To those claiming that $77 is high, unfair, and/or an overpriced amount, One thing is certain. It is NOT unprecedented...

About 10 years ago, when NPGMC stated with on-line downloads, the cost was 7.77 a month. So let's do the math...

12 months X 7.77 = 93.24

For that 93.24, we got at last 3 new songs and an audio show each month.

That's 36 random tracks.

Now, in 2009, for 77.00 we got three FULL discs of music, a t-shirt, and access to some pretty good video right out of the gate. The site is only 13 days old and there have already been 3 concerts, and two video updates.

The point is, that back in '99/2000, the only complaint was that some of the songs were re-hash. For the most part, there weren't complaints about cost. So, other than the economy, why should there be one now... comparatively speaking?

Thoughts?

It´s simple...

U can buy the physical triple-CD at Target for 12$.
The CD´s aren´t an exclusive content on the Lotusflow3r website.
And i don´t care that much for a T-shirt where i can´t even choose between
different styles.

As for now, 77$ is vaguely worth it. For me, it was out of the question if i join or not.
I think i will always join Prince´s homepage just to not miss something.
But the current price isn´t okay for what the site offers to the fans.

there's no reason to include the tshirt in the membership fee since it's FREE
for people who signed up early. it's an incentive to sign up, not a part of
the membership. besides, you pay 7 dollars for delivery.

since the albums are $ 12,- we should consider the membership fee to be $ 65,-
now prince probably reasons that access to the videos on the site as well as
having the download 5 days prior to retail release and download exclusive mp3
"the morning after" to be worth about half of that amount.

it might not seem like much content to us but reviewing the past i think it's
safe to assume that prince figures if he gives us two or three songs and some
more promo videos this year, the content has been well worth the fee.

releasing more albums or live concerts will probably happen but it will be in
a "retail/shop" section on the site where you simply pay for it whatever they
decide to charge. either for one off mp3 releases or entire albums/concerts.

what's more, that "shop" is probably accessable even for people who are not a
member of the site. kinda like the 3121 store.

i'm not complaining, i'm a member and i knew that we were paying for a site,
not knowing anything about what would be included in the fee beyond the three
initial albums we have now.

and it will probably take about 3 months before anything more than videos or
photo's will be uploaded or put up for sale (apart from perhaps tshirts and
candels, earwraps and old npgmc albums). prince is now promoting his albums
and perhaps getting ready to tour. all his attention is focussed on that at
this time i guess.

ah, wait, there's another thing that is certainly included in the membership:
pre-sale tickets or special tickets to shows.

so, all in all i wouldn't expect much more to be included in the fee, most of
all not anymore complete albums. there will probably be more stuff up as the
rest of the year rolls on but it will be up in a retail section, for sale.

IstenSzek said:

PANDURITO said:

i've taken an inch of the beard recently

PANDURITO said:

For me it would be more worth it if we could actually download the videos to our computers. I mean, I can still play those old videos from the NPGMC days. What happens when LotusFlow3r is no more. We will never be able to see those videos again!!! Prince can always pull the content off his site anytime he feels like it.
[Edited 4/6/09 13:52pm]

peterv said:

The membership was $100, all charged at once. Not sure where you're getting this "$7.77" number, unless you are using it only for comparison. It was $100 for the first 2 years, and $25 in Year 03.

Year One included Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic physical CD, along with monthly MP3, video, and ahdio show downloads. No complaints from me for Year One, other than some low-resolution videos. I can forgive that, since most people were still on 56K modems at that point.

Year Two included ONA:Piano, ONA: Live (which also included a copy of ONA:Piano), Xpectation and C-NOTE. This was the year that people reported him to the Better Business Bureau. He specifically mentioned the 4 albums you'd get from joining (in the tour book) and then reneged. He counted ONA:Live as 3 discs, hence completing his end of the deal. When people started taking action, he hastily released Xpectation and C-NOTE - both as Fuck You's to us fans. Xpectation was a tongue-in-cheek jab at fans' expecations, and C-NOTE is slang for a $100 bill ("coincidentally" the cost of the club).

Year Three didn't really include downloads, but people snagged MP3s out of the Reflection Room. This was the year that the Musicology Store opened, offering DRM-protected WMA files. A lot of people were upset that a lot of the music from Year One made its way into the Musicology Store, albeit sometimes in longer/different mixes.

Thinking about that $7.77, you might be thinking about the album cost in the Musicology Store (Year 03).

Albums were $7.77, and individual songs were $.77.

Se7en said:

No, it was a recurring cost from one's bank account...

Also, I found an old EW clipping I saved that states the price.

peterv said:

Still have to disagree with you - I got charged $100 all at once, and not monthly. I'm pretty sure most people here got charged the same way.

Are you in the US?

No, I remember that $7.77 monthly fee too

There was some advantage if you chose the yearly fee. I can't remember now what it was. But that's what I chose too.

I remembered
The $100 fee was a Premium Membership and included a couple of extra mp3/videos each month

August 28 2001:
"The long-awaited August NPG MUSIC CLUB Trax r ready 2 b downloaded by all Members of the Club! Plus Premium Members get a double-dose of the NPG Music Club as we release the September Trax at the SAME TIME. LETTHEDOWNLOADSCOMMENCE!! Basic members can join the September party on the 15th"

Se7en said:

It was 7.77 a month in the first year or you could buy a 100 dollar membership.

PANDURITO said:

Thank you for that post. I had forgotten the other membership option.

Se7en said:

Yeah, I'm in Texas... There were two options, "both" of which cost more than 77.00...

