Cerebus said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

If there that easily persuaded away they shouldn't have been there in the first place. Good riddens!!!

[Edited 1/28/11 8:03am]

Unlike you, they didn't belong to the cult. They weren't "persuaded away" from anything. They were tired of Prince's drama and half-assed music releases. Emancipation is half filler (at least) for most sane people and it was NOT cheap upon it's release. Whether anybody cares to admit it now or not, there WAS a lot of unhappy fans/consumers at the time (and you can now buy it used for $6). Crystal Ball was MUCH worse as it took forever for some people to get it, it was sold for many different prices - some of them quite expensive, it's packaging was very lacking, the multiple configurations made it confusing and frustrating to buy and many of the songs included in the set had been altered or edited. Again, a lot of people were not happy. Notice at no point in my posts have I said EVERYONE, or ALL. But, judging by the post I've read from you in the past, I wouldn't expect you to ever whisper a single negative word against the leader of your cult.

That's right call it what U want cult or whatever. Plus I never ordered Crystal Ball from 1 800 New Funk. I went and walked in Best Buy and bought it the day it was finally released. I do feel for the "fans" that waited after preordering it.

U have a right to your opinion of me. No one has 2 put there hard earned money down on any Prince project if they don't want to anymore. But things don't always go as planned when a person is starting a new business venture by themselves. U just have to take that chance which Prince isn't afraid to do.. That is what i admire about him. He takes chances. U win U lose. That is what life is about. I will continue to support him that is my choice whether U call me a cult or not. I don't care U will NEVER hear me say anything bad about Prince...

Tremolina said:

It took about a year for my copy to arrive with the mail. It was accompanied by a 'I like Funky Music' T-shirt and later by a cassette of 'the War', which made the long wait and lack of bootleg materail on it good somewhat, but then not much later I found a much cheaper copy in the record store WITHOUT Kamasutra. I remember thinking liking the T-shirt and the cassette, but that I would have preferred to buy the record store release instead and still feeling a bit cheated. I figured: oh well, it's his first try, shit happens, but then he did it again in 2002 and I was through with it.

I was not really around for 2002, that was the One Nite Alone box? What was the problem with it?

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Cerebus said:

Unlike you, they didn't belong to the cult. They weren't "persuaded away" from anything. They were tired of Prince's drama and half-assed music releases. Emancipation is half filler (at least) for most sane people and it was NOT cheap upon it's release. Whether anybody cares to admit it now or not, there WAS a lot of unhappy fans/consumers at the time (and you can now buy it used for $6). Crystal Ball was MUCH worse as it took forever for some people to get it, it was sold for many different prices - some of them quite expensive, it's packaging was very lacking, the multiple configurations made it confusing and frustrating to buy and many of the songs included in the set had been altered or edited. Again, a lot of people were not happy. Notice at no point in my posts have I said EVERYONE, or ALL. But, judging by the post I've read from you in the past, I wouldn't expect you to ever whisper a single negative word against the leader of your cult.

That's right call it what U want cult or whatever. Plus I never ordered Crystal Ball from 1 800 New Funk. I went and walked in Best Buy and bought it the day it was finally released. I do feel for the "fans" that waited after preordering it.

U have a right to your opinion of me. No one has 2 put there hard earned money down on any Prince project if they don't want to anymore. But things don't always go as planned when a person is starting a new business venture by themselves. U just have to take that chance which Prince isn't afraid to do.. That is what i admire about him. He takes chances. U win U lose. That is what life is about. I will continue to support him that is my choice whether U call me a cult or not. I don't care U will NEVER hear me say anything bad about Prince...

Ani DiFranco built her own musical empire with no money, no support and no fame. Prince has no excuses (and never has) for the way his independent ventures have turned out. He just hasn't done the best job he could have done. Period, end of story.

I still like Prince and his music. And if by support you mean purchase his albums, I still do that too... when they're released in America.

Cerebus said:

Ani DiFranco built her own musical empire with no money, no support and no fame. Prince has no excuses (and never has) for the way his independent ventures have turned out. He just hasn't done the best job he could have done. Period, end of story.

I agree completely... it's just not his strength. No shame in it. He was much better off with a big outfit like WB taking care of the logistics.

