U2 the band is creeping into middle age, but U2 the brand is as hot as ever and the website is no exception. While U2 is known for hot licks, passionate pleas for debt relief and eclectic stage names, its online property is pure brand extension aimed at keeping fans happy and making a few bucks along the way.

Navigating through the site is time intensive and leaves the impression that there is constantly more to see. For the die-hard fan, this is a good thing. Like many modern band brands, the website is a mix of new and vintage music and images, online ticket sales, fan club and U2 branded merchandise for sale. (Rolling Stone magazine reported in its 29 July 2004 issue that merchandising, not ticket or even CD sales, is what creates the most profit for bands and in many cases actually keeps them financially afloat.)

With 14 CDs to the band’s credit, the amount of music material on the site is impressive. The site has teamed up with Apple iTunes to make available 400 songs ready for iPod download. Unlike most music sites, U2.com does not open with any U2 songs on "auto play" and there is, thankfully, an absence of Flash gratuity.

Incentives are also given to the U2 member, such as 25 percent off the first online store purchase and priority sales on concert tickets. (The latter of which seems to have already disappointed hundreds of fans since many concerts for the upcoming North American spring tour sold out too fast to accommodate website members.)

The band may be against atomic bombs, but they are decidedly capitalists.

In an era where no promotion is too much promotion for musicians on the rise, young bands such as Maroon5 give away access to their music videos and "auto play" their music as a part of the site experience and marketing/promotion of the band. U2 (a.k.a. rock gods still in their prime) give access to full-length audio and video streams and downloads as part of its paid subscription service. There is no question that the strategy from a business perspective is not only innovative but highly profitable. How long they can sustain the subscription service is in the hands of the fans themselves.

U2 will be inaugurated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this spring. Perhaps on a less grand level, they also rank high marks at the website hall of fame here at brandchannel.