U2
Latest
1960s aerial spy photos reveal hidden archaeological sites
Archaeologists use satellite photos to spot potential archaeological sites, but urban sprawl and other human development has erased many traces of ancient civilizations. To get around that, Harvard's Jason Urs and Emily Hammer from the University of Pennsylvania figured out how to effectively go back in time to when the land was less despoiled. They dug up and archived a trove of U-2 spy photos from the '50s and '60s, eventually finding ancient canals and "desert kite" stone structures built in northern Iraq by the Assyrians up to 8,000 years ago.
Apple dips a toe into VR with U2 music video
Apple just stepped into the virtual reality game, kinda, via a(nother) partnership with U2. Apple Music and the Irish band collaborated on a special 360-degree video for Song for Someone produced by Vrse -- a platform for original VR content. This might be the first consumer VR content with Apple's name to it, but it's familiar ground in many ways. The partnership between U2 and Apple is part of a promotional "experience" which includes a bus outside venues of its European Tour, where fans of U2 can view the video via Oculus rift. Apple Music, on the other hand, is clearly trying new ways to win over some of those (many) non-paying users currently testing out its streaming service.
The Big Picture: U2's tour art takes a page from particle physics
Who said that science can't be pretty? Certainly not artist Jeff Frost. When U2 asked Frost for tour art that reflected a "neural net of humanity," he went to CERN's Large Hadron Collider to capture timelapse footage and otherwise treat the particle smasher as a creative tool. As you can see above, the result is dazzling -- it looks like the internet made manifest in a painting. And while you'd think that physicists would be annoyed by this kind of interruption, they actually went out of their way to give Frost access to areas that even they couldn't always see. This doesn't quite make up for U2 foisting an album on millions of people, but it does give Bono and crew some extra geek cred.
Watch Kanye West and U2 play a surprise charity concert live on YouTube
World AIDS Day has already done a lot to both raise awareness of AIDS and fund research for a cure, but it's about to end with a bang. Bank of America and the (RED) charity are hosting a surprise concert at 7:30PM Eastern tonight in Times Square -- and they're streaming the whole thing live on YouTube. The gig will see most of U2 play alongside Bruce Springsteen and Chris Martin (Bono is recovering from an accident), with Kanye West and Carrie Underwood adding to the star power. It's short notice, we know, but it's definitely worth tuning in if you want to see some of the biggest names in music play for a good cause... and no, this won't show up in your iTunes library afterwards.
Bono apologizes for automatic "Songs of Innocence" downloads
In a move that Tim Cook probably assumed would "delight" iTunes customers, Apple this past September made U2's latest album, Songs of Innocence, available for free to all iTunes. In doing so, a number of users with no interest in the album were dismayed to discover that the album had been added to their libraries. What resulted was a typically overblown "controversy", with Apple ultimately releasing a tool enabling users to easily remove the free album from their music library. Addressing the mishap during a recent interview with fans conducted via Facebook, Bono apologized for perhaps taking the idea a step too far. Oops. I'm sorry about that. I had this beautiful idea and we got carried away with ourselves. Artists are prone to that kind of thing. Drop of megalomania, touch of generosity, dash of self promotion, and deep fear that these songs that we poured our life into over the last few years might not be heard. There's a lot of noise out there. I guess we got a little noisy ourselves to get through it.
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 Songs of Innocence was downloaded by 26 million people
Apple is finally releasing numbers about the notorious U2 album that supposedly no one wanted. In a report to Billboard Apple claims over 26 million people downloaded the complete Songs of Innocence album out of the 500 million people for whom the record was available to via iTunes. Of course that's not the end of the numbers. In total 81 million people "experienced" songs from the record via iTunes, iTunes Radio, and Beats music service. In a statement to Billboard Eddy Cue, Apple's senior VP of internet software and services, addressed how important these numbers are for U2. "To help put this into perspective," he says, "prior to this, 14 million customers had purchased music from U2 since the opening of the iTunes Store in 2003." The deal worked out handsomely for the band, receiving $100 million in free advertising for their album, but the 26 million number is stunning. To put it perspective the band's legendary Joshua Tree album has sold 25 million copies since its release in 1987.
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.
Conan's "documentary" about Apple's U2 removal program is incredible
The public reaction to Apple's giveaway of U2's latest album was decidedly mixed. Some people were excited to find the new album in their iTunes account, while a large contingent of users either didn't want to hear it or found the way the giveaway was handled an invasion of privacy. Regardless of what side you took, the giveaway obviously didn't go the way Apple intended, as shown by its creation of a removal page to help people ditch the album. Now from the rubble of the Great U2 Controversy of 2014 comes a short "documentary" of sorts from the parody factory at TBS' Conan. "Apple's U2-Removal Service" goes the extra step in making sure you forget every aspect of hearing the new U2 album, even if it means rewriting your brain. Enjoy.
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.