Are there any former 1-800-NEW-FUNK employees on the org? I'd love to hear their experiences, though I suppose they all had to sign NDAs...

Xpert Lover, my Babe, ever had a Crystal Ball ?

thedance said:

waynemusic1 said:

According to Billboard that year,they counted that album as a 3 cd set and according to Forbes that year,Prince made out as a fat rat Indy artist..Regarding Prince and distribution,He was the first U.S. major artist to do what he did with the likes of"Emancipation" and "Crystal Ball",as well as "New Power Soul", 3 pack featuring "Come into my House", as well as Larry Graham's "Free" cd's...He was the only artist with the money to be able to take those chances as a free artist and it worked..He realized he wasn't selling records like Brittney Spears and Eminem at the time,but he made a statement to the industry and he was successful..With "Emancipation" and "Crystal Ball",remember at that time Prince was still internet friendly and his marketing was unheard of,but he took a dare...

Don't sleep on Prince these days,as Usher said in a recent Interview,the Industry watches and always have,what Prince does,

He is the ultimate innovator..

Besides,who is selling records like Thriller and Purple Rain anymore?

^^^ Prince the ultimate innovator????

1-800-New-Funk was a disaster in 1998. I ordered my copy, but never got the album.

All that waiting - for nothing.... it was a huge disappointment.

I called, but they couldn't help me at 1-800-NF. And that call from Denmark was very expenssive.

I later bought my copy from my local record store, I guess half a year later than the original order was made.

Lesson learnt, never get involved with Prince's internet sales.

They are runned in a terrible way.

After the Lotusflow3r failure in 2009, I guess very few fans have trust in the way Prince runs his business.

Prince - it just just can't get any worse than what he has tried. He screwed his own fanbase.

Not cool.

[Edited 1/27/11 15:40pm]

Your copy is still here [img:$uid]http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx218/MMikeyBee/Gifs/theamazone_sg.gif[/img:$uid]

rialb said:

Tremolina said:

It took about a year for my copy to arrive with the mail. It was accompanied by a 'I like Funky Music' T-shirt and later by a cassette of 'the War', which made the long wait and lack of bootleg materail on it good somewhat, but then not much later I found a much cheaper copy in the record store WITHOUT Kamasutra. I remember thinking liking the T-shirt and the cassette, but that I would have preferred to buy the record store release instead and still feeling a bit cheated. I figured: oh well, it's his first try, shit happens, but then he did it again in 2002 and I was through with it.

I was not really around for 2002, that was the One Nite Alone box? What was the problem with it?

More like problemS with a capital s. Year 1 of "the club" was pretty good with a fairly decent customer service and about 3 new monthly downloads (tho' not all of them were "new") as well as an ahdio show, but year 2 had a different "CD" concept - without downloads. "Something BIG was coming" and what it was, was an enormous screw up, again.

If you look for it, you could find hundreds of threads on it. The main issue was that - based on what was clearly and undisputedly advertised for months - fans paid $100 (and in my particular case $120) for "AT LEAST 4 NEW EXCLUSIVE PRINCE CD's". Among these 4 new "exclusive" CD's were mentioned One Nite Alone, Xenophobia, the Best of and Last December.

But what happened was that, while One Nite Alone was delivered fairly early in the year, the club operators didn't communicate and didn't follow One Nite Alone up by anything else untill the end of the year, when they released the One Nite Alone LIVE Box set, without communicating anything about that either up to that point. Next to that total lack of communication from the club operators, the breaking of the promise to deliver AT LEAST those 4 new CD's, caused a great stir among the fans, because they paid lots of money to get at least those new 4 CD's and did not sign up for any boxset whatsoever, that - MOREOVER - showed up in record stores not much later and therefore wasn't "exclusive" either.

The Better Business Bureau was asked to intervene, which they did, which led to Prince releasing downloads - thus NOT CD's - of Xpectation (the former Xenophobia) and C-note on December 31, 2002. A Bitter and childish response to a justified complaint which was shared by by the majority of the fans who signed up and which formed a major reason for many fans back then to lose trust in Prince's business practices. He demands payment upfront, but he fails to deliver on his promises, doesn't communicate at all and treats you like shit in the end. Shady, asshole businessery if you ask me.

