Big shifts in Live Nation! Oseary to take over the day-to-day management of U2

[Guest Rachelle of London]

We should be bloody lucky we got MDNA. Beyonce followed the same formula as M with doing the Superbowl and going on tour. Only thing is she forgot to release an album. Hahahahah

[Apples388]

Does this mean U2 are now going to be going for the 2013 NTP awards? :w:

[realityisalways]

Oh please, Madonna has sold 300m copies worldwide, people don't buy music anymore

If the top selling album of todays shift between 2 and 4m copies vs probably 10m/15m/20m of ten, fifteen years ago and three decades on she still delivered a cool 2m what difference does it actually make at all??

Saying she cares more about promoting the TOD range or the Macy venture or the gyms is such an easy and banal thing to say. Of course she cares about promoting those things, it's a huge part of her career, just as for any other so-called A-list personality or huge mainstream artist. It is called SHOWBUSINESS and that's how it's always functioned from the biggest names to the smallest indie act.

Does that mean she put out a sub-par product with that record? Can anyone honestly say that? Most critics and fans alike loved MDNA so to me, as a fan, she's fulfilled what she committed to in the first place and my interest feels justified. On top of that she even gives the best tour of her career, 30 years in so I can't ask for more

I am not interested in her gyms with HC pics of hers plastered on the wall, I won't buy her perfume and if I buy merchandise I'll buy the tourbook because that's the only thing that personally interests me but if she wants to capitalise on her fame/music/tours/image and her ability to always make a statement and her status in the entertainment industry in general who is anyone to judge her for that??

Did you like MDNA? That's the only thing that matters

If your answer is yes then what do you care that she promoted it or not when on the sales front it wouldn't have made ANY difference AT ALL and STILL it went on to be the 12th most bought record of the year? So what she did was giving you a great album AND a great tour

MDNA has a higher metacritic score than PRISM and Artflop

[Nonoka]

Oh please, Madonna has sold 300m copies worldwide, people don't buy music anymore

If the top selling album of todays shift between 2 and 4m copies vs probably 10m/15m/20m of ten, fifteen years ago and three decades on she still delivered a cool 2m what difference does it actually make at all??

Saying she cares more about promoting the TOD range or the Macy venture or the gyms is such an easy and banal thing to say. Of course she cares about promoting those things, it's a huge part of her career, just as for any other so-called A-list personality or huge mainstream artist. It is called SHOWBUSINESS and that's how it's always functioned from the biggest names to the smallest indie act.

Does that mean she put out a sub-par product with that record? Can anyone honestly say that? Most critics and fans alike loved MDNA so to me, as a fan, she's fulfilled what she committed to in the first place and my interest feels justified. On top of that she even gives the best tour of her career, 30 years in so I can't ask for more

I am not interested in her gyms with HC pics of hers plastered on the wall, I won't buy her perfume and if I buy merchandise I'll buy the tourbook because that's the only thing that personally interests me but if she wants to capitalise on her fame/music/tours/image and her ability to always make a statement and her status in the entertainment industry in general who is anyone to judge her for that??

Did you like MDNA? That's the only thing that matters

If your answer is yes then what do you care that she promoted it or not when on the sales front it wouldn't have made ANY difference AT ALL and STILL it went on to be the 12th most bought record of the year? So what she did was giving you a great album AND a great tour

XXL, I don't question the sales of MDNA for a second. Actually, I did not say anything about them in my post

My concern was that to me, M came across as uninterested in her album and more interested in her business ventures - which reflected in her promotion ways. I understand her schedule was tight, but still, she took her time to shoot a commercial for the perfume, something she didn't do for MDNA, as well as doing a photoshoot for it, but once again, not for MDNA. She premiered her perfume with a red carpet appearance, invited reporters, heck she even did a Q&A for it. For MDNA, we got her sitting bored in a chair answering questions, which she obviously was forced into.

So in my opinion, it wasn't mainly the limited time which prevented her from promoting the album more, but because of her own lack of interest - that's why she preferred to promote her perfume instead of the album. Of course I understand she somehow needs to bring these things into attention as well, but everything happened almost simultaneously with the MDNA release - and obviously it should be out of question which product should deserve the center of attention in cases like that.

