Sitting duck
by Volker Weber
Reuters reports:
Pirated versions of U2's new album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" have emerged on Internet file-sharing networks two weeks before it goes on sale, throwing into question its official release date.
A London spokeswoman for the band on Monday would only say that U2 was aware of the illicit copies, but that no decision had yet been made on changing the release date.
The record company is planning to release the album on November 22nd and 23rd. It is #1 on Amazon's Early Adopter Alternative Rock list. Customers want it. The tracks are now available on the internet. They could be released on iTMS with a flick of a wrist.
Can anybody explain why the record company is not taking the pressure out of the market by releasing the album?
Comments
pretty strange - because other record companies do react - the release dates of the new albums of eminem and snoop have been shifted. so the preorders are no argument. maybee it has something to do with the target group - i guess the companies are more scared by kids who listen to eminem and know every single p2p software than by mid forties who listen to u2 and buy it anyway on cd for their car.
see also:
http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000706146
There are probably people inside the record company that are well aware that they could ease the pressure, but perhaps it's not their job to do so, or they don't have the right to do so.
Often seen in large companies where you are not allowed much leeway in your job : you do your job, I'll do mine, and what falls between us we'll just let management discover/decide on - it's their fault after all that they didn't foresee it.
As an aside, it's actually a pretty good album :-)
Maybe they think...
1. releasing the complete album now would interfere with the single sales starting today and
2. it would lead to a lower xmas trade
Perhaps they want to wait and generate more publicity before the official release date. Get people talking about it. Hmmm, how could they do that?....
@Frederik: I am not yet mid 40's but still listen to U2... and I don't see a reason why wanting to listen to the music in my car should make me buy the CD...
If I have it as MP3, I'd put it on my iPod and whoops there it is, in my car, in my pocket, wherever I want it to be :-)
All wrong: injection-time for download-tracks take up to ten days - depending on the provider (iTunes normally gets the tracks instore after 5-8 days...) As iTunes is chart-relevant, the will get the tracks instore at least 1 week before physical release - so be patient and watch out next week :-))
Oh, please. It's U2. If they wanted iTunes to release the album, they could and would make it happen in an hour.