Which is why I decided that year to never support any of his internet ventures again, untill it was proven beyond a doubt that it was not shady anymore. But he failed to do that too. Which is why, by now, 8 years later, Prince has lost so many paying fans that in his mind "the internet is dead". Ain't it swell?

--

[Edited 1/30/11 9:08am]

Tremolina said:

rialb said:

I was not really around for 2002, that was the One Nite Alone box? What was the problem with it?

More like problemS with a capital s. Year 1 of "the club" was pretty good with a fairly decent customer service and about 3 new monthly downloads (tho' not all of them were "new") as well as an ahdio show, but year 2 had a different "CD" concept - without downloads. "Something BIG was coming" and what it was, was an enormous screw up, again.

If you look for it, you could find hundreds of threads on it. The main issue was that - based on what was clearly and undisputedly advertised for months - fans paid $100 (and in my particular case $120) for "AT LEAST 4 NEW EXCLUSIVE PRINCE CD's". Among these 4 new "exclusive" CD's were mentioned One Nite Alone, Xenophobia, the Best of and Last December.

But what happened was that, while One Nite Alone was delivered fairly early in the year, the club operators didn't communicate and didn't follow One Nite Alone up by anything else untill the end of the year, when they released the One Nite Alone LIVE Box set, without communicating anything about that either up to that point. Next to that total lack of communication from the club operators, the breaking of the promise to deliver AT LEAST those 4 new CD's, caused a great stir among the fans, because they paid lots of money to get at least those new 4 CD's and did not sign up for any boxset whatsoever, that - MOREOVER - showed up in record stores not much later and therefore wasn't "exclusive" either.

The Better Business Bureau was asked to intervene, which they did, which led to Prince releasing downloads - thus NOT CD's - of Xpectation (the former Xenophobia) and C-note on December 31, 2002. A Bitter and childish response to a justified complaint which was shared by by the majority of the fans who signed up and which formed a major reason for many fans back then to lose trust in Prince's business practices. He demands payment upfront, but he fails to deliver on his promises, doesn't communicate at all and treats you like shit in the end. Shady, asshole businessery if you ask me.

Which is why I decided that year to never support any of his internet ventures again, untill it was proven beyond a doubt that it was not shady anymore. But he failed to do that too. Which is why, by now, 8 years later, Prince has lost so many paying fans that in his mind "the internet is dead". Ain't it swell?

--

[Edited 1/30/11 9:08am]

Yeah, that sounds about like what we should expect from him. I was still buying cd's from him but due to the fact that I didn't own a computer I missed out on the whole NPGMC era (I came in on the tail end sometime in 2003). I do remember buying the live box set sometime in 2003 by mail order from Prince and I was disappointed that the One Nite Alone-Piano disc was not included. I mistakenly assumed that if you bought a retail version it would not have it but if you bought it directly from Prince it would. Shortly after that the Chocolate Invasion box set was announced and I thought that would be my chance to catch up on some of the music that I missed but like a lot of projects from Prince it never materialised. Fortunately through the kindness of a fan I got all of that and more without Prince seeing a dime of my money. I would have been more than happy to pay for the music on a cd, and if he ever releases that music on cd I will buy it, but it's hard to give him your money when he won't make his music available for purchase.

I'll always buy his cd's and I think as a recording artist and a live performer he has few peers but as a business man he leaves much to be desired.

rialb said:

Tremolina said:

More like problemS with a capital s. Year 1 of "the club" was pretty good with a fairly decent customer service and about 3 new monthly downloads (tho' not all of them were "new") as well as an ahdio show, but year 2 had a different "CD" concept - without downloads. "Something BIG was coming" and what it was, was an enormous screw up, again.

If you look for it, you could find hundreds of threads on it. The main issue was that - based on what was clearly and undisputedly advertised for months - fans paid $100 (and in my particular case $120) for "AT LEAST 4 NEW EXCLUSIVE PRINCE CD's". Among these 4 new "exclusive" CD's were mentioned One Nite Alone, Xenophobia, the Best of and Last December.

But what happened was that, while One Nite Alone was delivered fairly early in the year, the club operators didn't communicate and didn't follow One Nite Alone up by anything else untill the end of the year, when they released the One Nite Alone LIVE Box set, without communicating anything about that either up to that point. Next to that total lack of communication from the club operators, the breaking of the promise to deliver AT LEAST those 4 new CD's, caused a great stir among the fans, because they paid lots of money to get at least those new 4 CD's and did not sign up for any boxset whatsoever, that - MOREOVER - showed up in record stores not much later and therefore wasn't "exclusive" either.

