Remember the 80's and the early 90's? Prince was more than a musician.

It all started with his side-projects, successful at first: The Time, V6/A6, Sheila E.... Prince became known as a successful songwriter and producer, and the success of Chaka's cover of I Feel For You and Sugar Wall given to Sheena Easton led to numerous bands and artists asking Prince to give them songs. Few were true hits, but many were released as the album's lead single.

Then there were the movies: Purple Rain was a success so Prince considered a career in acting and filmmaking, which evolved to video films after GB's critical and commerical made it impossible for him to direct another feature film.

Then there was the label. Paisley Park Records wasn't a successful label, mostly because no one cared to promote the records that were released on it, but quite a lot of records were released between 1985 and 1993.

Then there was the production team: besides Prince, several people, from David Z. to Levi Seacer, Jr., Ricky Peterson, etc., were commissioned by Prince to produce stuff he was asked to produce and didn't have time to, and record companies liked to see that informal "Paisley Park" label on their record even if Prince wasn't directly involved.

Then there was the recording studio: in the late 80's and early 90's, paisley Park Studios were one of the places to be, and numerous acts which had nothing to do with Prince recorded or mixed their albums there.

Then Prince had an argument with Warner Bros., "died" and became , and everything changed.

At this point, it seemed that Prince still wanted to be more than an artist, though:

He launched NPG Records, which was supposed at first to release quite a number of records, at least in Europe, most of them being new side-projects.

He launched a magazine (10,000).

He opened several stores, (the NPG Stores) and declined his brand into perfumes, candles, clothes and other objects.

He opened several concert avenues/night clubs (Glam Slam).

He kept releasing video projects either for TV or VHS releases.

His writing skills, up to 1993, were in high demand, and each year saw a huge bunch of Prince-penned songs released on quite a lot of records.

And suddenly, Prince decided it was time to put an end to all this, and to be what he'd never accepted to be earlier: simply a musician with a solo career.

In 1994, for some reason no one has been able to explain, Prince suddenly quit writing songs for others.

Save his New Power Pak with Chaka and Larry, which was a one-shot, Prince totally gave-up releasing side-projects or having protégés. There were Tamar and Bria in 2006 and 2009, but these were more exceptions than rule. (It seems he wanted to do it again in the late 90's, with one more NPG album announced, as well as a second collaboration with Larry and another one with Rosie and a new Madhouse project, but obviously he wasn't really into it and he willingly gave-up all these projects.) From then on, NPG Records released nothing but Prince albums under the name Prince. He didn't even care to label his jazz album Madhouse anymore.

The stores and the magazine shut down, the concert venues were sold, perfumes and other things were not manufactured anymore.

No more films were made.

Paisley park was closed to rental, and became Prince's private studio.

All the production staff left or was fired.

And that was the end of prince as an entertainment industry. By 1996 it was more or less all over.

I kinda miss those days, it was funny to see his creativity express itself in so many aspects. It was cool to see anything Prince-related being the hype even if most of it wasn't really that succesful. On the other hand, maybe it was an inevitable sign of maturity: Prince didn't have to be an industry by himself to prove the world that he was important. Music was enough.

Any thoughts on that?

databank said:

Remember the 80's and the early 90's? Prince was more than a musician.

It all started with his side-projects, successful at first: The Time, V6/A6, Sheila E.... Prince became known as a successful songwriter and producer, and the success of Chaka's cover of I Feel For You and Sugar Wall given to Sheena Easton led to numerous bands and artists asking Prince to give them songs. Few were true hits, but many were released as the album's lead single.

Then there were the movies: Purple Rain was a success so Prince considered a career in acting and filmmaking, which evolved to video films after GB's critical and commerical made it impossible for him to direct another feature film.

Then there was the label. Paisley Park Records wasn't a successful label, mostly because no one cared to promote the records that were released on it, but quite a lot of records were released between 1985 and 1993.

Then there was the production team: besides Prince, several people, from David Z. to Levi Seacer, Jr., Ricky Peterson, etc., were commissioned by Prince to produce stuff he was asked to produce and didn't have time to, and record companies liked to see that informal "Paisley Park" label on their record even if Prince wasn't directly involved.

Then there was the recording studio: in the late 80's and early 90's, paisley Park Studios were one of the places to be, and numerous acts which had nothing to do with Prince recorded or mixed their albums there.

Then Prince had an argument with Warner Bros., "died" and became , and everything changed.

At this point, it seemed that Prince still wanted to be more than an artist, though:

He launched NPG Records, which was supposed at first to release quite a number of records, at least in Europe, most of them being new side-projects.

He launched a magazine (10,000).

He opened several stores, (the NPG Stores) and declined his brand into perfumes, candles, clothes and other objects.

He opened several concert avenues/night clubs (Glam Slam).

He kept releasing video projects either for TV or VHS releases.

