U2 has yet to make profit from 360 tour
Due to a reported $750,000 daily overhead and three $30 million claws, U2 has yet to make a profit on its currently ongoing 360 world tour, despite having already played 32 stadium shows across the U.S. and Europe.
Speaking to Reuters (via Gigwise), the band’s manager Paul McGuinness explained that it wouldn’t be later this year before Bono and Co. begin to see a profit.
The engineering problems are enormous and costly. We had to find a way for it to be aesthetic and figure out a way of doing video,” McGuiness explained. “That cylindrical screen we have — that didn’t exist, we had to get somebody to invent that. We had to design this four-legged thing (the claw) — and build three of them.
He went on to note that even after all debts are paid off, major profits aren’t necessarily a sure thing. “(It won’t) exactly (be) gravy, because whether we’re playing or not, the overhead is about $750,000 daily. That’s just to have the crew on payroll, to rent the trucks, all that. There’s about 200 trucks.. Each stage is 37 trucks, so you’re up to nearly 120 there. And then the universal production is another 50-odd trucks, and there are merchandise trucks and catering trucks.”
Hmm… perhaps someone should tell this to Bono before he goes and spends a boatload of money on a swinging microphone that shoots laser beams for the band’s performance on Saturday Night Live. Opps, too late…
U2 2009/2010 Tour Dates:
09/29 - Washington, DC @ FedEx Field
10/01 - Charlottesville, VA @ Scott Stadium
10/03 - Raleigh, NC @ Carter-Finley Stadium
10/06 - Atlanta, GA @ Georgia Dome
10/09 - Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
10/12 - Dallas, TX @ New Cowboys Stadium
10/14 - Houston, TX @ Reliant Stadium
10/18 - Norman, OK @ Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
10/20 - Phoenix, AZ @ Univ. of Phoenix Stadium
10/23 - Las Vegas, NV @ Sam Boyd Stadium
10/25 - Los Angeles, CA @ Rose Bowl
10/28 - Vancouver, BC @ BC Place Stadium
08/10 - Frankfurt, DE @ Commerzbank Arena
08/12 - Hannover, DE @ AWD Stadium
08/15 - Horsens, DK @ Casa Arena
08/20 - Helsinki, FI @ Olympic Stadium
08/25 - Moscow, RU @ Luzhniki
08/30 - Vienna, AT @ Ernst Happel Stadium
09/03 - Athens, GR @ Olypmic Stadium
09/06 - Istanbul, TR @ Ataturk Olympic Stadium
09/15 - Munich, DE @ Olympic Stadium
09/18 - Paris, FR @ Stade de France
09/29 - Seville, ES @ Olympic Stadium
10/02 - Colmbra, PT @ Stadium
What is a shame is that Paul without John is still musical genius.
Bono without the Edge is the sound of a hot air balloon deflating.
went to the raleigh show last nite. unreal. hate on them all you want, they are one of the most important bands of our time. muscially, a great rock show. the microphone from snl was cool in stadium setting, the song was good, they did it at the end. the computer/video screen “base” was unbelieveable - the colors, the images, well done, amazing. Bishop Desmund Tutu’s “video” on it was inspiring. the appeal for freeing political prisoners moving. Bono sang, a cappella with the 75,000+ crowd joing in, Amazing Grace, and then the band kicked into “Streets have no name”. amazing. full moon. U2 could easily play a hit parade, but didn’t - mixed in new songs very well (i didn’t recognize about 1/3 of them, but really enjoyed most of it), only a few so-so. rocked. also, they stand for something - important. and the music moves, they are a tight band. Took 25 years for them to return to NC, but well worth the wait. Saw their first stadium concert at UNC’s Kenan Stadium then, and this shows what they have done with their career, their success, what they stand for, and they just flat out play inspiring, great rock music…
Just to clarify, MUSE gave a stunning performance last night. Too bad I was in the bathroom when they started with “Knights of Cydonia.” They never cease to amaze me live. Of course, everyone cheered when they played “Supermassive Black Hole” — a great song but damn the Twilight hype!
And yes, U2 was fucking awesome. Out of this world. Yes, Bono was pulling his political messages all night - but whatever. That’s who he is. That band is incredibly unified after almost 30 years of being together. The stage theatrics and all that were insane. I nearly froze sitting at the top of Fed Ex Field but it was worth it.
Worth my $30 by far.
muse’s set on their last north american tour was very u2 like.