Time claims U2 and Apple may be working on a new digital music format
I certainly have nothing against U2, but I think it's fair to say that if Apple wanted to make a huge splash by gracing the iTunes world with a free album, there are any number of bands Apple could have chosen that would have generated more of a buzz. Still, there may be even more to Apple's rejuvenated relationship with the boys from Dublin than meets the eye. A new report in Time suggests that Apple may be working with U2 to develop what we presume is a new higher quality audio format in an effort to convince consumers to purchase songs outright instead of relying on increasingly popular music streaming services like Pandora and Spotify. Bono tells TIME he hopes that a new digital music format in the works will prove so irresistibly exciting to music fans that it will tempt them again into buying music-whole albums as well as individual tracks. The point isn't just to help U2 but less well known artists and others in the industry who can't make money, as U2 does, from live performance. "Songwriters aren't touring people," says Bono. "Cole Porter wouldn't have sold T-shirts. Cole Porter wasn't coming to a stadium near you." Also of note is a blogpost from U2 published last week. We're collaborating with Apple on some cool stuff over the next couple of years, innovations that will transform the way music is listened to and viewed. We'll keep you posted. Call me cynical if you want, but I think partnering up with U2 on "innovations" won't lead anywhere interesting. As for this rumored new digital music format -- unless it's absolutely out of this world mind blowing, most consumers simply don't and won't care how much better the sound quality is. The audio quality on many songs you find on YouTube, for example, is subpar -- but guess what, non-audiophiles simply don't care. The real innovations in music consumption going forward will center more on how and where music can be accessed, not on impeccable and pristine studio-quality tracks. I can only hope this talk of U2 collaborating with Apple on anything technical is nothing more than Bono and Co. simply puffing out their chests. As a final point, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the animosity pointed in Apple's direction from users who were none to pleased with a free U2 album being dropped in their laps was a bit extreme, and comically encapsulated by this cartoon. via @NewYorker pic.twitter.com/gcl36eVM2u - Nancy Hennen (@Tweetbrk) September 16, 2014
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.
How to get the new U2 album 'Songs of Innocence' out of your iTunes
Apple capped its iPhone 6 & Apple Watch launch event last week by announcing it would give away copies of a brand-new U2 album to all iTunes users -- but some people aren't happy about it. In apparently shocking news to the folks from Cupertino, not every single person in the world is a fan of the Irish rock band. Many were upset when the album suddenly appeared in their iTunes library, and, depending on a user's settings, sometimes downloaded itself onto mobile devices. There is a way to hide albums from view in iTunes, but if you just can't live with Songs of Innocence being tied to your account, Apple has pushed out a tool to eradicate it from your account forever. Go to this webpage, click remove album, enter your account info and poof -- it's gone, although you may still need to delete any downloaded copies. We hope next time Apple will ask before shoving a new LP into our libraries -- unless it's Detox.
Apple launches a special page just to help you delete that U2 album
During the iPhone 6 announcement event Apple announced a special surprise for every iTunes user -- a free copy of U2's new album before it was available outside iTunes. It was supposed to make people happy and excited, but many users were upset to discover an album they didn't purchase show up in their iTunes without their permission. Some users were just ticked off to now have a U2 album on their computer, regardless of how it got there. They just wanted to know "how can you delete Songs of Innocence from my computer?" Apple has heard the cries of these users and created a special page that will allow you to easily delete the album from your iTunes. The simple launch page features almost no graphics, simply the minimalist album cover, text, and a "Remove Album" button. It's a sad page, with the air of disappointment to it. A desolate reminder that haters are going to hate, and privacy is still incredibly important to iOS users. Gifts are wonderful. They just don't want someone putting them in their house without their knowledge.
Business side of Apple's exclusive launch of U2's 'Songs of Innocence' album
As part of its iPhone and Watch unveiling, Apple also released U2's "Songs of Innocence" album for free to all its iTunes users. Though U2 will benefit from Apple's promotion of its latest release, the band is not giving its album away for free. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Apple that is footing the bill for this massive release in a carefully negotiated business deal. Using the influence of Jimmy Iovine and leveraging its traditionally close relationship with U2, Apple likely had the negotiating clout to forge a favorable deal for the U2 release. The Cupertino company reportedly is paying Universal Music Group a lump sum, below wholesale prices, for the right to distribute the album as an iTunes exclusive for the next five weeks. As part of the agreement, Apple also will use a track from the album as part of a $100 million television advertising program for its new iPhone 6 and Watch devices. U2 debuted this favored single, "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)," as the closing act for Apple's announcement event. While Apple promotes the "Songs of Innocence" release through iTunes and TV, Universal will capitalize on this free advertising to promote U2's earlier albums, which are facing declining sales. In the end, iTunes users get a free album, U2 gets some free advertising and Apple gets to boast about the Biggest Album Release Ever in History.
