U2 is arguably the biggest rock & roll band of our day. Formed in 1976 this band has massive staying power and a worldwide following that encourages the band to go big with its ideas, staging and cutting edge use of technology. The Live Nation produced 360 Tour is a rare sold-out stadium tour that features record-breaking live audiences, the largest-ever staging centerpiece known as “the Claw” and the largest live webcast now in repeats on the YouTube U2 Channel with nearly 10 million views to date.
First there was the enormity of the crowd. This was the largest audience ever to flow into The Rose Bowl for a staged event. The stadium was filled to the brim, it was an awesome spectacle to see so many excited people at one place. Next was the staging, the U2 360 Tour features a praying mantis-type metal sculpture known as ‘the Claw’ that weighs a reported 170 tons and stands 10 stories tall. It is so tall it peaked out of the top of the stadium. Inspired by the LAX theme restaurant, ‘the Claw’ helps maximize audience capacity, houses a powerful audio system, shows-off a 360 degree video screen and provides a theatre in the round setting for the band to interact in all directions with their fans.
Days before the show it was announced there would be a global live webcast that was almost explained as a side benefit of the filming that would be done that night for an upcoming U2 Live at the Rose Bowl DVD release. Thankfully this web event went off without a hitch. While the numbers are still unofficial, some place the audience at seven million plus. Twitter and Facebook lit up with status updates that people were watching the show live. People sounded off about the joys of being able to be there without enduring traffic, paying steadily increasing ticket fees or suffering from limiting nosebleed seats. The video and audio production quality really showed off the capabilities of a live music webcast.
Years ago, the music industry resisted the changes posed by new distribution models that were born from the Internet. Record companies live with this regret. MySpace was attempting to take a leadership position in online music distribution game. As recent as February 2009, MySpace was chosen to host the exclusive premiere of the latest U2 album ‘No Line on the Horizon’. The album was streamed in its entirety on MySpace two weeks in advance of the release date. Did it help or hinder record sales? Some might say hinder since sales are down from their last release ‘How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb’. By giving it away for free did they diminish its value or broaden the audience? Perhaps the album just doesn’t appeal as much. It’s now 8 months later and the distribution dialogue has moved to the concert experience space and YouTube’s preeminence as a distributor is becoming recognized by record companies and promoters alike as more have come to terms and are now recognizing YouTube as a partner that must be reckoned with to support their brands.
Now U2 and Live Nation may have started a concert experience revolution that will result in users logging in or subscribing to see a concert online. The 10 million views of the U2 concert proves that there is an audience, a growing audience. The technology is here. How much would you be willing to pay to watch a performance from your home and avoid all the ancillary fees? Could this replace the concert attending experience? Will it canabalize ticket sales? We shall see is the U2 webcast hurts or helps record sales and the ticket sales for the second part of the tour. What do you think is next?
Stay tuned.
Photo credit: Shelly Wright Scally and Todd Smith. Thanks! Anymore pics? Send to diana.scott@tuesday.com.
