u2's latest 360 world tour grossed nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars in ticket sales alone, so clearly the biggest band knows how to keep their fans happy. But what's going to happen when U2 supporters learn the band's manager Paul McGuinness wants Google to fall in line with SOPA/PIPA Internet piracy legislation? "It amazes me that Google has not done the right thing," McGuinness said at the MIDEM conference in Cannes over the weekend, as reported by Billboard. "The experience of people when they go on Google and look for U2 music or PJ Harvey music is a shopping list of illegal opportunities to get their music. They have done nothing meaningful to discourage that."
"Why are they not trying to solve the future in a more generous way?" he continued. "Ultimately it is in their interest that the flow of content will continue. And that won't happen unless it's paid for. And I don't think we can rely on politicians who are afraid of being unpopular to accomplish this without some willingness and generosity on the part of the tech area.""The fact that Google were able to turn their entire network into a lobbying device, a petition, does not mean every person who ticked the box understood the argument ... it wasn't really a debate, it was a demonstration really.