Apple gifts U2's latest 'Songs of Innocence' album to millions of iTunes users
U2 took to the stage of the Flint Center and closed out Apple's big iPhone and Watch event. The band debuted a track from its latest album titled "Songs of Innocence." As part of this release, Apple is gifting the 11-song album to all its iTunes customers, making it the biggest iTunes album release ever. "U2 has been an important part of Apple's history in music and we're thrilled to make 'Songs of Innocence' the largest album release ever," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "We get to share our love of music today by gifting this great new album to over half a billion iTunes customers around the world." Current iTunes users and those who sign up for the service in the next five weeks will receive the album for free. It also will be available to stream via iTunes Radio and will be released on Apple's recently acquired Beats Music service. Show full PR text Apple & U2 Release "Songs of Innocence" Exclusively for iTunes Store Customers Biggest Album Release Ever in History-Gifted to Over Half a Billion Music Fans by Apple CUPERTINO, California-September 9, 2014-Apple®, Universal Music Group and legendary rock band U2 today announced the release of the album "Songs of Innocence," which Apple is gifting to iTunes Store® customers around the world, making it the largest album release ever with over half a billion copies distributed. The album features 11 new songs from the band and charts their earliest influences from 70s rock and punk rock to early 80s electronica and soul. The album is free for iTunes Store account holders in 119 countries and is available exclusively on iTunes® for the next five weeks. "From the very beginning U2 have always wanted our music to reach as many people as possible, the clue is in our name I suppose-so today is kind of mind-blowing to us. The most personal album we've written could be shared with half a billion people... by hitting send. If only songwriting was that easy," said U2 lead singer Bono. "It's exciting and humbling to think that people who don't know U2 or listen to rock music for that matter might check us out. Working with Apple is always a blast. They only want to do things that haven't been done before-that's a thrill to be part of." "U2 has been an important part of Apple's history in music and we're thrilled to make 'Songs of Innocence' the largest album release ever," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. "We get to share our love of music today by gifting this great new album to over half a billion iTunes customers around the world." "Songs of Innocence" features 11 new songs from the band and is their most personal work to date, charting their earliest influences from 70s rock and punk rock to early 80s electronica and soul and giving insight into how and why the band came together and the relationships in and around them, their family and friendships. Recorded in New York, London, Los Angeles and Dublin the album is produced by Danger Mouse, along with Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood. Apple is gifting "Songs of Innocence" to iTunes Store account holders.* Customers who sign up for an iTunes Store account in the next five weeks will get the album as a gift. "Songs of Innocence" is also available to stream via iTunes Radio℠ and will be available on Beats Music℠. Apple and U2 share a special connection in music. U2 was an important partner for the opening of the iTunes Store in 2003. Apple worked with U2 on the iPod® U2 Special Edition and created "The Complete U2" box set together. U2 continues to be one of the most popular bands ever on the iTunes Store. Apple has partnered with Bono and (RED) to fight for an AIDS-free generation by creating (PRODUCT)RED merchandise. More than $75 million has been generated by Apple for the Global Fund. * "Songs of Innocence" is available to iTunes Store customers in the 119 countries featuring a music store, with an active account, and who are 13 years or older (or the equivalent minimum age in the relevant jurisdiction). Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.
Apple is giving away U2's new album 'Songs of Innocence' on iTunes
To close out today's event, Apple CEO Tim Cook and U2 announced that the band's newest album is launching right now on iTunes. It's available free, and will be there exclusively until October 13th to all account holders. If you don't have an account, just create one within the next five weeks and you can download all 11 tracks from Songs of Innocence free of charge. The servers are (predictably) a bit slammed, but it should be available right in the albums section of iTunes on PCs or your Apple device to download it. It will also be available on iTunes Radio and Beats Music for streaming, starting tomorrow. U2 closed out the show by performing the album's lead single "The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)." Rolling Stone has some details from band members about the collaborations (Danger Mouse, Flood and some of Adele's producers) and influences for the album, but check back here to get our first impressions of both new iPhone 6 models, and the Apple Watch.
(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."
IUNI U2 is palm-friendly Xiaomi competitor, packs an UltraPixel front camera
When Gionee's spin-off online mobile brand IUNI -- taken from "I am unique" -- launched back in November, it vowed to go right after Xiaomi with a similar sales strategy, but it's also differentiating itself by delivering "stunning" hardware design and "elegant" UI at the same time. Earlier today, the Chinese company finally showed off what it's been working on: the U2. This 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 device is positioned as the best single-hand metallic phone, featuring a 4.7-inch 1080p LTPS display -- similar to that of last year's HTC One -- tucked within a 65mm-wide aluminum body, which is narrower than the Huawei Ascend P6 and even the Moto X. Oh, and it's cheap, too: the 32GB version with 3GB of RAM is just CN¥1,999 (about $320) unsubsidized, whereas the 16GB version with 2GB RAM is just CN¥1,799 (about $290).
Daily Update for February 3, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some of the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
