Bono
Latest
Bono says you can blame him for that free iTunes U2 album
Remember back in 2014 when U2 gave away an album's worth of songs to every iTunes user in the world?
Bono apologizes for that U2 download you didn't ask for
Apple and U2 may have touted that Songs of Innocence iTunes giveaway as a breakthrough music deal, but not everyone appreciated seeing an album forced into their collection. And apparently, front man Bono is now well aware of this -- he just used a fan Q&A on Facebook to offer an apology of sorts. He's sorry that U2 got "carried away" with its idea, and claims that the band was worried that years of work "might'nt be heard" if it had a typical launch.
U2's free album spread to 81 million iTunes users
So, just how far did U2's Songs of Innocence spread during its tenure as a free, exclusive iTunes album? Pretty far: according to Eddy Cue, Apple senior VP of internist software and services, 81 million customers heard at least one song from the album during its free period. While those numbers represent just partial downloads of the album, Cue told Billboard that 26 million iTunes users nabbed the whole thing. Those are huge numbers -- he told the publication that before the promotion, only 14 million iTunes customers had purchase the band's music since 2003.
Bono talks 885 million iTunes accounts, new music format, and "haters"
Over the weekend, U2 frontman Bono sat down for an interview with Dave Fanning on the Irish radio station 2FM where the two discussed a wide range of topics. While the interview mostly centered on the band's new album, Bono took some time to touch on a few Apple related items. And if there's one thing Bono isn't, it's boring. With respect to the backlash resulting from Apple making U2's new album Songs of Innocence available for free to iTunes users, Bono was quick to brush off any criticism. The same people who used to write on toilet walls when we were kids are now in the blogosphere. The blogosphere is enough to put you off of democracy [laughs]. But no, let people have their say. Why not? They're the haters, we're the lovers, we're never going to agree. Bono explained that the entire point of the promotion was to get the album heard by as many people as possible and that it was mission accomplished. The album has already been downloaded by 77 million users and the band's Singles album is now in the top 10 of 14 different countries, all thanks to the Apple deal. People really who would not ordinarily be exposed to our music have a chance to listen to it. Whether they hold that to their hearts, we don't know. Whether those songs will be important to them in a week's time, we don't know. But they have a chance, and that's gotta be exciting for a band that's been around as long as we have. As for the backlash, Bono expressed that it was all overblown. Yes, it worked, and the only thing was this technological blip which was for some people [the album] didn't just stay in the cloud, it hopped into their phone. Apple is very sorry about that. They sent people a way to delete it. It's wonk. I mean, really. Come on. ... I can say to them, no one has deleted more U2 songs in the last 5 years than the 4 members of U2. Later in the interview, Bono even likened the band's deal with Apple to punk rock, explaining that the point of punk rock was to be "in your face" and that punk rock back in the day thrived on being right there in front of you even if you weren't looking for it. Ah good ole' Bono, an unquestionable master of spin. As for reports that Apple and U2 are working on a new type of music format to increase music sales, Bono during Sunday's interview shed a bit more light on the matter. But to really break this open, why can't we see what we're looking at. Why can't we dip into artwork. like we used to? Why can't I use my phone or my iPad to disappear into a world created by artists with photography? If we want to listen to Miles Davis in a silent way, why can't we have the photographs of Herman Leonard playing in the background while we do it? Or, with another click find out what mood he was in when he made that? Or with lyrics, why can't we read Bob Dylan's lyrics while we're listening to his music at a certain point in time? Interestingly, the new artistic-themed music format Bono is so jazzed about will, according to him, include high-res studio master downloads to boot. And truthfully, it's not a bad idea. But it sure sounds awfully similar to iTunes LP, an interactive album format from Apple which never quite impacted music sales in a