I know there are a lot of musicians and other music types on the org who, whilst presumably having been influenced by Prince's music over the years, probably knew a great deal about musical appreciation to begin with.

I wonder if there may also be some people like me.

I'm not a muso. I'm somewhat of the musical runt in an otherwise talented family. Whilst my sister started spontaneously composing music whilst practising piano, I would sit in my room and listen to the "Summer of '87" tape I got for my birthday.

What Prince has given me over the years is a greater love and appreciation of music. Not just his, but of a whole world of music that I may never have discovered, had I remained stuck in the mainstream, "Top 30" and "Video Hits" subset of a music industry which was no longer run by musicians, but rather by people that would prefer I continued to fence my music tastes into a market to which they had exclusive access.

So many artists, new and old, I didn't even know about now sit at the top of my CD stack, getting far more play then the cookie-cutter performers they replaced. Prince has been directly responsible for me discovering Miles Davis, GCS, Maceo Parker, Sheila E and now Esperanza Spalding, Janelle Monae and my current favourite, the John Blackwell Project. Cassandra Wilson has a new CD coming out in November and I look forward to picking it up, after visiting her website yesterday and hearing a sample.

This year I bought a vintage record player, sparked by the desire to play the LotusFlow3r LP I'd ordered. I went to pick it up and came home with records from Stevie Wonder, Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown and others - ok, so of course I'd heard of them before, but I never would have gone as far as buying their albums had I not read about what impact these artists had on Prince.

I realise that I may be coming across to some as a bit of a musical nitwit at this point, but I doubt I'm the only one who ventured either back in time or off the beaten track because of Prince. He's spent enough time in the mainstream and on the charts to have gained the attention and respect of those virtually trapped in the commercial paddock of record label executives and have shown them what else there is to see.

I know some are upset with his latest announcement that he will be MC to a series of concerts that will include a number of other artists along with himself. I hope that, for the Prince diehards, there will be some concerts and/or aftershows that are predominantly him to satisfy their purple thirst.

That said, I think it's fantastic that he seems to be taking postive action in terms of offering an alternative to musicians looking to grow their fanbase. You don't need to surrender to the corporate marketing machine - you can maintain your integrity as an artist and still find success and if supportive musicians with greater exposure can assist in making that happen, how awesome.

This is not intended as a Prince pep rally and no, I realise he is not the first to do it and I certainly, quite specifically, hope that he's not the last. I just wonder if we've reached a stage in commercialisation of music, with the American Idols and Justin Beibers of this world, where alternative means of exposure that aren't the end result of a human processing plant are no longer just needed, but are in fact now inevitable.

(I should point out that of course not everything on mainstream radio and on the charts is rubbish - far from it - but many tend to see it as the be all and end all of music when that couldn't be further from the truth)

As older musicians decide that, rather than teaming with the "hip new thing" in an attempt to appear current in consumers' eyes for at least one more year, they will instead team with new (but established) talent that they themselves are excited by, they will be putting some musical lifeblood back into an industry that desperately needs it and will create a musical legacy for themselves that can potentially stand for generations.

So my gratitude goes to Prince for all that he has already and continues to show me in terms of music and musicians. I'm also very thankful to those musicians that went before him and were happy to cast a spotlight on him when he was just getting started.

I also appreciate anyone who's taken the time to read my little (big?) rant and would be interested to hear how Prince (or others) have shaped your musical tastes over the years.

thanks for such an eloquent post i enjoyed reading it and i appreciate the focus you've placed on how prince has influenced your tastes in music as well as his showcasing other talent over the years.

for me personally, i've been interested in prince's music, moreso than any protege or peer of his that he feels to be worthy of my attention.

whilst i've enjoyed those artists when they were under prince's spotlight, i havent been moved to follow their careers or buy their CD's.

i dont buy music unless the artist makes their way to me, alone. i have so many singles of artists who are pretty much one-hit-wonders for example, but i bought their singles because they found me.

if i get haunted by a song, i figure its for a reason, and if i really like it, i'll go buy it. so when prince shows his support for other artists it doesnt make me want to go buy their record.

kinda like: you want my money? come to me. without a chaperone. enter me. capture me. take me somewhere beautiful. dont play cool with me. dont front. show me what you are.

delight me, and i'm yours. here's five dollars. i might buy your album if you can do the same again with at least three more songs.

but thats just me, and i think its fantastic that prince has shown so much support for his friends and peers over the years. they've brought a lot of joy to a lot of people and no doubt will continue to do so.

prince is always doing things a new and different way, from releasing his music via magazines (even if i dont agree) to adding an artist to one of his own releases, or having them jam with him at his gigs etc..

the commercial music scene is in its last days, imo. some might say it doesnt even want to be there anymore.

success is no longer determined by number of sales or who paid who or who can shake it better than someone else, its measured by the quality of the art, and the staying power of the artist,

whether that be en masse, or a constant series of releases whether anyone knows about them or not.

even only one song can be all it takes to change the world forever. lucky you if you're the one to write it.

prince's tastes in other peoples music may or not be the same as mine, i tend to get bored easily, i'm not really into sleepy music, or people trying to be cool, for the hot minute it will last,

so my musical nose tends to sniff out the people he's wasting his time on from the ones who are really solid, and real.

i respect his tastes nonetheless, as do many others i'm sure, but i've learned more from prince's work, than anyone he has 'introduced' me to.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, robinhood - always an interesting read

I do know what you mean about an artist making their way to you. I guess where we differ is that I don't mind them coming with a chaperone (particularly such a cute one, lol!)

I've not been so taken with Prince's so-called proteges as I have with the established artists he's put the spotlight on - my rule of thumb, at least thus far, seems to be that if they've already released at least one album before they started working with Prince, or have otherwise established their music career somehow, they're worth a second look (or listen).

Those that rely on Prince to get them off and running might need to assess the situation carefully before proceeding, as they may well be trying to run in the wrong direction. Carmen Electra is a classic example - I have a lot of time for her, just not as a singer.

I like your definition of success. To take it a bit further, I think everyone needs to define what success means for them and strive for that. What the industry itself defines as success I would suggest is still somewhat in contention, however, particularly as art in and of itself cannot be measured, ranked or banked.

In any case, I'm looking forward to what the next few months bring to Prince enthusiasts around the world, as I suspect there's more to come than what's already been revealed

no problem my pleasure.

know what you mean about semi-established artists vs brand new, and fair enough to learn more about those who have at least one release under their belt.

i agree that how art is perceived is also purely subjective, but i still think its possible to assess the quality of art eg: there's something about the mona lisa that stays with me moreso than grafitti.

prince's 'true artists' tend to last longer doing their own thing, whereas the eye-candy gimmick type artists end up on the scrap heap.

some artists really connect with their audience, some merely put on a show from a distance.

i think its the level of connection an artist can achieve that determines their 'success' for me.

i wanna be moved more than 'entertained', lifted up, more than subjected to an artists current 'self-indulgent' vibe.

when i slide the peep-hole open, i want to see something living, not just another moving picture.

i wanna hear music thats breathing and sincere, not filtered by vanity. i'm too old to indulge in a put-on without getting annoyed with it at some point lol.

no matter how great they may be at singing and music, if they dont make a genuine connection with me, i forget them very easily.

but yes the next few months will be very interesting i agree. cheers and thanks again.