Zoo Station

Most references to U2 on this blog have been music-related. There's got to be more than just the music, though, to a band that has, despite its enormous success, remained utterly relevant and undergone no personnel changes in 25 years (unheard of in the music industry). I will go out on a limb and say that by the time U2 are done, they will probably have outsold Led Zeppelin and perhaps even the Beatles. On the business side of things, U2 will probably end the year as the most successful act of 2005, having sold out 130 shows (4 million attendees) in the U.S. and Europe, earning themselves $300 million+. This is in addition to sales in excess of 8 million copies for HTDAAB.

So, what's the secret? David Carr explains and I provide the consulting firm version of his explanations.

*MEET THE CONSUMERS WHERE THEY LIVE: Propaganda and U2.com have been effective vehicles. Ok, Propaganda has.

*APOLOGIZE, THEN MOVE ON: If you screw up, apologise, as the band did after the ticketing fiasco.

*EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY: Enable downloading instead of fighting it. As long as it's on iTunes.

*DON'T EMBARRASS YOUR FANS: A lot of classic rock bands have.

*BE CAREFUL HOW YOU SELL OUT: They traded brands, not money, with Apple.

*EMBRACE POLITICIANS, NOT POLITICS: Self explanatory?

*IT'S CALLED SHOW BUSINESS FOR A REASON: Bono is Bono for a reason.

*SEIZE THE MOMENT, BUT DON'T STEAL IT: Americans love their flag. Use it to your advantage.

*AIM HIGH: The One Campaign is worthier than Total Request Live. So, send in yr SMS's now.