discernible way. Of course, the utility of iTunes LP was limited insofar as the content was only viewable from within iTunes and on the Apple TV. iTunes LP on iOS would likely be much more impactful. Also of note is that this music format is supposedly years in the making. In fact, Bono claims the idea stretches all the way back to 2009 and had the blessing of Steve Jobs. So 5 years ago I began a conversation with Steve Jobs at my house in France and I said to Steve: "How is it that for a person who cares about the way things look and feel more than anyone else in the world that iTunes looks like a spreadsheet?" Burn. He was not happy. That was before they managed to even get a full screen photograph up. So he made a promise to me that we would work on this together, and with the team at Apple we've been doing it for years, and it's not ready yet for Songs of Innocence, it will be ready for Songs of Experience. And it's very exciting. And it's a new format, and you can still get the Mp3 format, and you can rob it or whatever you want but you won't be getting the full experience. It'd be like you walking down the streets in Dublin in the 70s with a copy of the Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers; just the vinyl, and not the Andy Warhol designed sleeve. You wouldn't feel like like you had the proper package. Another interesting tidbit: Bono gave us an update as to the total number of iTunes accounts. The last time we received an official figure from Apple was this past April during an earnings conference call when Tim Cook boasted of 800 million accounts. According to Bono, that number today stands at 885 million. And while we have no confirmation from Apple, it stands to reason that Bono, thanks to U2's recent deal with Apple, is likely to be aware of the most up-to-date figure. "They have 885 million iTunes accounts," Bono told Fanning, "and we're going to help them get that number to a billion." Bono ventured on to discuss the music streaming business model, emphasizing that it's a great way to get musicians paid for their work. [One billion users is] 1/7 of the earth's population. If 1/10 of those people were to be part of a subscription service like Spotify has, and I'm a huge Spotify fan, at $10 a month... Do the math. That's a billion a month. That's $12 billion dollars. That's bigger than the entire music business coming out of one company. Even if it was 5%, now musicians are suddenly in a game that people are ready to pay for, their lives are changed. And forget about touring bands, what about the songwriters? Cole Porter, where would he be now? He didn't sell t-shirts... so that thing that U2 is for free music is bollocks or people who are too blind to read the newspaper properly. On the streaming front, we're still waiting to see how Apple plans to integrate Beats Music into its product lineup. Most recently, an Apple TV update introduced a new Beats Music channel but aside from that there's been no news. Now what would really be interesting is if Apple introduced the aforementioned enhanced album features as part of a $10/month Beats Music subscription. That might be a great way to not only attract new users but to get Spotify users to defect -- a tall task given how many people are used to Spotify and absolutely love the service. As a final point, Bono discussed briefly why U2 enjoys collaborating with Apple, specifically pointing out that Apple, more so than any other tech company, is concerned with ensuring that musicians are getting paid for their work.
Bono says he's working with Apple on a new music format to fight piracy
Bono's already inserted himself into everyone's iPhones this week, but now he wants even more control over the way you enjoy music. The Irish singer says that he's been working with Apple on a new audio format that'll get people paying for music once again. In an interview with Time magazine, which won't be published until September 29th, it's said that the band has been working on a secret project that's "so terribly exciting to music fans that it will tempt them again into buying music." It's all part of U2's noble cause to see that songwriters and, especially, artists who can't recoup lost earnings through live gigs - like U2 - are properly compensated for their labors. Of course, given Apple's historic preference for secrecy, we can't imagine it'll be too pleased that Bono's running his mouth off in public. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time that a musician has blown one of Tim Cook's future announcements.