Again, while I appreciate the responses, this thread was/is meant to mainly talk about costs objectively and proportionately...

But let me be clear, I'm not trying to begrudge anyone's claim to hard times. And those who have not complained over and over need not defend themselves. But I can remember a time when it was REALLY expensive to be a Prince fan. Many (not all) on this site probably weren't around when the only additional source for Prince material was bootlegs and/or "imports" that cost 20.00 a disc for vinyl (40.00 for CD). And I'm talkin' a crap shoot when it came to sound quality...

I knew people who went broke because they wanted to hear and experience more Prince. I came close to being one of them. So I hope many of you will forgive me if I have a hard time digesting some of the cheap-a.. comments that I have read on other threads (and forums). Most of the ungrateful folks really don't know how far we've come and how lucky we all are... End of rant.

peterv said:

that's the thing, we know how far the world has changed, and how lucky you can be if you follow other artists given the effort and content they offer their fans.

Prince's secret squirrel rubbish to join the website is stupid, no preview section is rubbish, paying $77 for $12 worth of albums is a crap deal, and the fact that you're not even supposed to be able to download the videos (though from what I gather it's very easy to do) is just insulting.

But hey, the world changes, prince fans don't, they'll keep prince in retirement money for years Maybe that should be treated like a charity and be tax deductible

peterv said:

I've been a Prince fan for about 4 years shy of his entire career. I've seen it all, and I agree that it used to be pretty expensive to follow him. The bootlegs were expensive, but so was all the legit stuff (albums, singles, side projects, collector versions, movies, etc.) Not to mention concerts. Being a Prince fan/collector used to be a sickness. It wasn't always about the music, but most of the time it was.

I'm also tired of hearing people complain about the $77 membership fee. Some of us are better off than others, but no one needs to join to survive. If you can't afford it, then don't join. Get your CDs at Target and enjoy the site vicariously from people on the Org. But don't complain if/when he releases an exclusive album through his website, or when a member gets pulled on stage with him because they were sitting so close (which has happened).

peterv said:

GREATLY said

Se7en said:

Now this is what I've been talkin' about... Thanks for the input.

kitkatau said:

Not the kind of objective input this thread was aiming for, but if one needs to vent about Prince not living up to their personal vision... so be it.

I wonder how much folks will shell out to be at the final show ever



hey... imagine if we as fans were in the boat of MJ last final tour then y'all would miss him

peterv said:

it's all fact: stupid "puzzle" just to get a chance to spend your $ (really moronic, why would you prevent people from giving you money on the first screen?), the albums are available for $12 at every street corner, there is no other audio content, there is no preview for people to have a look before paying, and you are not supposed to be able to download the videos.

Membership consideration? Prince has very well considered his fan base, and saw that most of them could be suckered in shelling out $77 for nothing real.

Membership consideration: provide good quality videos (not stretched/boxed or mono, HD stereo would be what you'd expect in this day and age), provide audio content, drop the moronic entry puzzle, allow users to download videos that they bloody pay for in the membership fee, and you'll have a good start. Ah, and stop using the org as a pseudo official news/announcement channel (without compensating the org I bet), how hard is it to put news up on your own website?

Membership consideration: wake up and see how other artists treat their fanbase, and then look back at the prince offering. You'll see how pitiful it is compared to some of the other stuff out there. Not saying all artists are great at that, but for someone claiming to be a pioneer, it's pathetic.

It's not like he doesn't know it's out there, he knows full well, he just CBF giving it to his fans, as they are all too willing to give him money for nothing. Why should he make an effort? I wouldn't do it either

Again, the purpose of this discussion was to compare this site (deal) to other Princely online ventures. Sure, one can nit-pick all day, but that is not what "this" thread was meant to be for. I was merely attempting to point out that there really isn't THAT much difference with this from that, especially in terms of cost...

All I know is that I didn't cry and complain when Prince did a show at a hotel in New York that would have cost "me" over 500.00 to attend. I would have loved to have had the opportunity, but couldn't justify the time or money. Still, I didn't start crying and moaning and comparing him to this or that, saying how unfair he was for not making provisions for "me" to attend...

It's all subjective to the individual's needs and means... Like another member said; no one is forcing fans to pay 77.00 to hear his music. As a matter of fact, the 3-disc set was amazingly affordable at 12 bucks. For those who want more, the new site is a great place with even more promise. If one doesn't like it or how it's being done, then go outside for some fresh air; go to a movie, or a ball game. As for the site, it's only been two weeks, damn!

peterv said:

I was one of those cats, too. But, even with the bootlegs, you could usually listen to them in the stores that carried them, read up on the quality of sound and music on various web sites or get the scoop from another music head or Prince fan.

That luxury is still a bit more than paying money for the promise of the possibility of something. Totally different animals.

ThreadBare said:

Actually, no... Most cases with boots dealings were at wrecka shos, and many times they were sealed and not available for preview. Also, there was no (or very little) internet or preview outlets for fans, so most of the time, it was a stab in the dark...Not to mention that there were usually on a few copies available, so the sense of urgency influenced buyers to make rash decisions.

I paid 100 $ for a premium membership, and after the year was over, we received: rave in2 the joy fantastic (with extended versions, remixes, one new song and a much nicer booklet) about 40 new songs, the rainbow children (as an mp3), lots of video's, 11 ahdio shows (with some nice treats in it like jukebox with a heartbeat), one nite alone (piano version) and one nite alone live. all this for 100 $. no need to say more I think ?