His writing skills, up to 1993, were in high demand, and each year saw a huge bunch of Prince-penned songs released on quite a lot of records.

And suddenly, Prince decided it was time to put an end to all this, and to be what he'd never accepted to be earlier: simply a musician with a solo career.

In 1994, for some reason no one has been able to explain, Prince suddenly quit writing songs for others.

Save his New Power Pak with Chaka and Larry, which was a one-shot, Prince totally gave-up releasing side-projects or having protégés. There were Tamar and Bria in 2006 and 2009, but these were more exceptions than rule. (It seems he wanted to do it again in the late 90's, with one more NPG album announced, as well as a second collaboration with Larry and another one with Rosie and a new Madhouse project, but obviously he wasn't really into it and he willingly gave-up all these projects.) From then on, NPG Records released nothing but Prince albums under the name Prince. He didn't even care to label his jazz album Madhouse anymore.

The stores and the magazine shut down, the concert venues were sold, perfumes and other things were not manufactured anymore.

No more films were made.

Paisley park was closed to rental, and became Prince's private studio.

All the production staff left or was fired.

And that was the end of prince as an entertainment industry. By 1996 it was more or less all over.

I kinda miss those days, it was funny to see his creativity express itself in so many aspects. It was cool to see anything Prince-related being the hype even if most of it wasn't really that succesful. On the other hand, maybe it was an inevitable sign of maturity: Prince didn't have to be an industry by himself to prove the world that he was important. Music was enough.

Any thoughts on that?

I miss the 1981-1987 extension of his music,

It seemed to work better 'free'. But at the same time if he had a structured team to work with the protege acts as far as getting them doing shows and videos and such, it would have been easier on him, to promo his album and shows. for example the Family was a wonderful project but he was too focused on the Under the Cherry Moon film to get them live. If he had something in place to get them out there, we would have had a longer Family career.

It was there but he was over extended and had certain control issues. He had a dream team in in the 1983-1987 years

Prince didn't do all this in some sort of vacuum. The record industry as it existed in the 80s collapsed, and everyone has had to change their business plan. I don't know how anyone is able to stay in the game nowadays, but those old glory days you speak of are not likely to return any time soon.

kenkamken said:

Prince didn't do all this in some sort of vacuum. The record industry as it existed in the 80s collapsed, and everyone has had to change their business plan. I don't know how anyone is able to stay in the game nowadays, but those old glory days you speak of are not likely to return any time soon.

Adding to this, a great deal changed once the major labels were purchased by corporations outside the music industry, the main difference being that the labels now answer to shareholders and in a depressed economy there's more pressure for companies must remain profitable, and to remain profitable they must sell a lot of albums in an era where there are few stores devoted to only selling music. For instance in a store like Wal-mart they are concerned with moving merchandise whether it's lipstick, cat food or CDs; they can't devote floor space to obscure music with a limited audience. Back to the music labels, they can't afford to spend years developing an artist as they did in the past; Prince wasn't "successful" until 5 years into his career -- an eternity by today's standards. Artists must be able to move product immediately; of course there's a new paradigm in terms of marketing music but I don't want to stray too far off topic

All this to say that unless Prince is willing to totally bankroll new artists, I doubt we'll ever see another Paisley Park type venture, nor will we see a major film released to theatres since the film industry has also changed considerably over the past 25 years.

Bottom line is unless an new artist has a massive multimedia push (like an "American Idol" finalist), professional marketing/PR and a bit of "inisider influence", the majors are going to be unwilling get on board and sadly Prince's name alone -- other than as a legacy artist -- isn't respected in the music business as it was in the glory years following "Purple Rain"...

The revenue streams that existed back in the day have all but dried up.

Graycap23 said:

The revenue streams that existed back in the day have all but dried up.

Ain't that the truth! It's all about money and I don't see Prince bankrolling projects that aren't going to make him money.

alphachannel said:

Adding to this, a great deal changed once the major labels were purchased by corporations outside the music industry, the main difference being that the labels now answer to shareholders and in a depressed economy there's more pressure for companies must remain profitable, and to remain profitable they must sell a lot of albums in an era where there are few stores devoted to only selling music. For instance in a store like Wal-mart they are concerned with moving merchandise whether it's lipstick, cat food or CDs; they can't devote floor space to obscure music with a limited audience. Back to the music labels, they can't afford to spend years developing an artist as they did in the past; Prince wasn't "successful" until 5 years into his career -- an eternity by today's standards. Artists must be able to move product immediately; of course there's a new paradigm in terms of marketing music but I don't want to stray too far off topic

All this to say that unless Prince is willing to totally bankroll new artists, I doubt we'll ever see another Paisley Park type venture, nor will we see a major film released to theatres since the film industry has also changed considerably over the past 25 years.