(RED) thanks Apple for contributions; claims Bono's "jokes" taken out of context
U2 frontman Bono made waves earlier this week when, during the course of a Cannes Lions presentation, he seemingly lambasted Apple for not being more vocal about its role in (Product) RED. "Apple is so f*cking annoyingly quiet about the fact they've raised $75 million," Bono explained. Adweek further described Bono's palpable frustration at Apple's reluctance to put the RED branding on its products. Bono went so far as to stand up, pull out an official (Red) iPad cover and remove the device, illustrating to the audience that the only actual nod to the nonprofit was inside the cover and therefore always obscured by the tablet. "Where's the (Red) branding?" he asked Ive. "Nobody can see that. This is modesty run amok. This is the Apple way. They're like a religious cult." Naturally, the arrows flung in Bono's direction came quick, with many noting that Bono complaining about branding issues was distasteful given all the money Apple has helped raise for the (RED) cause. In light of all this, the (RED) blog today published a post thanking Apple for its work to raise money to fight against AIDS while also downplaying Bono's comments as nothing more than Bono attempting to joke around. During the session, Bono teased Jony about Apple's modesty and reluctance to take credit for its charitable work, including the whopping $75 million Apple has donated to the fight against AIDS through its partnership with (RED). In a reminder that humor doesn't always travel out of context, some of Bono's teasing and faux outrage at Apple's modesty were reported as actual criticism of the company. Nothing could be further from the truth of course. Bono has been one of Apple's biggest supporters, pushing back publicly on those who have made negative assumptions about the company's charitable work, simply because they don't shout it from the rooftops. That modesty is their right, and in many ways admirable. Bono and all of us at (RED) are so grateful to Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Jony Ive and the entire Apple team for the game-changing impact they have made for (RED) and the fight against this disease. Say what you will about Bono's recent comments, but the frontman has historically been quick to defend Steve Jobs whenever the Apple co-founder's charitable efforts were called into question. Back in September of 2011, for example, Bono was quick to defend Jobs in the wake of a New York Times article critical of Jobs' seeming reluctance to donate money to charity. Bono fired back a letter to the editor which read in part: As a founder of (Product)RED, I'd like to point out that Apple's contribution to our fight against AIDS in Africa has been invaluable. Through the sale of (RED) products, Apple has been (RED)'s largest contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - giving tens of millions of dollars that have transformed the lives of more than two million Africans through H.I.V. testing, treatment and counseling. This is serious and significant. And Apple's involvement has encouraged other companies to step up. Steve Jobs said when we first approached him about (RED), "There is nothing better than the chance to save lives."
Bono criticizes Apple for lack of Product RED promotion
Bono's (Product) RED initiative is the sort of program that's easy to support. RED sells specially-branded products and donates a portion of the profits to the fight against AIDS. It's a feel-good promotion that Apple has been of since 2006, raising over US$75 million for the initiative. So why exactly is Bono frustrated with Apple right now? The answer is simple, and sort of odd. Despite raising a huge amount of money in just eight years, Bono feels the company isn't doing enough to promote RED via branding or advertisement of its participation. During a presentation at the Cannes Lions on June 21, the outspoken singer lashed out at Apple with some rather profane language. "Apple is so f*cking annoyingly quiet about the fact they've raised $75 million." Apple could of course do more to promote RED directly, but it has hardly been subtle in its support. You don't subtly sell $75 million dollars worth of goods, make special products just for a project, and auction off one-of-a-kind versions of your hardware. Apple even has a website promoting its work with RED and the $75 million is has raised. Bono's real issue is with a choice Steve Jobs made back when the partnership was formed. In the video below you can see Bono discuss the deal he and Jobs worked out for RED, including Steve's opposition to the use of parentheses in the logo. Several emails from Bono convinced Jobs to change his mind, but with a caveat; Apple would never put the logo in its retail stores. As Bono says, "...and to this day, you will never see the parentheses in an Apple Store." Apple under Steve Jobs focused on building the best design over everything else, even promoting a charity, which it seems is another source of frustration for the singer. Bono takes issue with the fact that RED's branding on the products themselves isn't more prominent, usually located in a place where it won't be easily seen. In particular he raises issues with the (Product) RED iPad case, which has the RED branding on the inside of the case. Once your iPad is inside you'll never seen the logo again unless you take it out. Where's the RED branding? Nobody can see that. This is modestry run amok. This is the Apple way. They're like a religious cult." Which is sort of the point. Would Apple have sold so many RED iPad cases if it had a big (Product) RED logo on the front of the case? That's a reasonable question to ask considering the importance of design aesthetics to Apple's popularity. If you want this "cult's" money, sometimes that means you must accept its design choices. Apple's design mastermind Jony Ive was on hand to provide a different perspective on Apple's relationship with RED, focusing on the company's expansion of their RED line. We started in 2006 with one Red product, a Nano, and now we've got well over half a dozen. It's been really, really special for us." This is a fascinating case of how dedicated Apple is to its design philosophy. It will help you raise money, they will even put your logo somewhere on the product, but when everything is said and done even branded products must look like they came from Apple. It's those design choices that sell so many iPads and iPad covers, and have contributed to the $75 million that RED has been able to use to make the world a better place. If only all overly modest cults could help that many people. In the mean time here are some commercials Apple made to promote it's RED products.
