind for an operation like Live Nation who are untried and untested when it comes to releasing and marketing recorded repertoire?
Money? Sure, they’ve enough money to keep them going for years.
Prestige? U2 could set up their own label if they wanted prestige (then again, that might mean having to relive the Mother Records episode all over again).
Ego? It would be safe to assume that U2’s individual and collective egos are well and truly sated at this stage. Well, for now anyway.
No, U2 were always going to continue to let Jimmy Iovine and Jason Iley and co look after their records. The publishing too would remain under the control of those who had always overseen it. No need to go messing with that. There are two cash-cows they’re happy to continue milking as before.
But it made perfect sense to do a deal with Live Nation for everything else. The band had been doing global business with the company since 1997’s PopMart tour and no-one had thrown anyone out of the bed during this time for eating salt and vinegar crisps.
U2 know Live Nation can do the business when it comes to touring, branding, sponsorship and monetising the website. There’s a lot of money to be made in these areas and Live Nation know when to say yes and when to say no. Sure, U2 could do it themselves but it made better business sense to go with the top dogs.
For Live Nation, this deal is a huge winner. Their share price has risen by over 5 per cent since the annoucement was made because shareholders know that they’re getting a big brand name for their bucks. They won’t have to worry about the records and stuff which they know in their heart of hearts that they don’t have the expertise to manage. It’s all about the touring and U2 can easily do three tours in the next 12 years. It’s not like Madonna – the Live Nation share price tanked in the months after they announced that deal – where they have to worry about making sure the new material sells. With U2, that’s none of their business.
Sure, if U2′s next album is a creative flop, Live Nation can simply get the band on the road to do a Greatest Hits tour followed by a Greatest Hits One More Time tour and finally, a Greatest Hits – Your Last Time to Hear Them tour. After all, if they’re honest with us, isn’t that what U2 fans really want to hear?
Jim, off topic I know but interesting piece in Guardian today on Festival fatigue.
http://music.guardian.co.uk/festivals/story/0,,2270145,00.html
U2 are more a like a corporation now with Paul McGuinness as CEO. They’re just this rather soulless, monolithic money-making machine.As you said it’s not about the music anymore-they can continue to release crap albums and tour but still rake in the millions. Yet, saying that, John Kelly’s interview with The Edge last Monday was fascinating with Mr.Evans proving to be a very engaging and articulate interviewee unlike the incoherent bullshit we always get from Bono.
Achtung Baby was released in November 1991.
16.5 is less than 20. QED
Quint – I’ve always found Adam Clayton to be a very wise interviewee as well yet it seems to be always Bono because he’s the one with the soundbites and the silly glasses and the stories about George Bush and the Pope.
And yes, you’re right, U2 are now a corporation and a hugely successful one at that with an excellent back-room team featuring McGuinness, Trevor Bowen, Gaby Smyth etc. It’s just a pity that the music is not as creative as their business dealings
Dealga – unlike U2, maths was never my strong suit. Corrected
F*ck the begrudgers. Fair play to Ireland biggest musical export (or is that Enya?!). Congratualtions U2 & Co.
F*ck the begrudgers
Where’s the begrudgery in the post above, Ed? I don’t see any. And I wrote the thing.
Not the post Jim – though comment 2 is somewhat begrudging “U2 are more a like a corporation now with Paul McGuinness as CEO” etc – their music has touched the lives of people all around the world and it’s very moving to watch that in U23D or read the comments left by passing fans/tourists on Bono’s garden wall. Why is it a crime for U2 to make themselves filthy rich – it’s not as if U2 don’t give a fair share back to the poor. Congratulations again U2.
Ed – “somewhat begrudging”? Why does ANY negative comment have to be seen as begrudgery? And I don’t think that comment is begrudgery in the least – it’s a compliment more than anything else
As I said in the post above, this is not about U2′s music – we’ll go there some other day – but their business. And there is no begrudgery whatsoever there, just admiration on how a very slick, professional and successful machine operates. Their music, as I said, is another matter and for another day.
Why is it a crime for U2 to make themselves filthy rich – it’s not as if U2 don’t give a fair share back to the poor.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2006/0807/1154691501356.html
Smithers:What will you do with the extra million sir?
Burns:Oh I don’t know, throw it to the pile I suppose.
if i remember correctly, the last tour they did pre-live nation nearly lost a tonne
now that both parties are doing well out of this deal, it’s diffcult to see what the problem is
and yes, spot on them for not signing their recording and publishing away
Ed- My comment is not begrudgery, just a statement of fact. For the record, ‘Achtung Baby’ is a masterpiece and probably one of the top 20 albums ever made. There’s some interesting stuff on Zooropa also and ZOO TV is THE greatest live show ever staged and hasn’t been topped since, and probably never will. Their brace of early eighties albums still sound incredibly fresh, albums which have been ripped off by Editors, Interpol, The Bravery et al. All phenomenal achievements for a band from a tiny country like Ireland. For the past 14 years they have been a spent force creatively. Now it’s all about Bono meeting world leaders, signing 360 deals, moving their millions to tax havens and releasing dreadful albums. It’s not brgrudgery, just disappointment.
I don’t begrudge Bono. I’m 6’3.
fair play. they haven’t been relevant in years, but they sure know how to play to their strengths.
on a side note, i see SonyBMG are offering Leona Lewis a new 100million 5 album contract. good to know the recent profit slowdown due to evil illegal downloading, hasn’t had any impact on label stupidity.
If they weren’t still ‘relevant’, they would have gone the way of most Rock dinosaurs (Stones, McCartney)- great ticket sales, but new material that flops. That’s not the case. I agree with Jim that a discussion on their music is for another day- and let’s face it, it does come down to your personal taste.
I think the above piece definitely reads as a ‘kudos’ to the band- and why not? For a band who experienced success in the starry heights of the 80′s music industry, they have been smart enough to realise that the industry has changed rapidly, and they’ve had the smarts to keep looking at new revenue streams. Something which the majors have only copped onto within the last 5 years.
It’s the music INDUSTRY people- it’s all about the green; don’t fool yourselves!
and yet no decent b-sides compilation.