Bono plans for U2’s albums to be "interactive".
The ‘One’ rocker is concerned about the decline in record sales over the years but thinks the key to revitalising the format is to make artwork important again by embracing technology to give listeners a more complete experience.
Discussing how to boost record sales, he said: "It’s album artwork. Not videos, because videos demand your attention. You need to think it’s supposed to be on in the background when you listen to the music – a much more ambient experience. People could watch while listening – the way we used to when you’d open up, say, The Clash’s ‘Sandinista!’ and get lost in the lyrics. ‘Where are they? Where’s Nicaragua?’
"This format is coming – the relaunching of album artwork. A plasma screen, poof! Your phone, boom! While you’re listening. Because music used to be an immersive medium, not just sonically, it was always the visuals, too.
"Elvis is an audiovisual phenomenon. The Beatles were audiovisual. It’s harder and harder to get people to pay for an MP3 file, but it will be easier when you’re getting something much more interactive."
However, it may take some time for Bono’s ideas to come to fruition as the band admit they are "slow learners".
Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. told The Hollywood Reporter: "We’ve always needed collaborators to challenge us. We’re slow learners. We need to be creative, on the cutting edge, challenged, and it’s really hard going, it’s relentless, and we’re relentless, and we have a history of breaking engineers, producers.
"I mean, people come out of working with U2 and just go, ‘I just don’t know what’s happened; it feels like a lifetime has passed by.’ And that’s just the way we work."
Bono wants interactive albums
