Who needs bathrooms? ([email protected])
Sun, 06 Sep 1998 10:10:44 -0600
Looking further back, the American figures show POP has sold a total of 1.3
million since its release, compared to the five million sales achieved by
Achtung Baby and 2.2 million for Zooropa.
The sales charts suggest a steady decline in popularity for U2's
contemporary output, balanced by continuing strong demand for older
product. Past glory, then, has become the band's biggest money-spinner. If
U2 receive 3 pounds for every album sold, then US sales of Joshua Tree will
have made the band 312,000 pounds this year, as opposed to 135,000 pounds
for POP's musical excursion into the zeitgeist.
A final simple sum, however, shows that U2's cash cow is far from drying
up. This year, each member of the band will have personally made up to 1.3
million pounds from American sales alone. A nice earner from past
endeavours, which adds to lucrative income sources to indicate that
suggestions that U2 are down on their luck are little more than conjectural
whimsy.
Album sales aside, touring remains a big money-spinner, despite the narrow
margins of the last tour and Bono's dejected confession to the Seattle
crowd. Again, fact is hard to pin down: one magazine claimed the Zooropa
tour made a profit of 4.5 million pounds after grossing 40 million pounds;
another journal reported the tour only just broke even.
Royalties from radio plays have been another major source of income, so
potentially valuable that U2 took legal action against the Performing
Rights Society in Britain, which monitors radio station play-lists and
extracts payments for the artists. PRS is a notoriously slow of
remuneration, previouly reliant on disc jockeys bothering to fill in
accurate play-sheets at the end of each broadcast.
U2, as regular broadcast artists, stood to gain a great deal from legal
action. They have also taken on the collection agencies, the touring
middlemen who pocket a substantial amount of profit from both bands and
promoters.
"They have won that battle," says David Davies, "and in so doing they have
opened up even more avenues to barrels of cash."
The industry perception, then, is hardly one of the band being forced to
take a hammer to the piggy bank. Press stories most often list the
superlatives: Bono's house on Vico Road and Adam Clayton's Rathfarnum
manor; the Edge's collection of vintage Mercedes; Larry's Harley Davidson;
the luxury holiday chateau at Eze Sur Mer, near Nice in France.
Nine years ago, Bono admitted to Rolling Stone magazine that the Joshua
Tree album had been their financial turning point.
"We used to have to finish albums and go on tour just to stay solvent," he
said. "Now we don't have to do anything we don't want to do. That iswhat it
is to be rich, and in that sense, we are filthy rich."
In taking risks, in playing with the genres, U2 are still proving they are
as rich as they need to be. It is possible no one will again class them as
Ireland's leading export, but within their own parameters and needs they
remain almost implausibly wealthy. The recent reports about alleged losses
seem to emerge from suggestions of friction within management ranks.
Bono, with a liberal credibility to protect, can hardly be pleased at such
gossip of infighting. The stories, with the statistics of profit at their
heart, hint at the financial interests of a small group of musicians who
already possess so much more than those whose causes they claim to espouse.
Post-Sarajevo; post-peace process; post-Greenpeace activism; U2 will be
turning the pages with alarm.
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>From CyberSleaze:
BUT THE BIGGEST ATTRACTION AT THE VERVE SHOW WAS
ACTUALLY ADAM CLAYTON'S NEW GIRLFRIEND: U2
star ADAM CLAYTON caused a veritable commotion at THE VERVE show
in Ireland over the weekend by bringing along a mystery companion. The multi-
millionaire bass player had the pretty brunette by his side throughout the open-air
concert and they attended a private party together thrown by LORD HENRY
MOUNTCHARLES in the castle before heading down a steep path to watch the
bands from the side of the stage. Clayton, who kicked a pretty serious booze habit
several years ago, sipped orange juice throughout the day. He has had a string of
high-profile girlfriends over the years including a stint as feisty supermodel NAOMI
CAMPBELL's fiancee (for which he earned combat pay). More recently he had
reportedly dating American SUZIE SMITH, who works for U2 manager PAUL
MCGUINNESS, but Smith was most definitely not the mystery brunette in
question. After the show, Clayton reportedly stayed OVERNIGHT with his mystery
girlfriend (we are SO shocked...) in the nearby Beauparc home of pal Lord Henry.
Hmmm...
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There's a really cool page that I think most of you aren't aware
of. It has 29 RA's of Bono's solo work--everything from "I am not
Your Baby" to "Give me Back My Job"...
http://www.geocities.com/~bonosolo/
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Emmy Online has announced the following award was presented
on August 29, 1998 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM (For programming
one hour or less.)
