It's the U2 mini-series -- on CBS.
U2 will be the first musical guest on "Late Show with David Letterman" to
be on for an entire week -- all to promote their new album "No Line on the Horizon," being released in conjunction with the Letterman appearance.
Considering music marketers' problems of late, this seems out of the ordinary -- as
well as expected. CD sales continue to decline at a hefty double digit clip in 2008. All the more reason that musical acts need to find other outlets of exposure.
For example, in
this economy, one would expect even bigger musical stars to make their way onto the likes of"American Idol" this year. We've already had Barry Manilow offering up a primer for early-round "American
Idol" contestants.
Concert promoter Live Nation and music ticket seller Ticketmaster merging seem a sign the music business needs more vertical integration for it to succeed - more marketing
heft to help Live Nation's stable of musical acts, including Madonna, be successful.
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But don't kid yourself. People still want music cheap. Sirius XM Radio is already in financial
trouble. Few music fans want to shell out anything extra for auto audio equipment or monthly service fees.
In the past, a band might play just one single from their upcoming album on a
particular TV show. U2 looks like they'll play a bunch of songs from the new album -- if not everything.
The music marketing tricks seem to be coming hot and heavy: In 2007, Radiohead let
its fans decide what it wanted to pay for the band's new album, "In Rainbows."
In future, you can expect musical acts to show up in places you'd least expect -- especially on TV,
still the biggest bang for their marketing buck. It's even better if a TV show calls you a week-long guest.