Yes, sales for MDNA weren't bad in context, but still, it was an album which felt to be 'here' for a few days and then quickly faded away (with the attribute "shit" stamped on it by the way, thanks to the mostly horrible critics here - so the statement of MDNA being universally acclaimed is a little bit questionable) - it's a matter of fact that to the most part, the general public didn't actually know Madonna released an album, at least here in my country (Germany). Considering her decreasing popularity, this certainly didn't do her any good. But anyway, that wasn't really my main concern, it's what I posted above which made me feel a little disappointed in her (even though I obviously still love her) and which makes me hope that next time, she won't choose to solely promote her business ventures right at the time she got a new album out.

[Kurt420]

XXL, I don't question the sales of MDNA for a second. Actually, I did not say anything about them in my post

My concern was that to me, M came across as uninterested in her album and more interested in her business ventures - which reflected in her promotion ways. I understand her schedule was tight, but still, she took her time to shoot a commercial for the perfume, something she didn't do for MDNA, as well as doing a photoshoot for it, but once again, not for MDNA. She premiered her perfume with a red carpet appearance, invited reporters, heck she even did a Q&A for it. For MDNA, we got her sitting bored in a chair answering questions, which she obviously was forced into.

So in my opinion, it wasn't mainly the limited time which prevented her from promoting the album more, but because of her own lack of interest - that's why she preferred to promote her perfume instead of the album. Of course I understand she somehow needs to bring these things into attention as well, but everything happened almost simultaneously with the MDNA release - and obviously it should be out of question which product should deserve the center of attention in cases like that.

Yes, sales for MDNA weren't bad in context, but still, it was an album which felt to be 'here' for a few days and then quickly faded away (with the attribute "shit" stamped on it by the way, thanks to the mostly horrible critics here - so the statement of MDNA being universally acclaimed is a little bit questionable) - it's a matter of fact the general public didn't actually know Madonna released an album to the most part, at least here in my country (Germany). Considering her decreasing popularity, this certainly didn't do her any good. But anyway, that wasn't really my main concern, it's what I posted above which made me feel a little disappointed in her (even though I obviously still love her) and which makes me hope that she will choose to promote her business ventures right at the time she got a new album out.

I understand it's a matter of opinion, but for me, when I saw Madonna performing on that stage last year, the thought of her not being passionate about her music didn't even enter my mind. The proof is in the pudding. She was in prime form on stage, giving it her all as if she were a new artist trying to prove herself. Clearly, she still has passion for the music. I don't think it's necessary for her to have passion for doing "traditional" promo in order for her to have passion for her music. The perfume promo she did was not very extensive. It was one Q&A with some fans and a commercial that looks like it could've very well been filmed at the same time as the JML backdrop.

I mean consider, she was 53 years old, worth at least $600 million and chose to embark on her longest and most physically demanding tour of her career to promote.......her music.

[neutrocks]

XXL, I don't question the sales of MDNA for a second. Actually, I did not say anything about them in my post

My concern was that to me, M came across as uninterested in her album and more interested in her business ventures - which reflected in her promotion ways. I understand her schedule was tight, but still, she took her time to shoot a commercial for the perfume, something she didn't do for MDNA, as well as doing a photoshoot for it, but once again, not for MDNA. She premiered her perfume with a red carpet appearance, invited reporters, heck she even did a Q&A for it. For MDNA, we got her sitting bored in a chair answering questions, which she obviously was forced into.

So in my opinion, it wasn't mainly the limited time which prevented her from promoting the album more, but because of her own lack of interest - that's why she preferred to promote her perfume instead of the album. Of course I understand she somehow needs to bring these things into attention as well, but everything happened almost simultaneously with the MDNA release - and obviously it should be out of question which product should deserve the center of attention in cases like that.

Yes, sales for MDNA weren't bad in context, but still, it was an album which felt to be 'here' for a few days and then quickly faded away (with the attribute "shit" stamped on it by the way, thanks to the mostly horrible critics here - so the statement of MDNA being universally acclaimed is a little bit questionable) - it's a matter of fact that to the most part, the general public didn't actually know Madonna released an album, at least here in my country (Germany). Considering her decreasing popularity, this certainly didn't do her any good. But anyway, that wasn't really my main concern, it's what I posted above which made me feel a little disappointed in her (even though I obviously still love her) and which makes me hope that next time, she won't choose to solely promote her business ventures right at the time she got a new album out.

