What’s that sound? Oh, the tense silence following another announcement from partners in crime Apple and U2? Yes, it is, because today, according to an exclusive feature in TIME, Bono of U2 has announced the duo is working to create a “new digital format.” In short, another project you never wanted, asked for, dreamed about, need or care to know about. Gee, thanks guys.
Ultimately, in this realm U2 is the driving force. The feature notes that the guys of U2 want to make music profitable again for the singers and songwriters, especially the lesser-known ones. Kudos to you, my friends; we would all support a fair wage for work done, except the expectation has already been established that we don’t have to pay for it. With YouTube, Pandora, Songza and countless illegal methods for obtaining music for free, they’ve picked a worthy, yet tough cause to rally behind. But how are they going to get their customers on board? That remains to be detailed, along with the bulk of what this new digital format for music will be.
To the magazine, Bono said that the format “will prove so irresistibly exciting to music fans that it will tempt them again into buying music.” We’re hoping that's based on testing they’ve already done on a working concept, rather than a hopeful projection of all the ideas they could bring to life. Either way, color us skeptical. As mentioned before, the public gets music for free. And sure, unfair as that is to everyone providing music to us, that’s the way the landscape changed. Unless they somehow turn the process of buying music into a game, who knows how they’re going to make spending money on music “irresistibly exciting”.
For their part, Apple didn’t have a hand in letting this new info slip, as CNET notes, which may displease them. As everyone is surely accustomed to by now, Apple likes to work in silence, build up an event and then reveal all in a carefully organized presentation. Announcing a super secret project via magazine isn’t really up their alley. However, seeing that Bono didn’t give any concrete details, maybe Apple will be happy with whatever additional press it can get to detract from poor reviews of iOS 8 installation requirements and just how sneaky is was to slip U2’s latest album on to all of their Apple devices. Perhaps Tim Cook is now seeing why Steve Jobs reportedly didn’t let the band get involved in in-depth projects with the tech giant.
Hopefully, something will come of this announcement, be it good or bad. Our money is on bad, but if U2 is going to make lofty claims about saving the music industry, we’re going to insist they produce something for it.
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