THE SIMPSONS
Trash Of The Titans
Mike Scully, Executive Producer
Matt Groening, Executive Producer
James L. Brooks, Executive Producer
Sam Simon, Executive Producer
George Meyer, Co-Executive Producer
David S. Cohen, Co-Executive Producer
Rich Appel, Co-Executive Producer
Dan Greaney, Producer
Ron Hauge, Producer
Donick Cary, Producer
Colin A.B.V. Lewis, Producer
Bonita Pietila, Producer
Mike Mendel, Producer
Richard Raynis, Producer
Richard Sakai, Producer
Denise Sirkot, Producer
Ian Maxtone Graham, Consulting Producer/Writer
David Mirkin, Consulting Producers
Jace Richdale, Consulting Producers
Bill Oakley, Consulting Producers
Josh Weinstein, Consulting Producers
Phil Roman, Animation Executive Producer
Lolee Aries, Animation Producer
Michael Wolf, Animation Producer
Brian Scully, Co-Producer
Julie Thacker, Co-Producer
Jim Reardon, Director
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Condensed from The Irish Times:
ACT expected to emerge as third TV3 shareholder
By Cliff Taylor
ACT Venture Capital is expected to emerge as the third
shareholder in TV3, when an announcement is made by the
Independent Radio and Television Commission today. TV3
would not comment yesterday, but it appears that the Irish
venture capital company is set to take up a sizeable equity
stake in the new station.
TV3's biggest shareholder is CanWest Global, the Canadian
TV giant, which owns 45 per cent. Another 20 per cent is
owned by the original TV3 investors, Windmill Lane Studios,
the U2 manager, Mr Paul McGuinness and accountant, Mr
Ossie Kilkenny.
(Prarit's note: TV3 is set to start airing on September 20, 1998)
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>From Rocktropolis:
Negativland -- the outspoken outfit against paying rights for samples --
sent out a cranky press release Tuesday (Sept. 1) complaining about Fatboy
Slim's use of one of their samples in the song "Michael Jackson" in a Coke
commercial. While Negativland believes people shouldn't have to pay to
sample others, they're not too happy that their work ended up in a Coke
spot. But, the thing is, it didn't. Only the instrumental part of "Michael
Jackson," which is on Fatboy Slim's 1997 album Better Living Through
Chemistry, is used in the spot. The song samples from Negativland's own
"Michael Jackson" from their 1987 SST album Escape from Noise. And while
Fatboy Slim did pay SST ($1000) for permission to use the sample,
Negativland claims SST is keeping the money for themselves, though, adds
that the group would've given it to them for free anyway (again, that's
their thing). The sample in question was actually stolen by a Negativland
member from the basement of a church in Concord, Calif. in the '70s. Fatboy
Slim's label, Astralwerks, had no comment. And, seeing that Fatboy Slim
(aka Norman Cook) is a big fan of Negativland, we're sure the release
(which states that he "stupidly" went to SST Records to get permission to
use the sample) would upset him a bit. The Coke spot starts airing on
television Sept. 7 for three months and is part of a major NFL campaign,
which includes a contest to send people to the Super Bowl..
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>From Dot Music:
Island Records man to join In The City music convention
Chris Blackwell: prodigal son
Island Records founder Chris Blackwell is the latest recruit to In The City,
where he will take part in a Q&A session.
The heavy-hitter�s appearance in the black chair is being billed by ITC co-
founder Tony Wilson as the return of the prodigal son. "Chris has had some
incredible experiences and is coming back hard after the business at
PolyGram," he says.
Blackwell, who is currently building his new Palm Pictures operation, is the
latest in a long line of music industry heavyweights who have appeared at the
convention. At the first ITC, top US lawyer Allen Grubman and Led Zeppelin
manager Peter Grant took part in the celebrity interviews.
Blackwell will appear under the spotlight at 5pm on Tuesday September 15.
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Okay, just a quick clarification on the Greatest Hits rumour.
1) At the latest Island/Polygram regional meetings in Palm Sorubgs, a WIREling
who works for Polygram reported the following:
and I quote..."U2 is scheduled to release a Greatest Hits album in November
though a date has not been set yet. Paul McGuinness is currently in New York
talking over "money" issues with Island" He did not get specific about what
these "money" issues were and I didnt ask because its business and I have to
seperate myself as a fan from my job. He "hinted" that this album may either
be like Rattle and Hum with live tracks from POPmart (hits..such as new years
day, where the streets have no name, I will follow, etc...) and would also
contain a few new songs yet to be finished but will be soon. He said though
that it could also contain strictly Greatest Hits taken from the studio albums
without any new songs. Island said they are unsure at this time what the
album will consist of and that Paul McGuinness is getting all of the details
worked out but YES there WILL be an album out in Nov. 99. Now...the record
industry also changes its mind on a daily basis so this could mean anything at
this point.
(Prarit's note: In other words, something will come out in November of this
year.)
The Polygram employee also wrote about the POPMart video:
* Release date: Nov. 3rd (VHS)
* Retail cost: $19.95
* show will be the the Dec 3rd Mexico City show.
* Total Running time is 135 minutes
* title (so far) "U2 POPmart" though when I asked if there was to be a
subtitle I was told it could possibly say "Live from Mexico City" but that has
not been decided.
* Cover artwork is not ready yet but will be next week. Im tryin to get my
hands on a color laser copy of the artwork but thats tuff and I doubt they
would give me a copy. Though I do have a copy of the video trailer with most
of the above information in my possession now. I brought home the copy they
showed us at the meetings.
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Prarit.....
[email protected]
http://www.cableregina.com/users/u2news/u2.html
This page is brought to you by the letter "U" and the number "2".
-- Prarit....[email protected] U2 news: http://www.cableregina.com/users/u2news/u2.html
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