Get over it. She didn't promote the album like she used to or like other artists. It doesn't mean she was less interested in the album. That is such absurd statement to even say or think. Right after the Superbowl (which got the ball rolling), she was working her ass off, on the new tour at the time. What a ridiculous thing to say that she didn't care about MDNA when she immediately went into rehearsals to put on one of the top selling tours of the year, performing much of the MDNA album. You may say and act like you don't care about sales and charts, but for the fact you and others keep harping on the lack of promotion she did for MDNA says otherwise. Promotion is done to heighten sales and chart success. She knows albums don't sale like they used to. She knows TOURING is the way to go. In the end, it's always been about where she can get the biggest bang for her buck. TOURING was it. Nothing was rushed. Everything was perfect. As Kurt stated, some people need a reality check. Madonna is not going to EVER sell albums like she used to. She's not EVER gonna chart like she used to with singles and possibly albums.

[XXL]

I understand it's a matter of opinion, but for me, when I saw Madonna performing on that stage last year, the thought of her not being passionate about her music didn't even enter my mind. The proof is in the pudding. She was in prime form on stage, giving it her all as if she were a new artist trying to prove herself. Clearly, she still has passion for the music. I don't think it's necessary for her to have passion for doing "traditional" promo in order for her to have passion for her music. The perfume promo she did was not very extensive. It was one Q&A with some fans and a commercial that looks like it could've very well been filmed at the same time as the JML backdrop.

Thank you

Nonoka that's exactly what I meant

Saying she doesn't care is not reflected in the music and tour she gives you. Saying she doesn't care about promoting it is not accurate either. It's simply a choice based on the need to rationalise the little time available for so many different platforms bursting out all at once, in the span of 5 months basically. The film, the Superbowl, the tour and her biz ventures yes

It's the age of the album being functional to the tour and not the tour functional to the album

[XXL]

XXL, I don't question the sales of MDNA for a second. Actually, I did not say anything about them in my post

My concern was that to me, M came across as uninterested in her album and more interested in her business ventures - which reflected in her promotion ways. I understand her schedule was tight, but still, she took her time to shoot a commercial for the perfume, something she didn't do for MDNA, as well as doing a photoshoot for it, but once again, not for MDNA. She premiered her perfume with a red carpet appearance, invited reporters, heck she even did a Q&A for it. For MDNA, we got her sitting bored in a chair answering questions, which she obviously was forced into.

So in my opinion, it wasn't mainly the limited time which prevented her from promoting the album more, but because of her own lack of interest - that's why she preferred to promote her perfume instead of the album. Of course I understand she somehow needs to bring these things into attention as well, but everything happened almost simultaneously with the MDNA release - and obviously it should be out of question which product should deserve the center of attention in cases like that.

Yes, sales for MDNA weren't bad in context, but still, it was an album which felt to be 'here' for a few days and then quickly faded away (with the attribute "shit" stamped on it by the way, thanks to the mostly horrible critics here - so the statement of MDNA being universally acclaimed is a little bit questionable) - it's a matter of fact that to the most part, the general public didn't actually know Madonna released an album, at least here in my country (Germany). Considering her decreasing popularity, this certainly didn't do her any good. But anyway, that wasn't really my main concern, it's what I posted above which made me feel a little disappointed in her (even though I obviously still love her) and which makes me hope that next time, she won't choose to solely promote her business ventures right at the time she got a new album out.

Solely promote her business ventures? She was on the road for 7 consecutive months singing and dancing music from that album 5 nights a week, at her age and with 4 kids with her

Can I ask you when Madonna should have started her tour then? Because if the album came out in late March and she did the promo you think she should/could have done there's clearly no way she could have started the tour on the 31st of May

It's not like Madonna could have started after the summer and force her 4 kids to travel around the world for the next 8 months during school time just so that some of you that complain about the NTP issue could have rejoiced at the album selling another 300,000 copies when the tour alone made her the equivalent in revenue of 40m copies sold, is it?

[realityisalways]

What does NTP mean?

[Nightshade]

What does NTP mean?

Non-Traditional Promo

I totally understand that the Superbowl was a massive time suck (although ultimately brilliant) and she probably didn't even want to THINK about doing any other promo, but let's not forget she was plugging W.E. around that time too. She could've just focused on the album but she obviously wanted to devote time a movie that she put her heart and soul into (even though it was ultimately not a financial success or even close to one).

