banishedones666 said:

http://www.drfunkenberry....rs-legacy/

Good article. Still don't see Prince changing his ways though.....

I don't know what's more stupid: that this ridiculous Doc guy posts A PHOTO OF HIS COMPUTER SCREEN or that ?uestlove complains about something that he could help fix by TALKING TO PRINCE.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

errant said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said: No it isn't. That's what he started bitching about after he spent all the money he got from the biggest contract in history and they stopped letting him have his way and stopped catering to his every whim. If ownership of his masters was that important to him, it would have been in the terms of that last contract. Metallica and R.E.M. were able to do it around the same time. At the very least it should have been the thrust of his re-negotiations in early 1996 when they let him out of it, instead of complaining about it after the fact. Leaving WB is probably the the single-most relevant factor to him not currently owning his masters.

The wb was not going to give Prince his Masters back in his negotiations in letting him out that contract. True! that is the reason they let him out in the first place so they can keep them.But even if he stayed with them they still wouldn't have given them to him. He said they told him they wouldn't give them to him if he gave them a billion dollars..So why would he want to stay there?

Don't blame Prince on what those gready record companies do & rob artist of their rights....

I suppose they wouldn't have given to them at all by that point since he'd spent the last 2 years publicly talking shit about the company and calling himself their "slave."

But that's Prince. Worried about the money up front (that 1992 contract), instead of thinking long term (ownership of masters). Same situation with no remasters, no YouTube, no iTunes, etc.

He could have quietly gone in to renegotiate in early 1996 to extend the terms of his contract, for less money, but ownership of his back catalog. But he didn't. He spent the money, complained about it, went in to get out of it, and then complained after the fact that he didn't own the material that he'd been handsomely paid for.

R.E.M. and Metallica were able to gain ownership of their masters from the same parent company through standard negotiations around the time that Prince was publicly badmouthing them. Is it any wonder that they didn't just hand them over to him?

HonestMan13 said:

Prince hasn't become destitute or been ensconced in some tabloid drama with potential jail time. Sly Stone lives in a van and his fanbase isn't crying about his legacy.

Yes they are. Have been doing for decades. I think it is horrible that Sly's brain is fried and I'd rather he not put on shambolic concerts under the S&TFS moniker when it's just him and a bunch of relatives who had nothing to do with the original band. I think it is beyond sad that most of the other Family Stone members have had to survive by washing dishes and the likes.

(FYI there have been at least three different remasters of There's A Riot Goin' On, because it is a classic record but the tape is in horrible condition.)

ManlyMoose said:

A good amount of the 80s CDs were masted terribly and are in desperate need of a remaster, however the vast majority of the remasters being made today sound even worse. I'm kinda nervous about what would happen if they did go through.

Plenty of remastering jobs are done with great care and respect for the original material.

errant said:

I suppose they wouldn't have given to them at all by that point since he'd spent the last 2 years publicly talking shit about the company and calling himself their "slave."

WB USA were gonna release Exodus, and all they wanted for Prince is to stop badmouthing them in the press. Guess what happens next? Big interview with Prince in a major magazine, bitching about WB. And this was done after they made the deal.

Or go read about what happened with The Black Album in 1994: http://prince.org/wiki/Th...1994_Deal

During 1994, Warner Bros. negotiated a deal with Prince which involved them paying $4 million upfront in exchange for the release of The Black Album in November 1994, the release of The Gold Experience in early 1995, and a soundtrack album. These three albums would count towards Prince's contract as two of the four he owed them at that point.

However, Prince canceled this deal while his attorney was on his way to Warner Bros to pick up the cheque and sign the papers. Prince's attorney advised him against canceling the deal but Prince insisted. The attorney left a week later, and this is when Prince hired his sixth lawyer since he signed with Warner Bros., then 28-year old L. Londell McMillan.

Utterly idiotic.

He could have quietly gone in to renegotiate in early 1996 to extend the terms of his contract, for less money, but ownership of his back catalog.

Which is what he joked about in his 1994/95 interviews. But when it came down to it, of course he didn't renegociate; instead he behaved like a petulant child.

R.E.M. and Metallica were able to gain ownership of their masters from the same parent company through standard negotiations around the time that Prince was publicly badmouthing them. Is it any wonder that they didn't just hand them over to him?

Funny thing: when REM resigned with WB, WB actually gave them a couple of million bucks, because they were so happy REM had stayed with them. No, that wasn't money they'd negociated, it was a bonus. Of course REM then started releasing rubbish records that didn't sell much, so in the end that kinda backfired, but still...

