Music News
BBC accused of giving U2 too much publicity
Tuesday 24 February 2009
U2's 'No Line On The Horizon' is the most eagerly awaited album of the year, but the BBC has been criticised for giving the band too much publicity.
The BBC is broadcasting a string of shows about the Irish rockers across its radio and TV stations just days before the UK release of the group's new album.
They even have a section of the BBC's website dedicated to the sale of tickets and an advert using the slogan U2="BBC".
According to Contactmusic.com, British politician Nigel Evans has called the coverage "the sort of publicity money can't buy", adding: "Why should (UK) licence fee-payers shoulder the cost of U2's publicity?"
But the BBC reportedly maintains the shows fall within broadcasting regulations about promotional appearances.
Contactmusic quotes a BBC spokesperson as saying, "We take extreme care in making fair decision about how we make popular artists accessible to our audiences, especially when the timing is around the release of a new album, book, film.
"U2 are one of the world's most popular bands who have a diverse fanbase and we are reflecting this in our content.
"This includes a 'Live Lounge' session on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 1 show and an interview on Chris Evans's BBC Radio 2 show, both on Friday."
The Dublin four-piece will also perform on Jonathan Ross's BBC1 chat show, and there will be a special of BBC2's 'The Culture Show' tonight dedicated to their music.
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