Apple has donated over $65 million to Product Red for AIDS research
Say what you will about Apple's business practices, but its philanthropy work is hard to discount. Cupertino has raised over $65 million for Product Red's fight against AIDS since 2006, the charity tweeted today. The announcement comes from the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting, where the male half of Bonoprah took the stage, commenting that the tech giant "is certainly leading the crew" in terms of donations to the effort -- something that should speak much louder than a broken click wheel ever will.
Jony Ive named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world
Time magazine's annual list of the top 100 most influential people in the world is out and Apple design guru Jony Ive made the list. Ive's write-up in the magazine was penned by none other than U2 frontman Bono, who you might remember had a particularly close relationship with Steve Jobs and a long-standing working relationship with Apple with respect to Bono's Project Red initiative. Bono writes of Ive: Jony Ive is himself classic Apple. Brushed-steel, polished-glass hardware, complicated software honed to simplicity. His genius is not just his ability to see what others cannot, but also how he applies it. To watch him with his workmates in the holy of holies, Apple's design lab, or on a night out is to observe a very rare esprit de corps. They love their boss, and he loves them. What the competitors don't seem to understand is you cannot get people this smart to work this hard just for money. Jony is Obi-Wan. Ive's inclusion on the list shouldn't be all that surprising when you consider that there are currently hundreds of millions of Apple products in use worldwide that bear the design influence and sensibilities of Ive. What's more, Ive's influence on the products we use is only bound to increase in the years to come. While Ive has historically been a driving force in the industrial design of Apple's products, his design taste will soon be apparent in Apple's software as well. Remember that Ive, following the unceremonious departure of Scott Forstall, was put in charge of Apple's Human Interface design this past October. We should get a first glimpse of Ive's software aesthetic when Apple unveils iOS 7 at WWDC this year. That is, of course, if Apple can get it finished on time. Recent reports have suggested that Apple's next-gen mobile OS is running a tad behind schedule, so much so that Apple was reportedly forced to pull engineers working on OS X 10.9 to help out with iOS 7 development efforts. Returning to Time's list of 100 influential figures for a second, there are two other points of interest worth mentioning. First, Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon made the cut, and his write-up was, oddly enough, penned by former Apple CEO John Sculley. Second, Greenlight Capital hedge fund manager David Einhorn also made the list. You might remember that Einhorn caused a small stir in financial circles earlier this year when he sued Apple for not returning enough of its cash to shareholders. Einhorn subsequently dropped the suit in March.
Apple's Jony Ive tapped to design one-off Leica M for charity auction
In case the newly announced Leica M simply isn't astronomically expensive enough -- or charity-minded enough, as it were -- Apple's senior VP of design Jony Ive is working with the German photography company on a one-off version set to be auctioned for charity. Given the M's baseline price of €6,200 (about $8,100), we're guessing the one-of-a-kind version designed by one of the world's most influential designers is going to fetch a pretty penny at auction. Like, "sell off one of your extra homes" kind of money. Leica head Dr. Andreas Kaufmann announced the collaboration last night during a Leica event at Photokina -- an event that Ive himself was reportedly set to appear at -- where he said that the auction will be done with U2 frontman (and longtime friend of Ive) Bono Vox. The latest Leica M debuts in early 2013, though we won't see the fruits of Ive and Leica's collaboration for some time as the camera's design has yet to begin.
Bono compares Steve Jobs to Elvis
U2 lead singer Bono paid tribute to Steve Jobs with kind comments for the man who turned the music industry upside down with the iPod and iTunes. Bono called Jobs "the hardware/software Elvis" and described him as a man who was "only interested in doing truly great things." Speaking of his influence on music and technology, Bono said, "Jobs changed music, he changed film, he changed the personal computer and turned telephony on its head while he was at it." Bono worked closely with Jobs and Apple in the mid-2000s on a U2 iPod with a signature black and red design. The U2 iPod has similar specs to its comparable non-U2 iPod models, but included a download voucher for premium U2 content and the autographs of band members engraved on the back. Apple also released a variety of iPods and an iPad 2 cover under product RED, an African AIDs charity founded in 2006 by U2 front man Bono and Bobby Shriver.
