Ongoing History of New Music

Ongoing History Daily: A dumb U2 move

U2 didn’t become one of the richest bands in the world without managing their money. But they haven’t always been smart. Like many bands, U2 tried to establish a record label based on Utopian principles about how a label should be run.  And like many projects of this nature, even U2 couldn’t pull it. The intentions were good, but the enterprise was a dog and after hemorrhaging money, Mother Records eventually went out of business. 

But then there was this screw-up.  U2 invested a ton of money into a laser combat game called Quasar that the founders hoped to launch in Germany.  It was kind of like the paintball games we have here.  U2 invested all this cash only to find out later that replica guns are banned in Germany–and consequently, they lost everything.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39696 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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