[Camacho]

How many more times does it have to be said! The NTP was Madonnas idea! Guy was trying to get her to do more promo for MDNA SHE wouldn't do it! We've heard that from the horses mouth! New manager may mean the same NTP. My god!

Thank you! He is her manager and can't totally force especially MADONNA of all people, a strong-minded control freak, what to do. For those upset about the NTP, most of your anger should be aimed at Madonna because ultimately she is the boss that calls the shots. She refused to do her typical album and lead single promo. I think the NTP was worth the sacrifice. She worked hard for months putting together the Super Bowl performance and tour. The Super Bowl performance was one of the biggest, most wonderful things in her entire career. It's the highest watched moment on American TV and will likely be for a long time. We got a brilliant, epic, memorable tour that played to millions of fans worldwide. Highly reported (we see no other star get that amount of touring press coverage), dissected, acclaimed. And she made a shitload of paper. Following the Sticky & Sweet Tour you can tell she really invested more time, blood, sweat, and tears putting together the MDNA Tour. The production values and her personal passion were so strong on stage. She was able to even make Revulva enjoyable for its haters! Too bad there wasn't a documentary that chronicled the MDNA Tour because it was such a wild, exciting ride that went on and on and on!

[horn]

Not to forget the number of ppl watching Madge is more than the ppl watching the game itself.

[nightcutter]

When her perfume was released the cheapest botlle was £25. You could buy the MDNA CD for £10. I can totally see why she appeared more visible for the perfume launch than the album - it's the first time she's had one and maybe she stood to make more money from it than the CD. And let's face it - you can't illegally download a perfume so potentially it's a big money spinner.

[XXL]

Thank you! He is her manager and can't totally force especially MADONNA of all people, a strong-minded control freak, what to do. For those upset about the NTP, most of your anger should be aimed at Madonna because ultimately she is the boss that calls the shots. She refused to do her typical album and lead single promo. I think the NTP was worth the sacrifice. She worked hard for months putting together the Super Bowl performance and tour. The Super Bowl performance was one of the biggest, most wonderful things in her entire career. It's the highest watched moment on American TV and will likely be for a long time. We got a brilliant, epic, memorable tour that played to millions of fans worldwide. Highly reported (we see no other star get that amount of touring press coverage), dissected, acclaimed. And she made a shitload of paper. Following the Sticky & Sweet Tour you can tell she really invested more time, blood, sweat, and tears putting together the MDNA Tour. The production values and her personal passion were so strong on stage. She was able to even make Revulva enjoyable for its haters! Too bad there wasn't a documentary that chronicled the MDNA Tour because it was such a wild, exciting ride that went on and on and on!

Thank you!!!!

I can't believe how much shit Guy Oseary gets! Thinking of how many fans he made happy over the years. It's like people blaming Madonna's so called faux British accent, the floral dresses and the children's book on the other Guy

Madonna fired Camille Barbone 31 years ago because she was not going to become her pet creation and some of you think that Guy is actually telling her what to do, 30 years later and 300m records on .... Guy is an excellent business figure in Madonna's team and he's also a long-time friend

He was still a teenager when they met and she was in her mid 30s founding her own record company, I really doubt Guy is teling Madonna much at all in 2013

[Nikki]

Inside Guy Oseary and Paul McGuinness' $30M Live Nation Deal: New Roles, More Leverage and Music From U2

As Guy Oseary and Paul McGuinness prep a $30 million deal to merge their management companies under Live Nation, more details have emerged about the pair’s respective plans.

U2, McGuinness’ top client at Principle Management, is prepping a new album set for tentative release in April on Interscope. Danger Mouse has been producing the set, which was recorded primarily at New York’s Electric Lady Studios. Oseary has already been leading discussions in the advertising marketplace as the band seeks potential brand partners for a planned Super Bowl commercial announcing the new music.

According to executives familiar with the parties’ plans who spoke with Billboard, Live Nation’s deal to acquire Principle and Maverick is valued at $30 million, and has not been completed. Under the arrangement, McGuinness would become chairman of Principle Management, while Oseary will assume day-to-day management of U2, as he has already for several months, Billboard has learned.

