Bono Launches Download Service for Africa

U2, Jay-Z, Coldplay and R.E.M. are among the bands contributing music to (RED)WIRE, a new download service aligned with Bono's (PRODUCT)RED campaign, which raises money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. For $5 a month, members will get a weekly, DRM-free delivery of an exclusive song from a major artist, a tune from a lesser-known artist, and a music video or other content. The service goes live at redwire.com in December. According to Coldplay's Chris Martin, Bono's involvement ensures there will be a steady stream of material from top acts: "There's certain people, where, whatever they ask for, you give it."

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Song Stories

“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell | 1974

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.

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