The Better Business Bureau was asked to intervene, which they did, which led to Prince releasing downloads - thus NOT CD's - of Xpectation (the former Xenophobia) and C-note on December 31, 2002. A Bitter and childish response to a justified complaint which was shared by by the majority of the fans who signed up and which formed a major reason for many fans back then to lose trust in Prince's business practices. He demands payment upfront, but he fails to deliver on his promises, doesn't communicate at all and treats you like shit in the end. Shady, asshole businessery if you ask me.

Which is why I decided that year to never support any of his internet ventures again, untill it was proven beyond a doubt that it was not shady anymore. But he failed to do that too. Which is why, by now, 8 years later, Prince has lost so many paying fans that in his mind "the internet is dead". Ain't it swell?

--

[Edited 1/30/11 9:08am]

Yeah, that sounds about like what we should expect from him. I was still buying cd's from him but due to the fact that I didn't own a computer I missed out on the whole NPGMC era (I came in on the tail end sometime in 2003). I do remember buying the live box set sometime in 2003 by mail order from Prince and I was disappointed that the One Nite Alone-Piano disc was not included. I mistakenly assumed that if you bought a retail version it would not have it but if you bought it directly from Prince it would. Shortly after that the Chocolate Invasion box set was announced and I thought that would be my chance to catch up on some of the music that I missed but like a lot of projects from Prince it never materialised. Fortunately through the kindness of a fan I got all of that and more without Prince seeing a dime of my money. I would have been more than happy to pay for the music on a cd, and if he ever releases that music on cd I will buy it, but it's hard to give him your money when he won't make his music available for purchase.

I'll always buy his cd's and I think as a recording artist and a live performer he has few peers but as a business man he leaves much to be desired.

In case you are still looking for it, they sent me another copy with the box set, so I got two lol. When the box arrived and I saw that it was included, I was like: WTF, I already got that one, where are Xenophobia Last December and th best of damnit!?

SquirrelMeat said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Brilliant marketing move by Prince & one of the first of its kind at the time. There were problems with distribution but he was learning. I rather have Prince pocket all the money than a shady Record label.

He was learning is a bit of an understatement.

It was an utter utter shambles. Most cub scout groups could have arranged it better.

then why has nobody else done it.. your 2 negative. i bought it and loved it.

this should be princehate.org cause all alot of u do is complain.

as a prince fan i am proud of what he achieved. INNOVATION at its best.

To me the free live One Night Alone Box set & the exclusive presale first few rows seating & soundcheck included, at The One night Alone shows was well worth the $100 fee to join NPGMC. PRIME SEATING ALONE after the years of camping out 2 c Prince live and standing in long lines dealing with selfish rude obnoxious fans was well worth it to me.

Tremolina said:

rialb said:

Yeah, that sounds about like what we should expect from him. I was still buying cd's from him but due to the fact that I didn't own a computer I missed out on the whole NPGMC era (I came in on the tail end sometime in 2003). I do remember buying the live box set sometime in 2003 by mail order from Prince and I was disappointed that the One Nite Alone-Piano disc was not included. I mistakenly assumed that if you bought a retail version it would not have it but if you bought it directly from Prince it would. Shortly after that the Chocolate Invasion box set was announced and I thought that would be my chance to catch up on some of the music that I missed but like a lot of projects from Prince it never materialised. Fortunately through the kindness of a fan I got all of that and more without Prince seeing a dime of my money. I would have been more than happy to pay for the music on a cd, and if he ever releases that music on cd I will buy it, but it's hard to give him your money when he won't make his music available for purchase.

I'll always buy his cd's and I think as a recording artist and a live performer he has few peers but as a business man he leaves much to be desired.

In case you are still looking for it, they sent me another copy with the box set, so I got two lol. When the box arrived and I saw that it was included, I was like: WTF, I already got that one, where are Xenophobia Last December and th best of damnit!?

What do you want for it?