BartVanHemelen said:

ManlyMoose said:

A good amount of the 80s CDs were masted terribly and are in desperate need of a remaster, however the vast majority of the remasters being made today sound even worse. I'm kinda nervous about what would happen if they did go through.

Plenty of remastering jobs are done with great care and respect for the original material.

Not too many of them, though. An album like 1999 might have a more refined sound if it is remastered, but given the way it was recorded, there might not be that much of a difference. Same with Around the World in a Day. Honestly, there are alot of original CDs that sound way better than remasters (i.e. George Michael's Faith or Stevie's Talking Book). It's a matter of preference really.

As for Prince, some of those original CDs don't sound as bad as folks make them out to be and have great dynamics. The SHM-CDs that have been discussed here on the .org constantly sound remarkably better, especially Sign o' the Times. Even though they may have not been remastered, they sound louder and detailed.

BartVanHemelen said:

HonestMan13 said:

Prince hasn't become destitute or been ensconced in some tabloid drama with potential jail time. Sly Stone lives in a van and his fanbase isn't crying about his legacy.

Yes they are. Have been doing for decades. I think it is horrible that Sly's brain is fried and I'd rather he not put on shambolic concerts under the S&TFS moniker when it's just him and a bunch of relatives who had nothing to do with the original band. I think it is beyond sad that most of the other Family Stone members have had to survive by washing dishes and the likes.

(FYI there have been at least three different remasters of There's A Riot Goin' On, because it is a classic record but the tape is in horrible condition.)

Are they as whiny about it as Prince's fans? Every other day on here Prince is called to remaster his catalog(even before it was legally possible for him to do so), to take a break, to hurry up and release something new, to change his religion, to play the hits, to not play the hits, to connect with his fans, to not talk publicly, etc.

Without our guidance he's managed 30 plus years in the music business and he's seemingly not stopping anytime soon. We'll get what he gives us when he gives it to us or we'll do like we've done since the late 80's and steal whatever we want anyway. If anything would destroy his legacy it's the fact that we've already left him nothing to surprise us with. Every burp and hiccup he made from 76 to yesterday is recorded and downloaded almost immediately. What is he going to surprise us with on a remastered box set when we have it all. It'll be some pretty pictures and improved sound quality and if we're lucky 2 tracks that we haven't already acquired already.

I do fancy Questlove

Since I saw The Roots live and him as DJ at Noodlanding, I just have this very weak spot for him

artist76 said:

We're all bones when we're dead.

This is a man who has said, "life is death without adventure, and adventure only comes to those who are willing to be daring and take chances."

Only a person who does not worry about his legacy can live and create without fear and take chances as he has.

True, but we´re talking about stuff he already did. Lots of people simply dont know how great he is because nobody promotes his classic stuff anymore.

dJJ said:

NDRU said:

The only thing I think Prince is really missing the boat on is DVDs. He needs to have one single freaking DVD of a great concert with him playing his hits....or five of them. It's the only thing missing from his catalog.

As for the other things, let's compare him to the best marketed band ever. The Beatles also block their stuff on youtube. And they only released their remasters a year ago. They only got on iTunes a year ago. None of that ever hurt them. Their records continued to sell because they are great. And people continue to discover them because they are great.

Prince may release the remasters tomorrow, we don't know. But 1999 still sounds good to me, even on a new sound system. A great record is a great record.

The only thing that hurts Prince is the same thing that has hurt him forever. He is too weird for the mainstream. He'll always have a big audience because of his hits, and a smaller one that goes deeper into the vaults & bootlegs. But he will always be a fringe artist, because he is weird and challenging--even when he is being simple.

Paul McCartney is known for his wealth and infamous for his miserliness. I don't believe anything that man says about caring for other people. He only cares for his bank account.

Very sad.

I truly hope Prince will not end up as the money-grubber McCarney.

I hope Prince, in the end, cares more about music than money.

I like what my grandfather said about money;

A dog would not pay attention to a moneybill, because he can't live of it. A dog understands what is important in life.

And I like to add to that, that dogs don't turn their head for a money bill or coin, they do respond to music.

Nobody is talking about whether Prince or McCartney are nice, caring guys, they are talking about their musical legacies. You can't argue with the Beatles' success. Even after they broke up, they've just gotten more and more respect, as have Prince's post-PR albums that might have initially been panned by critics.

