Guy Oseary/U2

"U2's Manager Responds to Backlash: If You Don't Like This Gift, Delete It": http://on.mash.to/1BEHMGf

Speaking of tone deaf scumbags...

The spam problem is all over the news, I have to delete hundreds of messages a day, but when U2 does it it's legitimate.

Ugh.

It's almost like they don't live in the real world, like they think their crap doesn't stink, like since their intentions are good, we can't question their actions.

Ever think of the consequences?

Meanwhile, they're spinning plates at warp speed. They get "Rolling Stone" to write about old U2 music climbing the iTunes charts and then trumpet this b.s. all over the Internet. Give me the volume, not the chart number. If you think being on the sales chart counts today, you probably don't have a Spotify account, never mind children addicted to YouTube.

But there you have America in a nutshell. If I just say something long enough and loud enough I win.

Used to be our favorite acts were part of the solution, not part of the problem, but that was back before they were all emulating Silicon Valley titans and their main goal was to get enough money to get away from their fans.

Meanwhile, at least Apple got the message:

"Apple Lets You Preserve Your Musical Taste With A U2 Album Removal Tool": http://tcrn.ch/1qS5uuW

Make a mistake and correct it, don't double down and say it's the user's fault.

Then again, tech is about improvement, tweaking while you go along, U2 is about making a full-length album in an era where no one has time to listen and trumpeting they're getting paid, as if they didn't have a rich deal with Live Nation and weren't rolling in dough.

Come on, is that the big issue here? That no one will pay for art?

The truth is they are, via both YouTube and Spotify and its clones. And with the Internet distribution is cheaper and there are more ways to reach people and monetize. Because in every revolution something is gained and something is lost, but what's gained is more important. Like my ability to speak back to the machine.

And don't tell me you love U2, I could give a flying... Every band has fans. But does that give us them the right to demand our attention, to invade our devices? When Obama speaks is it illegal to tune out, does he push his words to our devices, HELL NO!

But I want to thank Oseary and U2. Because the result of their stunt will be that no one will ever do it again. Yup, it took an act this big for the public to raise its head and complain in unison that we don't like push, that we want to pull the content we want when we want it and it's the responsibility of distributors to heed our wishes.

So we've got power, rejoice in that.

And know that the issue is bigger than U2.

But it's representative of the music business at large. Which has doubled down on its old paradigm, turning up the hype machine to a level so high most of us laugh. Every week they trumpet something new and desirable that we've got no problem living without. We don't care about U2, we don't care about Tom Petty, and we don't want to hear their new music.

Most of us, that is.

And these ancient acts can't get over the fact that the game has changed, that they used to have most people's attention and now they don't. It's like they're lost in the eighties and refuse to remove their blinders.

So either live in your niche or create something the rest of us want to pull from obscurity, that we want to luxuriate in and tell everybody about.

But viral is too hard for these people. Stunt videos no longer work. Buckling down and putting it all into the music is a challenge, especially when your lawyer is calling about your real estate or you want to buy an NFL team.

So now we're in a game of who can shout the loudest. My inbox will fill up with naysayers, believers in U2. Bono's team will keep the spin machine humming.

But they're no match against the army of millions. Yes, the public that truly runs this world. Once distribution is flattened, once everybody can play, it's truly a race not to the bottom, but of quality. And Guy Oseary and U2 just don't get it.

Make a track that speaks for itself. Cut YouTube covers. Hell, I've gotten more e-mail about Miley Cyrus covering Zeppelin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" than I have about U2's new music.

Come down off your throne and interact with us.

It's a whole new ball game.

And it requires a hell of a lot of work. There are no shortcuts. And too many old people just want to cry in their beer and lament the game has changed.

The game certainly has. And someday someone will harness this Internet and deliver something that speaks to everybody and means something.

Meanwhile, I've got to give props to Madonna. She needs a hit. So she's working with Avicii and Diplo and the rest of those who understand the modern game.

To live outside the law you must be honest. U2 forgot this mantra. They want to straddle the fence, live on both sides. But either you sell your soul for a hit or you do it your way.

Then again, McDonald's is floundering, because they thought burgers were for everyone, recession and trend-proof, just like Coca-Cola. But today's young consumers have rejected both, just like they've done with U2's new music.


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