RE: (TV) Re: U2 IPod topic OT

["Leo Casey" <LeoCasey@comcast.net>]

>With i-Pod they have released a specially designed i-Pod thingy with over
>400 U2 tracks already programmed onto it . Seems to be selling for #300 or
>so.

>Do we think this is a good idea ?

U2 IS SMART TO BITE INTO THIS APPLE 
Author: By Renee Graham Globe Staff
Date: 11/09/2004 Page: C1 Section: Arts 

LIFE IN THE POP LANE


[PUBLISHED CORRECTION - DATE: Wednesday, November 9, 2004: Correction:
Because of a reporting error, part of the band U2's marketing deal with
Apple was incorrectly described in yesterday's Life in the Pop Lane column
in the Living/Arts section. The band's new album will not be preloaded on
special-edition iPods.)

Ever since Apple Computer last month announced its unique marketing deal
with U2, one that, among other things, will have the rock band's upcoming
album preloaded on special-edition black-and-red iPods, Bono and his
bandmates have been hit with a rain of invective claiming they've sold their
souls to the corporate devils. (SEE PUBLISHED CORRECTION.)

Truth be told, I initially felt the same way the first time I saw the U2
iPod ads. Some rock stations were already playing "Vertigo," the first
single from the album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," but it's likely
that far more people first discovered the track in a very unlikely place for
a U2 song a television commercial. There was Bono's unmistak able voice
counting off "Uno, dos, tres, catorce" and quick cuts of guitarist the Edge,
bassist Adam Clayton, and drummer Larry Mullen among those signature dancing
silhouettes with the white iPod as their only distinguishable element. The
30-second spot hit TV even before a video for the song.

I've been a fan of the band for more than 20 years, but watching the group
shill for Apple's popular digital music player (and yes, I have one) somehow
made me feel queasy. Clanking with integrity,

U2 always came across as the kind of band above lending its music to sell
someone else's product. At times, it seems there are so few artists who
haven't been bought R.E.M. comes to mind that it was disheartening to see U2
go the way of the Who and Jay-Z, to name a few.

Then it hit me. Why shouldn't U2 make every legitimate attempt to get its
music out to as many people as possible?

After all, commercial radio and MTV can't be trusted to do the job. Formats
and playlists are so tightly regimented there's no reason for U2 to assume
it will receive the kind of promotional push it's enjoyed in the past. And
with all of its members in their 40s, U2 isn't exactly the face of MTV's
targeted demographic. So, even after selling more than 100 million albums
worldwide, U2 is smart enough not to take anything for granted.

What U2 has done is adopt the new playbook for pop-music success. Moby
changed the rules several years ago when, realizing that his 1999 album
"Play" would never garner radio support, he licensed each of its 18 tracks
for use in movies, commercials, and television shows. An album that might
otherwise have disappeared without a ripple went on to sell 10 million
copies worldwide. And ultimately, once people connected with Moby's
affecting electronica blended with gospel and blues vocal samples, it hardly
mattered if they'd first heard his songs in a car commercial.

In addition to producing what is being called the "iPod U2," Apple will have
exclusive online rights to sell songs from the new CD through iTunes for the
first few weeks after its release. iTunes will also offer "The Complete U2,"
a download package featuring more than 400 songs.

So far, it seems U2's deal with Apple hasn't hurt the group "Vertigo" is
currently No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. Nor does it mark
the band's only foray into alternative means of album promotion. The song
"Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own," from the new album, will be
featured in the Dec. 2 episode of Fox's popular show "The O.C.," and "CSI:
Crime Scene Investigation" will reportedly use two songs in upcoming
episodes.

Perhaps because U2 has always used celebrity in admirable ways it supported
famine relief and antiapartheid efforts in the 1980s, and Bono has been
active in the global AIDS fight as well as trying to reduce Third World debt
some forget the band is just as focused on sustaining its career as Hilary
Duff. Aligning with Apple and shows like "The O.C. " might allow the band to
reach an audience that may know little about its classic "The Joshua Tree,"
or even 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind."

So detractors should cut U2 some slack. Members of the band haven't
prostituted themselves or become indentured servants to Apple. Given what
some stars are willing to do, U2 appearing in a snazzy iPod commercial isn't
really objectionable, especially when one considers that a less thoughtful
band might have long ago launched its own "Achtung Baby" sneaker line or
sold the song "The Unforgettable Fire" for use in a hemorrhoid commercial.
--------------
To post: Mail tv@obbard.com
To unsubscribe: Mail majordomo@obbard.com with message "unsubscribe tv"