Apparently there was something important announced this morning: the tour dates to support U2’s new album No Line on the Horizon. The ballyhoo that surrounded this is matched by the ludicrousness of U2’s virtual stage. Gasp at the fact that everyone gets to see the band. Yes, you guessed it, the stage is in the centre of the audience.
What is particularly amusing is that it’s called the U2360° Tour, and whilst their marketeers are hoping it’s seen as a nod towards this innovative setting, the reality is different. For U2 has signed a 12 year deal with Live Nation, and the tour title reflects the terms of that deal in that it also covers tour revenue.
Tour revenue is important to music corporations because they are losing income from recorded music, not due to piracy, but due to their own incompetence at failing to see the direction their industry is going in. It’s inevitable that they’ll try to secure other rights to keep their cash coming in.
The irony behind bands such as U2 blowing wads of cash at excessive concert indulgences is that it merely highlights their inability to innovate where it counts: the music. It’s a form of compensation. And, if no-one is making money from recorded music, why put effort into its production? Just use smoke and mirrors in a live setting and the sheeple - thanks to TheYank for that word - will flock in.
Music however is going back to its roots. More musicians and bands are making direct connections to their fans, and some survive solely on their financial patronage. This allows them to give away music for free, building their fanbase in the process. The record companies are becoming irrelevant. Live music (now thought of as a cash cow by these corporations) will also go the same way, being arranged and organised by fans rather than promoters. Furthermore, house concerts are becoming increasingly common, and artists often stay in fans’ houses to both reduce the cost of touring and to build relationships.
I don’t do this to make money. I don’t do this to win approval. I do this to be around people I love. I do this to make art, to feel connected, to make love and not war and art and not pain.
Amanda Palmer
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