McCartney gets some credit for what he's done with the Beatles. And Prince has done some of the same things, for the same reasons--to protect the integrity of his art. Don't cheapen your music, and it retains value. They both care about money, but they also know that caring about their music is thing they can do for their bank accounts.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

No he doesn't.

No he's not.

He is just waiting 4 all the cards to fall in2 place. When they do. It will be worth the wait. Xciting thangs are coming soon....Just be patient & all of u will be biting ur wicked tongues. The purple yoda is full of surprises..

Right...they said that 13 years ago...still waiting.

laurarichardson said:

P is not Whitney Houston or MJ.

Now THAT is true. MJ was a good businessman.

What I find sad, and somewhat funny: Prince's masters have lost much of their value.

Go to the bargain bin, and you find all the David Lee Roth era classic Van Halen albums for 4.99. Madonna's catalog is 4.99. You can get MJ's 2001 remasters of Bad, Off The Wall, and Dangerous for 6.99. U2's remasters are all 9.99, save for the more recent Achtung Baby. The Beatles are the only artist I can think of who have remasters at 12.99 or more, unless you count lesser popular artists who don't have tons of extra stock out there rotting.

Let's face it, most of Prince's albums didn't sell all that well.

Purple Rain, 1999, Around The World, Diamonds And Pearls, and Batman are pretty much his big sellers. SOTT has critical acclaim, but it didn't sell that well.

After the Purple Heads buy up the initial wave of remasters, Warners would be stuck with the overstock they had with Van Halen and Madonna. Warners likely is confused at how to market them in the first place, and probably too scared to even bother trying to work with Prince.

Both Prince and Warners have nowhere near the insight and business sense to come up with a plan that works for both, or something innovative like making limited edition numbered sets of the lesser albums of 25,000 to 50,000, and limited edition sets of the Big Sellers from 40,000 to 100,000.

Maybe an even better idea would be to couple early albums together....but both Prince and Warners would be so eager to consider only money, and not actual quality product, that any remasters would likely be a failed project.

The biggest enemy here is TIME, and I don't mean Morris Day. As each year passes, another group of Prince fans either die, or just get to the point where they don't buy music anymore. I know some on here think there is this huge dynamic group of under 30 Prince fans willing to spend freely, but fact is, that group is small.

Back from 1992 to 2005, when Prince's masters had some value, both Prince and Warners dropped the ball, and the biggest loser is the fans. Listening to most of the Cds is not that painful an ordeal, but SOTT and The Black Album are by far the worst. I'm getting a new record player so I can enjoy SOTT again.

Without bothering to read through all these comments, please tell me about an artist that is doing it right? Who is actually using YT and any other medium out now to their full advantage?

Who was almost broke and had no cashflow because he was spending money like he was a Billionaire.

PoorLonelyComputer said:

Now THAT is true. MJ was a good businessman.

Someone need to put a fucking muzzle on ?uestlove... Prince's legacy is alright. Dude (Prince) was all about control anyways. This ain't even new. In fact it's fucking tired bitching about what dude needs to do.

I'm so glad I divorced Prince. I won't lose any sleep over this

cbarnes3121 said:

everybody has a different view when it comes 2 others creations. prince music r his children and how he plan 2 raise them is totally up 2 him. would i love 2 have acess 2 all things prince?? hell yes but i respect it.im sure prince will do something grounddreaking far as how is music is recived in the future he always seems 2 have a trick or 2 up his sleeve

If I treated my kids like that Social Services would be knocking at my door!!

NDRU said:

The only thing I think Prince is really missing the boat on is DVDs. He needs to have one single freaking DVD of a great concert with him playing his hits....or five of them. It's the only thing missing from his catalog.

As for the other things, let's compare him to the best marketed band ever. The Beatles also block their stuff on youtube. And they only released their remasters a year ago. They only got on iTunes a year ago. None of that ever hurt them. Their records continued to sell because they are great. And people continue to discover them because they are great.

Prince may release the remasters tomorrow, we don't know. But 1999 still sounds good to me, even on a new sound system. A great record is a great record.

The only thing that hurts Prince is the same thing that has hurt him forever. He is too weird for the mainstream. He'll always have a big audience because of his hits, and a smaller one that goes deeper into the vaults & bootlegs. But he will always be a fringe artist, because he is weird and challenging--even when he is being simple.