In a statement to the New York Times, which first broke the news of the Live Nation deal, McGuinness said: "It could be seen as slightly poor etiquette for a manager to consider retiring before his artist has split, quit or died, but U2 have never subscribed to the rock and roll code of conduct. As I approach the musically relevant age of 64 I have resolved to take a less hands-on role as the band embark on the next cycle of their extraordinary career.

"I am delighted that Live Nation, who with Arthur Fogel have been our long term touring partners, have joined us in creating this powerful new force in artist management. I have long regarded Guy Oseary as the best manager of his generation and there is no one else I would have considered to take over the day-to-day running of our business.”

Prior to the acquisition, Oseary and McGuinness had already done plenty of landmark business with Live Nation. In 2008, U2 inked a 12-year deal with the company that included worldwide touring, merchandising and its U2.com website, though with no rights to the band’s recorded music or publishing.The two companies will be housed under Live Nation’s management arm Artist Nation, a division of the company that manages more than 200 artists but has notably lost money in the first three quarters of 2013. Revenues were down 13% during the first nine months of 2013 year-over-year, according to the company’s earnings released Nov. 5, to a total of $261.1 million this year versus $298.6 million in 2012.

The year prior, Madonna inked a 10-year 360-deal with Live Nation encompassing new studio albums, touring, merchandising, fan club/website, DVDs, music-related TV and film projects and associated sponsorship agreements. Though Live Nation initially intended to exclusively release new music from Madonna, the company aligned with Interscope in 2011 for a three-album deal (valued at $40 million) beginning with 2012’s "MDNA."

Oseary has also maintained an office in Live Nation’s Beverly Hills headquarters for several years, though he spends most of his time working out of a home office at his estate in the Hollywood Hills.

The Maverick/Principle news comes on the heels of Scooter Braun’s $120 million fund to invest in a consortium of music management firms, using proceeds from a fund led by Overland Park, Kan.-based investment firm Waddell & Reed Financial. Braun’s initial partners include Drake managers Oliver El-Khatib Adel and “Future The Prince” Nur at October’s Very Own; Troy Carter and his Atom Factory clients John Legend, Lindsey Stirling and Priyanka Chopra; and Jason Owen, whose Sandbox Entertainment manages top Nashville talent like Shania Twain, Little Big Town, recent CMA winner Kacey Musgraves and rising Warner Nashville duo Dan + Shay. Those artists will join a roster at Braun’s SB Projects that already includes Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, The Wanted, Cody Simpson and Martin Garrix.

Such recent waves of consolidation in the management space suggest efforts for thought-leading executives like Oseary, Braun and Carter (who appeared in a Billboard cover story this past April) to leverage their clients’ combined clout for better negotiations with digital service providers and more fluid investments. One source familiar with Braun’s plans said the management coalition’s model was focused on investing cash in the managers’ firms upfront so that artists could collect more revenues on the back-end.

“That money could then be used for artists’ revenue streams and new ventures,” the executive said.

[iasonas]

It's fine that Madonna didn't want to do any promo. I don't think anyone is complaining about that since we got the Superbowl and a great tour. She didn't do any significant promo for Hard Candy either.

The main problem this time was that the label did nothing to promote the album outside of the US. And Guy is responsible for that. Not M. That's why people mock the whole non-traditional promo thing. It was something unprecedented in her career. Who knows though why it happened. Was it financial reasons? Was it the fact that GMAYL was made for the Superbowl and revolved around American football while the rest of the world has no idea what American football is or how it's played so they could not relate to the whole project? Hopefully the next lead single will be something internationally and universally relatable. She is great at making such kind of hits.

Within the US things were quite traditional. TV exposure, a radio deal, billboards, TV commercials...

[ryan]

If there's promotion, great. If there isn't, it should be no big deal.

She doesn't need to anything to sell a product to me. I will always buy her albums.

[SkyHigh76]

Danger Mouse is producing the new U2 album? I always wanted Madonna to work with him.

[TearsInHeaven]

Bono was at Madonna's birthday party this Summer, i imagine negotiations have been going on since quite some time and they just decided to make it public now.

[Mat.Guy]

So the april 2014 album rumour is U2's?

[SkyHigh76]

maybe this will lead to a U2/Madonna collaboration? How would you guys feel about a Madonna and Bono duet??

[VogueMusic]

It's the age of the album being functional to the tour and not the tour functional to the album

THIS!

