The U2 360 Tour - Term Paper Example

Number] Music U2 360° Tour is known as the biggest concert tour throughout the history of rock performances. It was a worldwide concert tour which was held from summers of 2009 to autumn 2011. It was a rock concert tour by the rock band U2. It was not only a rock concert, but it was the biggest concert tour in the last 20 years by a rock band. They hold the first position in terms of live performance and highly grossing events. It was attended by millions of people and the tour included North America, South America, Europe, Russia, Australia and many others in-between stops. The symbolic point about the tour was the stage which was designed in a manner that the audience covered it completely. In every concert, there was a symbolic structure, which was named “The Claw” that stood above the stage. This structure was massive and it was a remarkable use of the innovative technology as it had an in-built sound system and a video screen. This structure became an iconic structure and as the U2 claimed it was the first time that a rock band held concerts worldwide with a huge structure like The Claw. It was unique, as it covered the whole stage with its huge structure, and was an attraction for the millions of audiences. The U2 360° Tour has so far been the most influential and large scale rock concert tour. It is the best example of learning how media and technology has influenced the music industry. The advanced technology and informed media has led to a significant influence on the cultural and social facets, especially as far as the music industry is concerned. This essay outlines and investigates how media and technology promoted by the U2 360° Tour has had a long lasting influence on the social and cultural relevance of the music industry. Many people argue on how the media and technology have a considerable impact on the relevance of the music performances in relation to social and cultural aspects. However, it is true that the music industry has experienced an immense growth and turnaround impact ever since the music is delivered through developed tools and effective media coverage (Don 123). To be precise, music recordings have gone a notch higher by promoting DVDs through the effective use of technology. Even the musicians who do not tend to be much talented have the advantage of using technology for their work and due to the advanced appliances and devices of doing business, they have become successful at the courtesy of these improved tools. Computers today are a helping hand to people. They are used to produce notes of different tunes and pitches which give the music piece an attractive blend. This affects the musicians negatively since only those who are able to upkeep with advanced ways of doing things are spared (Hans 176). Socially people have learnt to appreciate music and have therefore attached value to it due to the imminent improvements. In addition, music has so far gained relevance following its quality occasioned by various instruments used in its production. This is largely seen in the U2 360° Tour. The Claw is a unique and huge structure which was used by the rock band to enhance their live performances. It is known to be the best example of how innovative technology affects the music performance and successful relevance. It has been used as a symbol which attracted many and was used as the icon to convey pleasurable music. The structure surrounded the stage and influenced the themes of the concerts for example most of the times the theme was outer space because of the resemblance of The Claw to a spaceship. The design of the stage, the use of equipment and technological tools was one of the main reasons why the tour was a success. The concept of the concerts was to create a 360-degree stage in the stadium which can be surrounded by the audience. This stage was placed at the centre of the stadium and the four legged huge steel structure was a part of the design. This structure, The Claw, was placed above the stage and it held a sound system and a video screen that was cylindrical. This was structured above the stage in the performance area. The structure had four legs and each leg was designed by engineers and had their own sound systems. There was also an HD video screen which was associated with the structure and required many technicalities before and during the concert. These video screens were transformable and they had special effects that were shown throughout the concert. The visual display was created by a composition of pixels, fasteners, machined pieces and cables. The Claw itself was an immense use of technological advancement in these concerts and it lead to the success of the U2 360° Tour. It is however true to say that the music and the performance was enhanced by the use of such highly technical sound systems and video screens. There was a team of experts that moved on with the band and set up the stage before every concert. The health and safety management team was also present with them and they trained the crew about many things that made the concerts better. In another example we can see that the advancement in the machineries and equipments used for health measures have raised to such an extent the band had specialists who took care about the environment of the stadium during the concerts. During concerts there was a high production of carbon dioxide which was released and could have a negative impact on the overall atmosphere. Thus, a team of specialists were present at every concert that used specialized machinery to lower the carbon footprints. In addition to The Claw and the system associated with it, the band also used highly advanced technological tools to enhance their live music, instruments and vocals. Since it is a rock band it was very important to be loud and energetic. For this, the band took assistance of the technological equipments. Computers, sound systems, high resolution video screens and equalizers were used throughout the concerts in various countries. The advancements in technology had greatly influenced the U2 360° Tour and made it the biggest concert tour in the last 20 years. Alongside, the role of media had also been influential on