Prince Kraken Opus Wall Street Journal Article (more about the iPod)

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Thread started 04/19/09 2:27pm

Elixir

Prince Kraken Opus Wall Street Journal Article (more about the iPod)

Here you go:

http://blogs.wsj.com/digi...-for-2100/

By Marisa Taylor

Even for the most devoted fans of The Purple One, the new Limited Edition
Prince Opus iPod could be a reason to go crazy. And not in a good way.
British publishing company Kraken Opus will only sell 950 of the purple special-edition iPod Touch, which comes loaded with a 40-minute movie featuring footage from the enigmatic artist’s “21 Nights” 2007 tour in London, as well as a live soundtrack from his “Indigo Nights” album.

Sounds great, right? Well, the rather sizeable downfall is that the gadget costs $2,100, or $140 per song. That’s because the iPod comes with the “Prince 21 Nights Opus,” a book of photography of “21 Nights” shot by Randee St. Nicholas and including lyrics and poetry by the artist himself. According to the Opus site, the tome is more than 200 pages (each measuring 13 by 20 inches) and weighing in at “an epic 17 kg,” is bound in leather and comes in a velvet-covered case.

So are people going to actually throw down the cash to own one of these things? Kraken Opus CEO and founder Karl Fowler, a former derivatives trader at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley in London, says that one-third of the 950 available Opuses and iPods already sold over the weekend.

i(Pod) Would Die 4 U
“I’m ecstatic about that,” he said. “Without being overly confident or too arrogant about it, we always knew that we would get to a sellout position within a few months.” To sell at this rate, however, was unexpected, he said.

Mr. Fowler says that the high price of the publication is justified by the never-before-seen material featured in each one — for example, video loaded onto the Prince iPod contains exclusive footage of Prince’s concert. “Even in this current climate, there was a thirst, a strong appetite, for people who were willing to part with a premium, because they are getting something that has never been given to them before,” he says.

Other books by the company are dedicated to Argentine soccer star Maradona ($4,475), designer Vivienne Westwood ($2,088) and others, which do not, as it happens, include special iPods. If price is an issue, the company offers 0% financing to consumers in the United Kingdom. But in September, Mr. Fowler says, Kraken Opus will be releasing a Ferrari book that will come with a special edition iPod (as well as an embedded GPS microchip like the ones found in race cars, so you can track your Ferrari opus in case it’s stolen).

The verdict online about the special Prince iPod was mixed. DevinDeMarco wrote: “I like Prince, but damn $2100 for an iPod is silly. Load that joint w/ outtakes and lower the price to about $500 and I would consider it,” while NobleSon said: “The Prince “21 Night Opus” Ipod collab is BRILLIANT. Talk about knowing your audience/ market. Monetize thy work is what this tells me.”

But perhaps slainson summed it up best, asking: “Do you think the folks offering 0% financing for a Prince iPod used to be in the mortgage business?”
[Edited 4/19/09 14:36pm]

tricky2	Does anyone else think that Prince bought a few (hundred) himself? He's got the dough from most of you spending $77!
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journey	That's cold tricky2....but he didn't get it from me!
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BriaVelveeta	I guess I could get it, and then go live under a bridge. I'd have the nicest Ipod ever to grace the underside of a cardboard shelter, I would.
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tuztones	I would love to purchase something very special as this.....but not for $2,100.00. Way too much for my blood. For some of us there is a limit.....yes even with Prince. Good Luck to those that purchase this. Peace.....Nicky Tuzio
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ludwig	Ways of the pharaoh ..... The only exclusive content is that 40-minute-film plus the leather wrapped around the book. And that film will be all over torrent sites shortly after release. Give me a proper DVD-release from this series of concerts including lots of aftershow-footage and I'm willing to pay big bucks for that.
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