U2's Bono has kind words for Steve Jobs
U2's Bono has expressed thanks for Steve Jobs's "invaluable" support in fighting AIDS in a letter to the editor of The New York Times. Bono contacted the editor after The Time's Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote a link-bait column titled "The Mystery of Steve Jobs's Public Giving." In the column Sorkin seemed somewhat obsessed over the "mystery" and lack of a public record about Steve Jobs' charitable contributions. Clearly Bono wanted to set the record straight, as his letter to the editor reads: To the Editor: Re "The Mystery of Jobs's Public Giving," by Andrew Ross Sorkin (DealBook, Aug. 30): As a founder of (Product)RED, I'd like to point out that Apple's contribution to our fight against AIDS in Africa has been invaluable. Through the sale of (RED) products, Apple has been (RED)'s largest contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - giving tens of millions of dollars that have transformed the lives of more than two million Africans through H.I.V. testing, treatment and counseling. This is serious and significant. And Apple's involvement has encouraged other companies to step up. Steve Jobs said when we first approached him about (RED), "There is nothing better than the chance to save lives." I'm proud to know him; he's a poetic fellow, an artist and a businessman. Just because he's been extremely busy, that doesn't mean that he and his wife, Laurene, have not been thinking about these things. You don't have to be a friend of his to know what a private person he is or that he doesn't do things by halves. BONO Dublin, Sept. 1, 2011 In Sorkin's defense, the columnist obviously (and rightfully) cares about the importance of philanthropy. I too am a big supporter of the "those that have more should give more" line of thought, but to jump on a man who's notoriously private about his personal and business dealings when he's just resigned over health issues was a bit much, but then again, link bait is a powerful motivator. As for Bono's reply, at least he didn't call for Sorkin to apologize to Steve Jobs like Forbes's Eric Jackson did.
Lady Gaga silences her Twitter account for charity
Sometimes these things write themselves! Digital Life Sacrifice is a charity stunt dreamed up by Alicia Keys with the oh-so-laudable goal of raising much needed cash for the Keep A Child Alive charity. How does this work? Several celebs, including Justin Timberlake, Usher, and the indefatigable Ms. Gaga herself will sign out of Facebook and Twitter on World AIDS Day (December 1) and stay out until they collectively raise one million dollars. Aside from the obvious (why the hell would anybody raise money to get Gaga tweeting again?) the very name Digital Life Sacrifice just begs us to ask the question: do these people even know the meaning of the word sacrifice?
Palm nabs another $100m from Elevation Partners, takes it to the bridge
According to reports today, Palm has managed to snag another $100 million from Elevation Partners (the private equity team co-owned by Bono). The new figure gets tacked onto Palm's existing $325 million buy-in from the firm. The previous sum was put towards the struggling handset / software-maker's "strategic recapitalization," and we can only assume this latest infusion is being used for the home stretch into that New OS and those New devices we're expecting see come CES. It's not completely surprising you'd want to juice your previous large investment, but if Palm's numbers keep shifting downward, it seems unlikely this will be anything other than a Hail Mary. Even if Bono loses $100m in his couch cushions, it doesn't mean Elevation Partners is in for the long haul.
