Why can't Prince be as clued-in as Arcade Fire?

So let's see: Arcade Fire release a DVD, available in regular (single DVD) and limited edition (extra dvd + beautiful package).

Or you can skip the hardcopy medium and just get one of the three available downloads (300 MB / 900 MB / 2.5 GB). Oh, and if you buy the DVD, you can DL the version of your choice anyway.

http://www.miroir-noir.com/

BTW Just like Wendy & Lisa they also use TopSpin.com .

Trent Reznor is already endorsing it: http://twitter.com/trent_...1457210157 . FYI: Trent has 224,900 followers on Twitter.

Meanwhile Prince's site still thinks it's 1999. Oh, I forget: Prince has an exclusive deal with Target, so he cannot sell his CD to his fans who happen to live outside of the US, for instance. And the free T-Shirt? $7 shipping fee if you live outside the US.

Have they ever given away free CDs at concerts? Just wondering.

"Guitar" on Leno is the greatest performance in the history of rock ' roll

Second Funkiest White Man in America

It sure is nice having adults running our government now

That sounds very good. However, it ain't gonna change shit. Prince is what Prince does. If somebody doesn't agree with his practices then i'm guessing they just won't pay. Yourself, for instance. You enlightened us all that the new webpage would be a crock before it opened. With the problems that occured around the opening days, I'm sure you didn't hand him your money. I imagine you are pretty happy about that, too. And rightly so. It's just a case of horses for courses. What works for Trent doesn't work for Prince. The power lies with the consumer. Buy it or leave it.

I saw them in concert, Prince trumps them any minute of the day

Close2u said:

Close2u said:

He's definitely on the right track offering WAV downloads and MP3s (which are DRM-free by nature).

Reznor is lightyears ahead of anyone as far as distribution and how he treats his fans. I can picture Trent logging into his own site and making posts/changes/uploads/etc. himself. I'm sure he does.

I cannot picture Prince doing the same thing.

CJBabyDaddy said:

RodeoSchro said:

PurpleKnight said:

PurpleKnight said:

i'm a prince fanatic, but even I can't justify P's actions compared to NIN and Arcade fire. especially NIN - trent is a trailblazer. P was on the right track in the late 90s and definitely paved the way for others, but he's gone backwards.

there's such a disconnect with prince, whereas us NIN fans feel like we are a part of what trent is doing.

if prince treated us the way trent treats his fans, the heavens would open up.

I'm not sure what the purpose of this post is. Why are people on this "Prince" forum always bringing up what other artists are doing and using it to complain about the way that Prince does business? It's great for NIN fans that Trent Reznor does what he does, but it has nothing to do with Prince. Prince has been the same guy(pretty much) for like 30 years. We as fans all know who and what he is, and we choose to deal with him or not. Nothing that NIN or Arcade Fire is doing on the internet makes me want to swear off Prince in exchange for them, so why are people always comparing?

Se7en said:

"Guitar" on Leno is the greatest performance in the history of rock ' roll

Second Funkiest White Man in America

It sure is nice having adults running our government now

drhodes777 said:

"Guitar" on Leno is the greatest performance in the history of rock ' roll

Second Funkiest White Man in America

It sure is nice having adults running our government now

CJBabyDaddy said:

RodeoSchro said:

C:\Otaassk~.exe




The new best Prince M&M thread ever: http://prince.org/msg/7/323876

vivid is my new boo!

drhodes777 said:

Personally, because of my inner FAM, boredome, and a complete lack of anything better to do, I joined lotusflow3r.

My first response (and overall lasting impression) was/is this:

1) It feels like a website from the 90s when Flash technology was just starting to overtake animated gifs on websites. Folks back then were more interested in showing a lot of flash then in functionality of their webpages.

2) There are no standard menus, making it amateurish in feel. Where do you "contact" the company or web administrator if you have an issue? Where do you search for merchandise to buy? You have to hunt down via their "Universe" like a little puzzle or game instead of being presented no-bullshit , standard, menus to do so. There's just no excuse for that. There's going to be a lot of folks who want to explore the little Universe, but can't they add that as a menu option to allow fans who like poking around to do that? Most people would rather just go in, download what they need, and get the hell out.

3) The website takes into absolutely no consideration the speed and power of the user's internet connection or machine. It's flashy interface (see afore mentioned item #1) can slow many computers down. It certainly makes it impossible to surf it on an iPhone or comparible phone device.

4) Why wasn't this thing test driven before it was launched?

5) For $77 dollars, launch day should have contained more material on the site than it did. Prince has so much vault material, it almost makes the lack of material on the website appalling.

Things I did like about the site:
1) It's not as ugly as l41A.com or npgmc.com
2) The mp3s you download don't have DRM so you can import them into any music player of your choice. THAT IS A HUGE improvement.
3) It works well in FireFox


Overall, Prince missed the mark again with this site. It's obviously designed for fans as is evident of the membership fee, the strange puzzle to open an account, the ridiculous interface, and the complete lack of standard 'contact' options to voice complaints and recommendations. The genius behind this is that Prince can shut down lotusflow3r at any time on his fans. The overall general public will not notice, and he can do this again in the future if he were so inclined.

I am absolutely confident Trent Reznor would never do that to his fans or the general public.
[Edited 4/5/09 13:03pm]

C:\Otaassk~.exe




The new best Prince M&M thread ever: http://prince.org/msg/7/323876

vivid is my new boo!

Bart you make good points about some things but this one I disagree with you.

jdcxc said:

Close2u said:

Purpleknight put the shoe on the other foot for a moment.

Yes ,listen to Pearls or F.U.N.K. or even No More Candy 4 U.

The main critics he has is the fanbase.

Regardless to what the man does the fanbase will bitch,moan,and complain about whatever. Then you throw in the witchhunt crew from the Crystal Ball fiasco. He is dammed if he does and dammed if he doesn't.

I see on this site after every album is released ... "it does not sound like _____. Or ,".... why can't he make music like _____".

The main complainers now are people who have been getting the cow for free and now they are having to pay for the cow i.e videos,downloads,likenesses,etc.

Don't you (and other likeminded individuals) think that he should have the right to market his likness to his monetary gain ?

Se7en said:

i want to say so many things right now but i'll just restrain myself and only
say:

1. i'll wait until next year march and see what my membership of lotusflower
will have produced in actual downloaded music.

2. i will in the meantime enjoy these other artists' websites and all those
cool things they have on offer.

3. all the while i will feel slightly disappointed in prince because he can
trump all of them if he'd only want to. the material he could release and
the ease with which it could be done if incredible. instead, prince has a
website that you can't even get into without solving a puzzle. o.m.g. sigh.

Se7en said:

berniejobs said:

C:\Otaassk~.exe




The new best Prince M&M thread ever: http://prince.org/msg/7/323876

vivid is my new boo!

why is 'prince is a better musician' always the counter-argument to comparisons of his business practices with those of other artists?

the quality of prince's music and the depth of his talent are completely irrelevant to this thread.

Why can't Bart be as clued-in as someone with free will and common sense who hasn't spent the last 15 years complaining about what an asshole Prince is?
With every new Prince release, Bart leads the charge with "Why can't Prince be like so and so"? You're as predictable as you claim Prince is clueless.
Why can't you accept the fact that you pretty much disagree with everything Prince does. Everyone else has.
I mean, criticism is one thing. Obsession is unhealthy.

shygirl said:

theoretically if bart posted a positive message after the release of every album he would seem less "obsessed" to members of prince forums.