Bottom line is unless an new artist has a massive multimedia push (like an "American Idol" finalist), professional marketing/PR and a bit of "inisider influence", the majors are going to be unwilling get on board and sadly Prince's name alone -- other than as a legacy artist -- isn't respected in the music business as it was in the glory years following "Purple Rain"...

sad but true

databank said:

In 1994, for some reason no one has been able to explain, Prince suddenly quit writing songs for others.

Any thoughts on that?

He found out he wasn't in control of his material anymore (ie covers, illegal downloads), so put an end to it all & will now only release his own songs for which he will be compensated for properly now.

alphachannel said:

kenkamken said:

Prince didn't do all this in some sort of vacuum. The record industry as it existed in the 80s collapsed, and everyone has had to change their business plan. I don't know how anyone is able to stay in the game nowadays, but those old glory days you speak of are not likely to return any time soon.

Adding to this, a great deal changed once the major labels were purchased by corporations outside the music industry, the main difference being that the labels now answer to shareholders and in a depressed economy there's more pressure for companies must remain profitable, and to remain profitable they must sell a lot of albums in an era where there are few stores devoted to only selling music. For instance in a store like Wal-mart they are concerned with moving merchandise whether it's lipstick, cat food or CDs; they can't devote floor space to obscure music with a limited audience. Back to the music labels, they can't afford to spend years developing an artist as they did in the past; Prince wasn't "successful" until 5 years into his career -- an eternity by today's standards. Artists must be able to move product immediately; of course there's a new paradigm in terms of marketing music but I don't want to stray too far off topic

All this to say that unless Prince is willing to totally bankroll new artists, I doubt we'll ever see another Paisley Park type venture, nor will we see a major film released to theatres since the film industry has also changed considerably over the past 25 years.

Bottom line is unless an new artist has a massive multimedia push (like an "American Idol" finalist), professional marketing/PR and a bit of "inisider influence", the majors are going to be unwilling get on board and sadly Prince's name alone -- other than as a legacy artist -- isn't respected in the music business as it was in the glory years following "Purple Rain"...

So if today's standard that five years is an eternity had applied back in the late 70s and early 80s, Prince wouldn't have made it big. That says something about the amount of good music that doesn't get distributed widely today or isn't created at all.

kenkamken said:

Prince didn't do all this in some sort of vacuum. The record industry as it existed in the 80s collapsed, and everyone has had to change their business plan. I don't know how anyone is able to stay in the game nowadays, but those old glory days you speak of are not likely to return any time soon.

True, but I'll say if Prince hooked up with Sheila E the Time & the Family/FDelux and just suported and worked at creating music together it could shake things up pretty good

peter430044 said:

alphachannel said:

Adding to this, a great deal changed once the major labels were purchased by corporations outside the music industry, the main difference being that the labels now answer to shareholders and in a depressed economy there's more pressure for companies must remain profitable, and to remain profitable they must sell a lot of albums in an era where there are few stores devoted to only selling music. For instance in a store like Wal-mart they are concerned with moving merchandise whether it's lipstick, cat food or CDs; they can't devote floor space to obscure music with a limited audience. Back to the music labels, they can't afford to spend years developing an artist as they did in the past; Prince wasn't "successful" until 5 years into his career -- an eternity by today's standards. Artists must be able to move product immediately; of course there's a new paradigm in terms of marketing music but I don't want to stray too far off topic

All this to say that unless Prince is willing to totally bankroll new artists, I doubt we'll ever see another Paisley Park type venture, nor will we see a major film released to theatres since the film industry has also changed considerably over the past 25 years.

Bottom line is unless an new artist has a massive multimedia push (like an "American Idol" finalist), professional marketing/PR and a bit of "inisider influence", the majors are going to be unwilling get on board and sadly Prince's name alone -- other than as a legacy artist -- isn't respected in the music business as it was in the glory years following "Purple Rain"...

So if today's standard that five years is an eternity had applied back in the late 70s and early 80s, Prince wouldn't have made it big. That says something about the amount of good music that doesn't get distributed widely today or isn't created at all.

Mmmh... Most of you sound as if the internet (and its subsequent impact on the whole record industry) was greatly responsible for it but it's not: illegal download and filesharing didn't really happen before 2000, and the industry was more or less the same until the early 2000's when sales started to drop. Prince giving-up his "entertainment industry" side is something that happened around 1995, way before that.

FunkySideEffects said:

databank said:

In 1994, for some reason no one has been able to explain, Prince suddenly quit writing songs for others.

Any thoughts on that?

He found out he wasn't in control of his material anymore (ie covers, illegal downloads), so put an end to it all & will now only release his own songs for which he will be compensated for properly now.

Illegal downloads in 1994? Nope.

Covers? He never complained about them until very recently, and anyway the songs that get covered are usually his, not the ones he gave to others (NC2U being the notable exception).

Now I agree this might have something to do about control, but in this case controlling the masters. Basically, Prince wanted WB to let him keep his masters, so it would make sense that he wouldn't accept other record companies to own the masters to the songs he was writing for others. Only a guess, though...