U2 Will Stream Their 360° Tour On YouTube FOR FREE Oct 25, 2009
19. Oct, 2009 
7 Comments
DID YOU READ THAT TITLE?
U2 Will Stream Their 360° Tour On YouTube FOR FREE Oct 25, 2009. This is their show in Pasadena, CA this coming Sunday night.
Yes… I’m a U2 fan and yes I think you should see them live.
But that’s not the point.
With great success, Mercy Me has been doing this at their shows for some time now. For all you music industry people who don’t understand this move, I will go on a limb and say you need to jump on the train because it’s leaving you behind whether you agree with it or not.
This is a great way to bring in fans who couldn’t afford a ticket or the show wasn’t close enough for them to attend. It feels like a bold move but the reality is that it costs very little to do this if you already have camera’s on the tour. It would seem by doing this you are losing potential income. Where you win people over is by giving them this experience free over the internet in hopes of capturing their attention enough that they would buy a ticet to another show close by or go online and buy product from the artist.
I love this kind of thinking as it says… WE WANT YOU,OUR FAN, TO JOIN US AT NO COST TO YOU.
As Randy Elrod and I teach in LifeWork 2.0, this is another great step in engaging your fans online. Every time an artist has offered something to me for free online, I’ve turned around and purchased something from them because they engaged me and gave me options of other ways to invest into what they are doing.
Question – If you could watch your favorite artist, speaker or conference online for free, do you think it would make you want to attend the live setting the next time around if you had the chance?
Here’s the info from U2.com below..
California, US U2 have confirmed via video blog that their sold-out concert at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in California, this Sunday, 25th October, will be streamed free, in full and live on YouTube. It’s the first time a show of this size will be streamed live.
The Rose Bowl show is the penultimate U2 show this year – with more to come in 2010 – and already is set to host the venue’s biggest ever audience of over 96,000 fans. The 360° Tour, which has been critically acclaimed and ‘re-invents rock’n'roll’ (Rolling Stone Magazine), will now boast unique access for fans worldwide – as fans in territories yet to be visited by the tour, or not at all, will be able to enjoy the whole show online.
Managed in partnership with Live Nation, this sell-out tour has broken attendance records in most venues it has visited – its success due in part to increased capacity coupled with a lower ticket price and great sight lines afforded by the stunning in-the-round stage set.
U2 manager Paul McGuinness said, ‘The band has wanted to do something like this for a long time. As we’re filming the LA show, it’s the perfect opportunity to extend the party beyond the stadium. Fans often travel long distances to come to see U2 – this time U2 can go to them, globally.’
YouTube will be streaming live across five continents. The show will be available in the usual You Tube way, as video-on-demand, following two full replays – after the live stream – on both U2.com and You Tube.
‘YouTube is thrilled to be able to provide our global audience with a live streaming performance from one of the world’s greatest bands,’ said Michele Flannery, Music Manager, YouTube. ‘We are always looking for new ways to connect fans around the world with their favourite artists, and this is the perfect opportunity to do just that.’
For more information stay tuned or visit You Tube .
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I will be there … and I think it's neat that I can invite my friends who aren't able to go phyisically with me to experience the same thing.
I will be there too! I'm so excited! Hey…. I may have an extra ticket to sell if you want to go….One of my friends keeps waffling on attending.
I really can't wait! It's a cool road trip for us: From San Jose to Pasadena with my husband, his brother and my best friend I've gone to at least 3 U2 tours with in the past. I can't wait and I'm excited to share the experience with others. Of course, I do feel that live is best. I joke that I'm going to the Church of U2. Hope my pastor will forgive me.
This is similar to how some bands allow taping at their shows. I became a fan of Dave Matthews Band by downloading some of their concerts for free. The band allows this (as long as no money changes hands) and they have an amazing faithful group of people who follow them around and make recordings of every show. After enjoying the free music, I have gone on to buy everything DMB has ever released, I have seen them live 6 times, I probably own 5 tee shirts, 2 DVDs…. They have definitely profited from me all because they weren't stingy with their music. By contrast, I own zero Metallica merc. What I did own I tossed after the Napster suit. I don't dig greedy, unreasonable people.
Btw, saw U2 in Raleigh two weeks ago. Absolutely. Amazing.
Copy cats. ha ha …. Seriously though, I couldn't agree more with you, but you already knew that.
As a loyal follower of all things SkorInc, I think this is fantastic! I know many people who have gone out and bought CD's after seeing a band online who otherwise would not have done so (including myself).
I think the online concerts are great. I live on an island where many acts don't come to perform. Therefore, IF they do come it's usually to Oahu. I would be more willing to spend the money on airfare, hotel & car if I've been watching the concerts online. That's what happened with MercyMe. While I always liked their music. I became a huge fan of their ministry via online.