While the Edge doesn't seem on edge as he and his bandmates hover on the brink of yet another world tour, McGuinness admits that launching a new album and a major tour comes with a certain amount of anxiety. "The industry and the world are changing very, very fast at the moment, and we're all hoping that we can do something that's appropriate, that works and succeeds and continues the careers of the artists we represent," he says. "Anyone who says they're not nervous when they put out an album is a liar. And anyone who put tickets on sale in this economic climate and doesn't wait with bated breath is a liar, too."

Live Nation global music chairman Arthur Fogel and his team will produce and promote U2 worldwide, as they have for more than a decade. Right now, committing to a global stadium tour is "obviously a major undertaking on a bunch of different levels," Fogel says. "On the last tour it basically broke down indoors in America and stadiums outside of America. Both shows were pretty different and they were both incredible, but I think the general feeling, and certainly mine, was the experience of U2 in a stadium is special and unique, and it would be great for North America to experience that the way the rest of the world did the last time around."

What the band will do live on the U2360º tour has never been done on this scale. By performing at the center of stadiums on a stage that can be seen from 360 degrees, the band will increase the capacity of venues by15%-20%. There won't be any "behind the stage" seating, since there really won't be a behind the stage area.

The configuration opens up myriad opportunities for scaling ticket prices, an important consideration for Fogel and the band. "I felt very strongly that we needed to maintain and maybe even expand on our pricing philosophy," he says. "I've never been a proponent of one or even two prices. There's a logical way to price an arena or a stadium."

The top ticket price will be slightly higher than U2's last tour but the bottom price will be lower. Field-level tickets will be $55; in addition, there will be 10,000 tickets to every show for $30. Besides that, the price points are $250 and $90 or $95, depending on the market, Fogel says. "Playing larger-capacity venues allows for more conservative pricing overall," he says. "The interesting way to look at this is that 85% of the entire capacity will be $95 or less, 40% of the entire capacity will be $55or less and 10,000 will be at $30. Usually when somebody wants to go after the top price, they talk about the best seats being too expensive. The reality is at a U2 show this time, and last time in the arenas, the best place is $55."

The premium-priced seats will be on the sides in the grandstands and will constitute about 15% of the house. "There are always people who want to pay the higher price to be in a well-located seat," Fogel says. "But the reality is there are so many different ways to come at this seating in terms of a$30 or $50 ticket. In a funny way the top-priced tickets are subsidizing the lower-priced tickets, which is as it should be."