the success of the U2 360° Tour. The concert tour was launched to support the band’s album No Line on the Horizon. The tour was held at a time when the band was facing a decline in the sales. Thus, the role of marketing and promotion led an exceptional role in the success of the tour. U2 had made a huge investment on the technological tools as well as the promotion of their tour. There was much of commercial assistance given to the band because of which they held an unbelievable tour throughout the course of two years. The band collaborated with many commercial sponsors such as Blackberry which assisted them in staying updated with the public. Blackberry was a huge assistance to the band since it launched a new application in their phones which was called the “U2 Mobile App”. This application was commercialized largely and it allowed the users to listen to the latest album songs, receive updates about the band’s tour and shared images to give the user a look of the concert. Moreover there were models of the designed stage which were added to Google Earth when the concerts were scheduled. This highly increased publicity of the concerts and was the reason why the tickets were sold rapidly. The tickets for the concerts were available at various places prior to the concerts. The ticket prices varied from the top class to the low class. The tickets to the concerts, especially for the opening concert in Barcelona, were sold within minutes. This was because of the influential media that the managers were able to market the concerts effectively. The tickets were highly in demand and by the end of the concert tour; the band had already gained immense success and proceeds for their charities and specified purposes. The tour also set records for selling the most tickets in a very small amount of time, all thanks to the role of media marketing. All the concerts were covered by the various media channels and means such as radios, social media, etc. This highly increased the popularity of the concert tour in the two years. This was the influence of media that every single concert was a success, and the band was able to earn high proceeds from each of them. The highly attractive The Claw was discussed throughout the media and gave the concerts a symbolic framework to remember. The concert in California was broadcasted live on YouTube which meant that a millions of people worldwide saw the live performance. This was the first time that a concert was broadcasted live on YouTube and more than 10 million people worldwide were reported to have watched. Technology has also impacted on cultures. Culture is the way of life of a group of people based on their customs, norms and traditions. Technology has affected cultural music of various groups of people thus leaving their way of enjoying music and embracing the new designs and ways of presenting music For example, pop music has largely influenced cultural music of nations. Thus, media and technology in music has brought a lot of influence in the whole world both socially and culturally. This in turn has impacted both positively and negatively to musicians who have had harsh moments to be congruent with the prevailing conditions in the music industry (Jay 55) This is evident from the example of U2 360° Tour which shows that the use of technology and media enabled the band to regain their popularity and promote their music effectively. The band reached a number of cultures worldwide and influenced them by adopting the particular theme. They not only promoted their culture throughout the world, but also matched up with people of different cultures by bringing them together and globalizing. Also through the social media such as YouTube, the band was successfully linked with a multiple number of cultures worldwide at the same time. Moreover, the technological use of The Claw showed how the band affected the social factor. The tickets were sold on the assurance of excellent music with a good view. The structure and the stage allowed the audience to be present all around the stage which increased the stadium capacity by 20% approximately. This meant that more people could come and get a view of the band’s live performance. The stage did not have any back or front, it was a 360-degreed stage surrounded by people. This concept affected the social factor and allowed the people to enjoy the music performance live (John, Pamela 35). Conclusively, it is true that the media and technology influence has been great on the music industry especially when talking in the social and cultural perspective. The concert tour held out by U2 brought together the people and cultures from around the world that could enjoy good music performances by the rock band. The role of media and technology had been greatly influential to bring out the musical expression in relevance to social and cultural construction (John, Linda, Allan 96). The U2 360° Tour was a large scale production which focused on the various interesting ways that could be used to present music. The relationship between the band and the audience was maintained through the media links prior to the concert, and the video screens during the concert. The band gave a new dimension to present the rock music and socially construct the impact that was going to be seen in the stadium. By the end of the course of these tours, the music industry had seen a new perspective of performing through media and technology in relevance to social and cultural importance. The U2 360° Tour has set a historical impact on the music industry which is going to last for long. Work Cited Don Martindale. Social Life and Cultural Change. NY: Literary Licensing, LLC, 2012. Print. Hans Braun. Music and Technology in the Twentieth Century. USA: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000‎. Print. ‎ Jay Weinstein. Social And Cultural Change: Social Science For A Dynamic World. NJ: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005‎. Print. ‎ John Finney, & Pamela Burnard. Music Education with Digital Technology. NY: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2010‎. Print. ‎ John Hilvert, Linda Bruce & Allan Bruce. Music Technology. Texas: Black Rabbit Books, 2006‎. Print. ‎ Read More