When U2’s new album, Achtung Baby, arrives worldwide from Island Records Nov. 19, it will mark a new career milestone for a band that, since 1978, has risen from the pubs of Dublin to the stadiums of America.
One of the constants throughout U2’s rise has been its management by Paul McGuinness, whose Dublin-based firm, Principle Management, has worked with no other client. As U2 has grown into one of the most popular bands in the world, Principle Management, has grown a pace. Ellen Darst heads McGuinness’ New York office. Activities from marketing to merchandising have been handled inhouse.
Days before the release of Achtung Baby, during a visit to New York, McGuinness spoke with Billboard about his role in bringing U2’s art to the pop marketplace and his views on trends in the industry.
Billboard: How do you see your role?
McGuinness: It’s been changing all the time. I’ve been managing U2 for 14 years so we know each other pretty well. Really what makes the process fascinating for me is that they are such good artists and are still developing and progressing and challenging the art form in which they operate. It is an industry as well and the way in which the art integrates with a very complicated commercial business, that’s my responsibility.
This is the first U2 album since Island’s sale to PolyGram.
In many ways, it makes it all simpler because, in the past, Island was licensed to a great variety of licensees around the world. Some of them are still in place. BMG distributes Island still in most European countries. But with only two major deals, with BMG and PolyGram, it’s really a lot simpler…It is a different time for Island, that’s true. As it happens, we had, in fact, become our own organization [at Principle Management]. An awful lot of the creative work, the design, the film production, and a lot of the marketing thrust came from us anyway over the years. The album package was entirely generated in Dublin.
The cover art of Achtung Baby is a striking collection of images. How does the artwork help market the album?
The retailing environment has changed enormously since the last time we were out. The implications of the smaller [album] packages are enormous. Going into one of the new mall-type stores in America…the opportunity for display has almost disappeared. So you really have to think very creatively about how to get visual imagery in front of people. One of the programs we’re running at retail is to distribute these images as posters. Another thing I’m very interested in is the growth of free [weekly] newspapers in America. We’re distributing a very large number of posters through those publications. Getting that imagery onto people’s bedroom walls is what we’re trying to do.
Beyond plans for the album’s launch, what future marketing strategies do you foresee?
I have been talking to a lot of EPK people — in the electronic press kit business. I think that television is comparatively underexploited by our business. The way in which the movie industry markets through television is very interesting. I’m just exploring ways in which we can learn from that.
What contrast do you see between the music business and other fields of entertainment?
Compared to other parts of the entertainment industry where art and commerce have to interact, the chances of getting your original creative intention onto a CD are excellent compared to the chances of getting a creative idea onto the screen in a movie or television. There is still something very pure about a record by comparison and I think that’s a reason people are still fascinated by rock ‘n’ roll and the people who make it.
Does the aggressive, industrial edge of this album reflect what’s happening around U2 in rock today?
I try to avoid interpreting them. I produce the opportunities for their art to enter the world but I don’t interpret it…But this record is most unusual. It’s not the dance album that we were rumored to be making, but this is 1991 and dance is a heavy influence on everyone’s music, and rock ‘n’ roll is always a creature of the time in which it is made. It’s a very simple record; the primary colors of rock ‘n’ roll. Virtually every instrument on the album was played by the four members of the band. In that respect, it’s going to be a fascinating album to perform live.
What are U2’s tour plans?
We’re going to do something a little unusual with the tour, which will start in the U.S. in March with a tour of one-night stands, about 30 cities over seven or eight weeks. We’ll do arenas but only play each city one night, partly to get to as many as we can [but also to] reintroduce the American public to the concept of the hard ticket, which has almost been forgotten. Perhaps we’ll come back later in the year and play larger venues. I know the concert business is down, but frankly there hasn’t been much very exciting or new talent touring over the last year.
What is the extent of your current contract with Island?
There are two more records after this one and I must say that the relationship with Island, and the new relationship with PolyGram, is excellent. I recently went around to all nine of the PolyGram branches [in the U.S.] with Rick Dobbis, Chris Blackwell, and Andy Allen from Island and presented the album and met people and I was very impressed.
How do you view the recent publicity about superstar deals and the future of such deals?
I think it’s a lot of exaggeration. It’s become a very macho thing — my deal’s bigger than your deal. I don’t think it’s very dignified to have that kind of business done in public anyway…We are — U2 represented by me — in the rights-owning business. We own our songs, the recordings as well as the songs. In each case, they are licensed for a finite period of time…It’s quite clear that, in the future, a number of different physical sound carriers will be augmented by different kinds of transmission [of music to consumers] and the way in which income arrives to rights owners will change.
You are anticipating the day of digital delivery of music directly to consumers.
I’m not looking forward to it because I’m in show business and I always try to remind people that the thing we sell is not the number of times the consumer dials up that track. The thing we sell is that moment on Saturday morning when that fan has to have that recording and walks into a store and walks out with it. The further we get away from that, the less opportunity there is for the magic and mystery and excitement of show business.
© Billboard magazine, 1991. All rights reserved.