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U2 - Songs Of Experience (2017)
 Tracks: 14
  1. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:[..]
    This is the way I want to feel, and know you're probably right and I'm just being stupid.

    [..]

    This is sort of why I ask, because it's sort of how I feel as well. I can't put my finger on it either, but I feel like they sort of expect their fans to be there when they need them, but don't entirely think beyond of putting on a great show for them, realizing they wouldn't be where they are without them, etc. I don't know, compared to newer bands these days, U2 just seems sort of...out of touch with their fans, like they don't share a lot with their fans or something. I'm thinking out loud...
    For starters, they could show their face and reply to the tickets fiasco, instead of Guy. But I guess it's not their obligation.
  2. Isn't it though? Even if it isn't their fault, it's still THEIR show and still THEIR fans getting screwed over. Maybe he said to them "I'll smooth this over", or maybe it's not even on their radar at all (which would be too bad), but I don't know. It would've been nice to see them address their fans, even with a short video.


  3. I think you misread me. I actually agree with you, it could really turn out to be a good album!. It really could! So... not convinced about anything until I hear this thing in full!
  4. It's kind of a moral obligation imo
  5. don't have leak out yet?
  6. Originally posted by LikeASong:[..]It's not that common nowadays, but back in the day you could hear Bono saying "Thank you for giving us a great life" almost in every concert.

    I thought they were still doing this at every show.

    ---

    I do think they care a lot about their faceless fanbase, i.e. not the hardcore fanbase that populates these forums, or whatever online communities.

    I think they're more old fashion in that sense. They communicate with their fans through interviews, albums, and shows, and people gives "like" to that by buying albums, watching interviews, and going to the shows.

    (I think is worth mentioning again that despite what we might think consist of the U2 fanbase, or what we might think the U2 fanbase thinks or likes, the reality is that this is just a small bubble that don't reflect the big picture by far. If it seems they're not listening to what we want (in musical terms), maybe is because they're listening to what the big fanbase actually want.)
  7. Originally posted by Bloodraven:[..]

    I thought they were still doing this at every show.

    ---

    I do think they care a lot about their faceless fanbase, i.e. not the hardcore fanbase that populates these forums, or whatever online communities.

    I think they're more old fashion in that sense. They communicate with their fans through interviews, albums, and shows, and people gives "like" to that by buying albums, watching interviews, and going to the shows.

    (I think is worth mentioning again that despite what we might think consist of the U2 fanbase, or what we might think the U2 fanbase thinks or likes, the reality is that this is just a small bubble that don't reflect the big picture by far. If it seems they're not listening to what we want (in musical terms), maybe is because they're listening to what the big fanbase actually want.)
    Good points. I think it's easy to forget just how big this band is, especially when one is part of a tight-knit community of the hardest of the hardcore like this one

    But yeah, even being at a show proves this point. On the 360 tour in Toronto, I was probably visibly bored during elevation, meanwhile the whole stadium is going nuts. Then they play Your Blue Room, and I'm standing there with the biggest smile and look of wonder in my eyes, meanwhile the whole stadium is going to get beer
  9. I think so too, I was shielding myself for the people that think they're not obliged to do anything.
  10. Well, the letter was addressed at Guy. It would have been awkward for the band to answer instead.
  11. Wasn't the beginning of the letter "Dear Adam, Bono, Edge and Larry"?
  12. Originally posted by RattleandHum1988:Maybe this is for another topic, but in that recent Dutch interview with Bono and Edge, they were asked what their fans mean to them, and Edge pretty much said “we wouldn’t be here without them, but we’re greedy and we like to try and get new ones too.”

    I’m curious as to what you guys think about how U2 feels about their fan base. Do you think they care? How much? Do you think they listen? Are they too old school to actually read fan sites and twitter and Instagram comments to get a sense of where our heads are at?


    I believe U2 care about their fans. Perhaps I’m deluded, but I don’t believe U2 see their audience as automatons handing over their hard earned without question like loyal subjects or consuming their music or attending shows with their critical faculties suspended.

    The music industry is a curious beast. ‘Music Industry’ is almost an oxymoron itself, art meeting business. I look at whether or not they care or to what degree they care about their fans by assessing the band’s interaction on two fronts; the music and the business.

    I believe U2 are intelligent and essentially decent people. There is plenty of evidence to confirm this in the public domain as well as no doubt individual stories people could tell. I myself have personal experience of their decency. I don’t believe that they intentionally set out to sell inferior product or do business in an unethical way.

    I think they respect and care about their fans, more than a lot. They have always sought to conduct their business in a responsible way. Sure, they get things wrong and make mistakes, but I believe that their motives are honourable.

    There is merit in a band engaging with their online fan community for guidance as to how to conduct their business. The recent communication with the fan representatives and Guy Oseary is a good example and U2start should be commended for their input on behalf of the online and wider fan community or ‘tribe’. He is the band’s manager and his job is to take care of business. A good employer lets a manager do his job.

    However, looking at the music or the art, personally, I would worry if U2 read fan sites, particularly for guidance as to how to pursue their art. The online world is not the real world. Trolls aside, fan sites by definition are populated by fans, i.e. fanatics. This site aside, fan sites by their nature are rarely the domain of reasoned or balanced debate. I believe a band should be guided by its own collective artistic impulse and should not look to their fans for inspiration. A band has to follow its own path.

    In terms of sharing with their fans, I think Bono shares himself through the songs, his lyrics, the band through the music and live performances. I think they care about their art and they care about their business. They have long had a desire or ambition for their art to have an audience and their business to have a consumer. By any metric, U2 may be considered to have achieved success, artistically and commercially. I believe this couldn’t have been achieved without caring about their audience/consumer to be an important and valued component of their existence.