[neutrocks]

I don't know why people even get upset over the silly NTP. Of course, Madonna made that decision. She obviously knew that putting anymore money into promotion would take away from touring and her other products. Why not let ther music speak for itself anyway? She's been doing it for 30 some years now. Besides, it's not like she silently dropped an album out with no fanfare. The Superbowl brought a lot of attention to the new upcoming music. It may not been the most hyped and talked about album of the year, but most artists who have been doing it as long as her, don't usually get much hype. It's totally understandabale she would do promo for her movie and perfume instead. Those two would get less attention if she didn't. Her music would be the prime focus on the tour and where it should be. I mean really, do you want her to spend all these extra months pouring money into all this extra promotion, when she could devote that time and money to an extravagant tour? And honestly, those three videos from MDNA weren't cheap to make either. Could Interscope put a little more effort in pushing her, YES! Though, do we know if that was even part of the deal or were they simply there for distribution purposes?

Nearly 30 years being a fan, I know Madonna knows her shit. She always went where she make the most money. In the early days, she knew her albums were the money maker. These days, albums aren't a money maker. Therefore, she focused on the tour which featured her new music while also put some emphasis on her newly directed movie and her new perfume.

[ashtangi74]

well bono was at m's birthday party in france

[ashtangi74]

[Nessie]

The Superbowl was a very stressful experience. And on top of that, she had to tour for like 10 months non-stop!

Also, think of all the time she had to spend to get ready for both the Superbowl and the tour. There was just no time for other kinds of promo.

She worked VERY hard for a whole year.

When things got more relaxes she went to Ellen... Then she went to the Billboard awards.

It was just a priority issue and lack of time.

I am sure next time things will be a bit more traditional because there won't be a Superbowl again.

Superbowl, new album and new tour in just 3-4 months and "traditional" cannot go together.

Well, this is something she put herself in. Of course it worked great financially in the end (the $$$ from the tour), but she could wait a little to go on tour and spend some more time promoting her album like she used to do. Was there a need to do everything in 2012? This bothers me so much because all that process of working your music through proper eras has been lost with this short time that artists have to launch an album and immediately go on tour. We can't specifically blame Madonna though, as this is the reality of the industry nowadays, but i wish she could work her time patiently without forcing herself to do everything in one year. She has nothing to prove and nothing to lose, she can spend the time she wants promoting her music without bothering going on tour so soon.

[SkyHigh76]

Well, this is something she put herself in. Of course it worked great financially in the end (the $$$ from the tour), but she could wait a little to go on tour and spend some more time promoting her album like she used to do. Was there a need to do everything in 2012? This bothers me so much because all that process of working your music through proper eras has been lost with this short time that artists have to launch an album and immediately go on tour. We can't specifically blame Madonna though, as this is the reality of the industry nowadays, but i wish she could work her time patiently without forcing herself to do everything in one year. She has nothing to prove and nothing to lose, she can spend the time she wants promoting her music without bothering going on tour so soon.

The Confessions era worked out perfectly.She released the album in November 2005 and didn't launch the tour until June 2006...giving herself plenty of time to promote the album,make videos,do TV appearances,etc.It really paid off,too.That album was a worldwide smash.

[Nessie]

The Confessions era worked out perfectly.She released the album in November 2005 and didn't launch the tour until June 2006...giving herself plenty of time to promote the album,make videos,do TV appearances,etc.It really paid off,too.That album was a worldwide smash.

Yes, the Confessions recipe is the perfect balance of traditional promo and a successful tour. I wish she would reproduce that schedule for her next music project.

[whyme?]

Confessions worked well simply because it had a mega song on the album. An artist can do all the promo in the world, but at the end of the day people will pay money to hear something they like.

[SkyHigh76]

Confessions worked well simply because it had a mega song on the album. An artist can do all the promo in the world, but at the end of the day people will pay money to hear something they like.

true,but I think it's more than that.Everything about the Confessions era (the album,the look,the promotion) was planned perfectly.A few months before the album was released,Madonna and her team began creating a big "buzz".She did many print interviews,including an excellent Billboard interview.The best thing is,the promotion didn't have to compete with any other projects.She wasn't trying to promote a movie,a new perfume,or anything else...the focus was strictly on the album.The tour rehearsals didn't begin until a few months after the album was released (if I'm not mistaken).