Dell and Microsoft get official with (PRODUCT) RED gear
We knew Dell and Microsoft would be giving some of their gear the Bono treatment this week, but the two companies and the AIDS-in-Africa relief project unveiled their partnership in style today at Davos. Just like we'd heard, the XPS m1530, m1330, and XPS One machines are all going crimson, as well as the 948 AIO printer. Microsoft's kicking in a special (PRODUCT) RED-themed edition of Vista Ultimate to keep things special on the OS tip, and obviously you'll feel better about things with donations of $50 - $80 of each machine's purchase price going to RED, and $5 on the printer (hey, those margins are low enough as it is). All the new stuff should be available by the end of the week in the States, and by January 31 in 30 additional countries -- or right now for your viewing pleasure in the gallery. %Gallery-14555%
Palm shareholders approve Elevation Partners sale
In a move that could be described as "totally unsurprising," Palm shareholders have approved the much-discussed partial sale of the company to a private equity firm called Elevation Partners (of which Bono is a member), and also a change in the board of director's makeup. The plan, if you'll recall, is for Mr. MacPhisto and co. to pay $325 million for a 25-percent stake in the company, while Palm itself will pay out a $9 per-share distribution of cash to current shareholders for a reduction in ownership. There will also be a new executive board chair, namely, Johnathan Rubenstein, an Apple alumni who ran the iPod devision from 2004-2006. Fred Anderson (another former Apple officer), and Roger McNamee (a Silicon Valley investor) will also join the board. Our man Ed Colligan said of the switch, "There are a lot of moving parts here, but the goal is to bring in a transformation and change the dynamics of the company," er... okay. Apparently, Palm has hopes that Mr. Rubenstein will help create "innovative products" and "bring them to market quickly." In our dreams guys, in our dreams.
(PRODUCT) RED iPod shuffle coming on the 5th?
AppleInsider totally called it last time with the Oprah-launched (PRODUCT) RED iPod nano, so we're inclined to believe that they may have the inside line on Bono's latest attempt to cozy up with the Jobsian Empire, in the form of a signature-red shuffle refresh purportedly being announced at the upcoming "Beat Goes On" event. For those of you tracking these sort of things, this (PRODUCT) RED shuffle claim follows the nano Phatty, iPod Touch, Beatles on iTunes, and portable Coverflow rumors on the list of possible announcements to be made on September 5th at the Moscone Center -- among many others that we probably haven't picked up on. Okay, back to your regular programming, but don't get too comfy, because the next 'inside scoop' could be just minutes away...[Image courtesy of AppleInsider, thanks jungzandvliet]
Charitable iPhone auctioned off for $100000
And you thought forking out five grand for the very first Nokia E90 Communicator was impressive. In the name of charity, "Keep A Child Alive" to be precise, an anonymous bidder pledged a whopping $100,000 in order to acquire the "first iPhone sold" (at least the first one at Apple's SoHo location), two Jawbone Bluetooth headsets, and a pair of round-trip airplane tickets and VIP passes to the Black Ball in New York City later this year. Reportedly, the pricey handset will be "personalized with a voice mail greeting and presented by Alicia Keys" to the generous winner on October 25th, but we wonder if the bidder would be willing to shell out a few more Benjamins to eliminate the excruciating wait.
Palm sells 25% stake to Bono and former Apple execs
The wires are alight with news that Palm will be announcing a deal to sell a 25% stake to Elevation Partners. The private equity firm where Bono is a founding partner will shell-out $325 million for the privilege of helping Palm reorganize. Jon Rubinstein, Apple's retired head of hardware -- yes, that hardware -- joins Palm as executive chairman to head up product development while Apple's former CFO Fred Anderson -- yes, that Fred Anderson -- joins Palm's board of directors. Palm's current Chairman, Eric Benhamou, and board director D. Scott Mercer would then step down assuming shareholders approve the deal. Sure, it's not the sale that many had hoped for, but at least we can look forward to a new limited edition black and red Foleo which is somethin'. Update: It's official, see the press release for all the recapitalization gore.[Via MocoNews]
Venezuela enlists Bono to stop Mercs 2
A group called Venezuelan Solidarity isn't happy about Mercenaries 2 (that sounds awfully familiar). Apparently the group isn't so keen on the game's depiction of Venezuelan locales, not to mention the "extremely realistic" violence Mercenaries 2 encourages in said locales. In an open letter to Bono, Venezuelan Solidarity asks the U2 singer-cum-activist to pull the support of Elevation Partners -- Bono's investment firm -- from Pandemic Studios, developers of Mercenaries 2. The group pulls at Bono's human rights strings, asking that he "reconsider [his] investment in a company that glorifies violence and militarization." Furthermore, Venezuelan Solidarity implores the rock star to prevent the game from being sold "anywhere." That's a mighty tall order, even for Bono.Whether or not Bono will accept this call to arms remains to be seen. We wait with bated breath.[Via Joystiq. Thanks, Stynk Monkey]
