2. music
  3. 1410294021

The Biggest Album Release of All Time...

...just occurred. New U2 album free on Itunes into October.

U2 giving its music away for free these days it seems, whatever Apple might be paying them to do so aside.
128x128mapman
raks
468 posts
 
I think U2 should buy the NFL... that way they're really save the planet.
r_f_sayles's avatar
r_f_sayles
872 posts
 
I'm still a fan of their music and found the business move to be a smart one for all considered. A nice surprise, yet I will still buck up most likely for the higher res vinyl.

But unfortunately not surprised at all by the naysayers and the cheap shots.
czarivey
5,946 posts
 
Frank Zappa released Lother album free to public via radio broadcast to show his independency from the record companies that tried to screw him up. Every artist has a right to perform their own music regardless of contracts with recording companies. Free album distribution via iTunes will only uplift their rating(regardless what anyone here thinks about U2 likes-dislikes or similar opinions) and increase size of their audiences when they book a tour. From the artist standpoint, when everyone's sharing digital files legally and illegally it's a smart choice and as I mentioned before, they're not the first and not the last to make that move.
mapman's avatar
mapman OP
22,593 posts
 
Of course Itunes means mp3 quality only.

I sometimes will buy a .mp3 from Amazon if I like a release well enough to want to own. Then I might go for a CD or higher res copy later if needed/desired.

What U2 has done with this release could be the trend of the future. Its not unlike the old days where one first heard new music they might want to buy on FM radio. As a kid, I bought many 45 RPM releases of stuff I heard first on the radio. Now, you can download your own MP3 and live with that for free on your own terms rather than wait for something to be played by others on the radio. For pop stuff, mp3 can often work out OK, probably better than most radio station sound quality of the past, certainly AM at least.

Some pop MP3s do come close to earbleed territory, but I find that is more a result of the production than the limits of the format itself, though that certainly is a factor as well with a lot of music.
tortilladc
121 posts
 
"rock-and-roll as dystopian junk mail." - Washington Post

I'm in agreement.
More to discover