For the record, Muse played for a little under an hour. I bought the tickets for fifteen bucks from a friend of mine who was unable to go.
Comical ignorance here. I saw Muse open for U2 twice at both Giants shows. They are a good live band, but U2 is a great one. This tour, similar to the Zoo Tv Tour and Pop Mart, is about visual art as well as performance. If U2 wanted to just show up and play they could, but they are investing the money in making a stadium stage set that is worth people’s money to go out and see. They are not using contraptions to look cool, they are doing it to make the show more entertaining and visual for everyone in the stadium. The hate for this band is ignorant, lemming-like and pathetic. You think they didn’t crunch these numbers before the tour started? Clearly they made a choice to invest a lot of money and get a gradual return. Just showing up and playing would have been the easy way out, they chose to try something epic. Oh, geez, how dare they…
Maybe Bono and Co. should just jack up the price of their t-shirts even more to turn a profit, as if $40 per shirt wasn’t high enough.
i’m making an out of left field prediction and saying U2 will play Bonaroo or Coachella
I think David Byrne had it right, when he said if Bono was so invested in world efforts, he would spend half the money he spent on this tour on stuff that needed to be spent on, like Africa.
right. why would you spend the kind of money they charge for tickets just to see the opening band play a short set?
I’m glad Anonymous wasted his money!
U2 sucks and their whole stage show just means they’re not good enough alone to entertain a crowd for two hours.
On the other hand, I saw Muse open for them on Wednesday and they were fucking AWESOME. Left before U2 went on, screw them and their failure to make money on this tour.
apparently a second north american leg of the tour will come in the late spring of 2010.
while i hate anything the’ve done since actung baby, they do put on an amazing stage show. this one on paper looks quite tacky but from all accounts from fans who’ve witnesed this tour, it’s amazing to see.
now let’s discuss how awful the SNL performance was?
Maybe if they played more dates, they can get their money back. Skipping the entire Pacific Northwest (no Seattle or San Fran show) sounds like a big mistake if they needed the money.
One thought: Think of how many people are employed by their show. Apparently U2 has their own stimulus package.
Let me reword that: *Bono* needs to cut with the theatrics. It’s as if every one of their recent concerts turns into a hand-waving, lighters-in-air, cure-for-cancer relay before they can even sing a note. True, music can change the world, but no one needed Bono to say that, right?
These fools are irrelevant and have yet to make a solid album since Achtung Baby. Play on a real stage and cut with the theatrics, you’re not Peter Gabriel. (Much love to PG nonetheless)
Reading about their shows, at least they sounded spectacular….. Then I saw the video at the bottom. If their shows are anywhere near as bad a mis-hit as that microphone then it’s the worst waste of money ever. I mean, that over-sized, purposeless lump looks so laughable you can’t take the music seriously. And Bono’s showmanship? His well scripted and lack-luster swing from the microphone just made the whole thing cringe worthy. I’m not suprised they filled the room with smoke, it was so embarresing I had my hands over my eyes for much of it.
U2 might still have the power to fill stadiums but their ego (mainly Bono’s) is the driving force behind the reason they will never really earn new fans. I hear about all this likely misguided, excessive ego stroking and think, please Bono, just leave with your dignity in………… just leave.
I am seeing them tomorrow with Muse. Can’t say that I’m NOT EXCITED as I’ve waited to see this band forever since I borrowed their Achtung Baby album from my aunt .
However, rather disappointing that the band needs to use all these contraptions to look cool and what not. Stick with the tunes and all will be well! You don’t need an arcade claw to prove a point - everyone knows you’re awesome enough. Save the stage theatrics for KISS and all their nonsense.
thats cuz they suck and are so overrated it makes me sick
Oct 11th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
[...] seriously, when’s the latest time someone sounded so natural from Studio 8H? Surely not Bono. Share this story!: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and [...]
Oct 2nd, 2009 at 5:45 pm
[...] So, to recap, new U2 album, titled Songs of Ascent, will be out soon and will include a hit song (hopefully). Add in the fact the 360 tour looks like it will never end (see below) and that previously reported Spider-Man musical, it certainly looks like they’ll be no shortage of U2 headlines in the months ahead. And, maybe then, they’ll finally start to make a profit… [...]
Oct 2nd, 2009 at 1:57 pm
[...] U2 is not turning a profit off of their 360 tour. Woot? [...]
Sep 29th, 2009 at 7:51 am
[...] has yet to make a profit from its 360 tour due to massive [...]