Prince is a legend. but yes, he indeed is too weird for the mainstream, why? I think a lot has to do with him changing his name(people think it's weird. some people still think that he has the symbol as name), and lots of other stuff. also Prince does have quite a lot of hits, but not a that many and also doesn't have many great selling albums. he sold around 80-100 mil. that's not a lot for someone what has a big discography. After the early 90's his popularity went down... He's still respected legend , especially about his concerts. The Beatles are the biggest, and most legendary band ever. so of course it doesn't hurt them that they didn't put their music in Itunes until 2009, and the same goes for their remasters. so no real comparison there.

stillwaiting said:

What I find sad, and somewhat funny: Prince's masters have lost much of their value.

Go to the bargain bin, and you find all the David Lee Roth era classic Van Halen albums for 4.99. Madonna's catalog is 4.99. You can get MJ's 2001 remasters of Bad, Off The Wall, and Dangerous for 6.99. U2's remasters are all 9.99, save for the more recent Achtung Baby. The Beatles are the only artist I can think of who have remasters at 12.99 or more, unless you count lesser popular artists who don't have tons of extra stock out there rotting.

Pink Floyd?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_19/183-4937744-1983909?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pink+floyd+remastered&sprefix=pink+floyd+remaster%2Caps%2C233

But a lot of their fans do really care about the quality of the music and so also care about all the extra's (artword and such) that have always been a part of their albums.

I think we should settle for a box, but am not sure what should be in and out of it.....

uSupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I'm so glad I divorced Prince. I won't lose any sleep over this

I'm sure he's devastated.

Paris9748430 said:

uSupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I'm so glad I divorced Prince. I won't lose any sleep over this

I'm sure he's devastated.

One less customer!

i'd like a nice "crossroads" style box remastered from prince .. like 5 full cds of his essential work .. including some rarities .. like maybe a manic monday demo .. old we can funk isntead of new .. and also including highlights from the time, appalonia, vanity, sheila e, madhouse .. ok make it 6 cds .. presented via timeline .. not like an all proteges album .. but all mixed together per time period .. yes there are a couple albums with nothing to scrape .. so mostly keep those .. altho i don't care THAT much about christopher tracy or do u lie .. or it or beautiful night .. or free .. but to take 3 or 4 of the best off most and ya know probably the full purple rain and most of sott .. that would make a great package .. sell it for like 200. But make it good .. someone with taste needs to pick the tracks .. so prince isn't allowed .. they did great with the hits bsides package so i am sure they could expand it and keep the quality intact .. altho pope was pure rubbish .. a poop is a poop is a poop is a poop

i wonder really if the remaster problem has more to do with warner bros than anything .. and prince unwillingness to work with them .. does wb even exist .. prolly a whole new batch o people calling the shots on prince old work .. that must suck

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Paris9748430 said:

I'm sure he's devastated.

One less customer!

Kind of like my ex girlfriends that want nothing to do with me, but call me once a week or more. If you had anything close to a divorce with Prince, you'd be nowhere near this website.

BartVanHemelen said:

banishedones666 said:

http://www.drfunkenberry....rs-legacy/

Good article. Still don't see Prince changing his ways though.....

I don't know what's more stupid: that this ridiculous Doc guy posts A PHOTO OF HIS COMPUTER SCREEN or that ?uestlove complains about something that he could help fix by TALKING TO PRINCE.

FINALLY, I find a mistake in a Bart post: Actually thinking that "talking to Prince," could help. Unless Larry Graham, Andy Allo, and the ghost of James Brown talked to him for a week at gunpoint, and perhaps if Shelby threatened to not shout "Put Your Hands Up" 100 times or more a night at his concerts, would Prince even pretend to listen to ANYBODY.

stillwaiting said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

One less customer!

Kind of like my ex girlfriends that want nothing to do with me, but call me once a week or more. If you had anything close to a divorce with Prince, you'd be nowhere near this website.

NOPE. There are many forums not related to Prince!

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

stillwaiting said:

Kind of like my ex girlfriends that want nothing to do with me, but call me once a week or more. If you had anything close to a divorce with Prince, you'd be nowhere near this website.

NOPE. There are many forums not related to Prince!

Yeah, but... Prince: Music And More is not one of them.

djThunderfunk said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

NOPE. There are many forums not related to Prince!

Yeah, but... Prince: Music And More is not one of them.

It was on the front page so I didn't come to this forum to check it out

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

djThunderfunk said:

Yeah, but... Prince: Music And More is not one of them.

It was on the front page so I didn't come to this forum to check it out

The thread title explains it's about Prince...

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Paris9748430 said:

I'm sure he's devastated.

One less customer!