You could probably get a decent amount of cash if you sold it on e-bay.

http://music.shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=Prince+One+Nite+Alone+Piano&_sacat=11233

waynemusic1 said:

According to Billboard that year,they counted that album as a 3 cd set and according to Forbes that year,Prince made out as a fat rat Indy artist..Regarding Prince and distribution,He was the first U.S. major artist to do what he did with the likes of"Emancipation" and "Crystal Ball",as well as "New Power Soul", 3 pack featuring "Come into my House", as well as Larry Graham's "Free" cd's...He was the only artist with the money to be able to take those chances as a free artist and it worked..He realized he wasn't selling records like Brittney Spears and Eminem at the time,but he made a statement to the industry and he was successful..With "Emancipation" and "Crystal Ball",remember at that time Prince was still internet friendly and his marketing was unheard of,but he took a dare...

Don't sleep on Prince these days,as Usher said in a recent Interview,the Industry watches and always have,what Prince does,He is the ultimate innovator..

Besides,who is selling records like Thriller and Purple Rain anymore?

I hope he's up to something right now, planning a new cd and marketing plan. The internet may be "dead" to him, but there is so much potential for him to reach out to his fans via the Web, radio, tv, satellite radio, smart phones, via mail or whatever. Just hope he does it.

By the way, does anyone still see the Crystal Ball in music stores? Used or otherwise? I haven't seen it in years.

XNY said:

By the way, does anyone still see the Crystal Ball in music stores? Used or otherwise? I haven't seen it in years.

I just ran across a mint fatty jewel case version at a used record store. It was $20. I didn't buy it because I have enough copies.

squirrelgrease said:

XNY said:

By the way, does anyone still see the Crystal Ball in music stores? Used or otherwise? I haven't seen it in years.

I just ran across a mint fatty jewel case version at a used record store. It was $20. I didn't buy it because I have enough copies.

$20 is a great price.

Tremolina said:

rialb said:

Yeah, that sounds about like what we should expect from him. I was still buying cd's from him but due to the fact that I didn't own a computer I missed out on the whole NPGMC era (I came in on the tail end sometime in 2003). I do remember buying the live box set sometime in 2003 by mail order from Prince and I was disappointed that the One Nite Alone-Piano disc was not included. I mistakenly assumed that if you bought a retail version it would not have it but if you bought it directly from Prince it would. Shortly after that the Chocolate Invasion box set was announced and I thought that would be my chance to catch up on some of the music that I missed but like a lot of projects from Prince it never materialised. Fortunately through the kindness of a fan I got all of that and more without Prince seeing a dime of my money. I would have been more than happy to pay for the music on a cd, and if he ever releases that music on cd I will buy it, but it's hard to give him your money when he won't make his music available for purchase.

I'll always buy his cd's and I think as a recording artist and a live performer he has few peers but as a business man he leaves much to be desired.

In case you are still looking for it, they sent me another copy with the box set, so I got two lol. When the box arrived and I saw that it was included, I was like: WTF, I already got that one, where are Xenophobia Last December and th best of damnit!?

I was always deperately curious as to what was on Best of

TheDigitalGardener said:

squirrelgrease said:

I just ran across a mint fatty jewel case version at a used record store. It was $20. I didn't buy it because I have enough copies.

$20 is a great price.

I thought so too, but my arms were full of too many other goodies. It looked like another Prince fan had finally given up because there was a ton of carefully used P stuff there... a whole collection's worth - all really cheap. I had the Peach double digi-pak in my hands as I don't have that one, but decided against it.

squirrelgrease said:

TheDigitalGardener said:

$20 is a great price.

I thought so too, but my arms were full of too many other goodies. It looked like another Prince fan had finally given up because there was a ton of carefully used P stuff there... a whole collection's worth - all really cheap. I had the Peach double digi-pak in my hands as I don't have that one, but decided against it.

I admire your restraint.

TheDigitalGardener said:

squirrelgrease said:

I thought so too, but my arms were full of too many other goodies. It looked like another Prince fan had finally given up because there was a ton of carefully used P stuff there... a whole collection's worth - all really cheap. I had the Peach double digi-pak in my hands as I don't have that one, but decided against it.

I admire your restraint.

I blame my wallet.

squirrelgrease said:

TheDigitalGardener said:

I admire your restraint.

I blame my wallet.

Good answer, and a familiar one.

[Edited 2/1/11 16:11pm]