Spence Smith

That’s RIGHT!!!! Another North American leg to the U2 360 Tour has been announced for 2010. Click U2.com for more info on when tickets go on sale. Some subscriber tickets go on sale as early as tomorrow, October 27, 2009. Here’s the email I got in my inbox this morning.

Dear Spence,

Hope you caught U2 360° live from Rosebowl on YouTube. And now we can reveal U2 360° is coming back to North America in 2010.

360° plans to touch down next summer with stops in Anaheim; Denver; Oakland; Seattle; Edmonton; East Lansing; Miami; Philadelphia and Montreal. U2 360° will also return for one night only in Toronto and Chicago before finishing the North American leg in New York at the New Meadowlands Stadium.

The complete list of North American cities, venues and dates has just been published on U2.com and first tickets go on sale next week. (Tickets are also about to go on sale for 2010 European dates in Athens, Greece and Istanbul, Turkey. See below)

As always SUBSCRIBERS TO U2.COM are able to buy tickets ahead of the general public in special presales – the first of these open this week. As well as the chance to buy up to four tickets in the presale, U2.com subscribers will be sent a limited edition U2 remix album and gain unique online benefits with access to the dedicated U2.com subscription site.

More information on the U2.com Subscription offer.

6-June Anaheim, CA
On sale soon

12-June Denver, CO
On sale Nov. 6

16-June Oakland, CA
Presale opens Oct. 27th
On sale Nov. 2

20-June Seattle, WA
On sale soon

23-June Edmonton, AB
Presale opens Oct. 27th
On sale Nov. 2

30-June East Lansing, MI
On sale soon

03-July Toronto, ON
Presale opens Oct 27th
On sale Nov. 2

06-July Chicago, IL
On sale soon

09-July Miami, FL
On sale soon

12-July Philadelphia, PA
On sale soon

16-July Montreal, QC
On sale soon

19-July New York
On sale soon

Presales open to subscribers this Thursday for U2′s show in Athens, Greece on September 3rd and in Istanbul, Turkey on September 6th.

best wishes and see you on the road in 2010
The U2.com Team

Today U2 announced dates for their world tour. Most of the dates are in Europe for the summer with North American dates to follow in September and October. I’m not going to list them here as their site is too cool to not miss out on. The image in this post is a mock up of their new stage. Yep… it’s in the round. I’ve seen U2 on the ZooTV stadium tour twice and a few other arena shows. I know one thing about this show. It will be over th top and you won’t want to miss it. To see all the tour info click here to go to U2.com.

Today and tomorrow U2 releases their 12th CD, No Line On The Horizon. I received an early copy and have been listening to it ever since… and of course. I love it. It’s a great mixture old and new U2 with all the style of moving forward as they always do so well.

This week is a U2 media blitz week for sure. Actually starting with a few nights ago by playing a roof top gig in London at the BBC which you can see here.

Starting tonight U2 will be the musical guest on The Late Show with David Letterman. Not just tonight… but every night this week! At the end of the week, March 6, they will be on Good Morning America’s Winter Concert Series.

I love this! It really feels like U2 week. Finally!

Here’s the best news. This summer they will go on tour playing stadiums as part of their new deal with Live Nation. Their live show is one of the best I have ever seen and I’ve seen them in stadiums, in arenas, and even on a flat bed truck rolling down Time Square in NYC. U2 spares no expenses when it comes to giving their fans everything they can and at the end of the show you feel like you have walked away from one of the greatest spiritual and musical experiences ever… they are worth the price of admission.

So… this week, download the CD. Sign up and join U2.com, watch them on Letterman and check them out Friday morning.

I am.. the TIVO is set!

The music industry is changing fast. Here in Nashville, the change is making a few old schoolers nervous and some early adopters excited. In a time when music downloads scare industry execs, we have found a new beginning in the world of free as an entry point to a long lasting career. Life in the music industry will be different. Not might, not maybe…but WILL be different.
There are rumblings of a new model for record deals and new ways to sell records, but even that is a little old school from what I hear AND what I believe to be true. What I do know is those of you who are independent artists have the leg up right now and the opportunity to do more than you could ever dream. For you signed artists out there who feel strapped in by the deal you signed years ago. Make the best of it, learn from it, and realize it’s your career so be in control when your deal is done and don’t let anyone stand in your way of doing what you know is right for you.

Life in the fast lane…great song right? I love it. But I’m here to tell you that if you slow down to look around, things might pass you by on this one.

I will tell you what I know without going into the details of what I really know.

The live experience will always prevail when it comes to the life of an artist. No matter how CD’s are sold, if an artist wants a career, the show must go on.

When Big Tent Revival was touring. We knew we wouldn’t sell tons of CD’s and that our shelf life was limited if you looked at our career being centered around the sell of a CD. What we also knew was our ability to put on a strong show was far better than our CD sales and the only person paying our bills was the promoters who hired us to come play. Thank you promoters!!

What caused promoters to keep asking us to come play shows was our ability to put on the kind of show that would sell tickets to a certain audience. We entertained, encouraged, and told people about Christ…and most times we just simply rocked. It was that simple. No matter how few CD’s we sold, we could always tour.

When people came to see our shows, the experience they had made them want to go to our merchandise table and buy CD’s, Shirts, Posters…whatever they could buy from us, they bought. Whatever we could sell them, we sold.

You see people. This is where the live experience breaths new life into the music industry. Give people a great show and they will be a fan and buy your CD’s, shirts, posters and hats…you can extend this to the online world as well…the fan club, social network, blog…

As I look at the live experience, I’m reminded that the majority if my favorite CD’s are all live recordings. I’m also reminded of how much money I’ve spent on concert tickets, shirts and everything else that comes with the experience.

So you want to support your favorite artist? Buy a ticket and go see the show. The rest will flow naturally…

HT:Watercooler Wednesday & Creative Chaos