'The Machine" needs new bodies.....new souls...Young folk...

It may take a collaboration with a Bruno or Miguel...

At his best..He is Funk-pop.

Now Country-Pop, and Trap-hop...Dub-Step, and World Music rule.....

Denzel and Sam J. are still doing it in big movies.... Downey Jr. is at his show-biz peak as one character, "Tony Stark"...

Still, you have little chance beyond...35 in pop music..

You may make an artsy Grammy CD...A back-to-basics, un-plugged type of project that garners respect of peers...

[Edited 7/27/15 16:18pm]

I think Prince won't have that big commercial "song of the summer" like "Blurred Lines" or "Uptown Funk." I think he's been there done that, and has moved on.

The new hit-makers have had their music vetted, edited and revised to be commercial hits. Prince can't and won't do that. Mostly because he has no editor. There's no one telling him, "that's a good tune, but I don't hear the hook," "The kids won't buy this," or "Jesus H Christ can you cool it the helium voice?"

And that's OK.

He's in the upper echelon of artists that don't need a big hit to still be relevant. Paul McCartney, The Who, Jimmy Buffett and the Stones can tour and make millions of dollars, sell out arenas, and generate buzz when they do stuff... but can you name their last two albums? That's not saying they're ready for the moldy-oldies tour, but Prince and those guys don't need that validation of a hit record. Especially these days, when hit records are few and far between, and aren't the monsters they once were. That's just the nature of the biz. I believe the music business has bent, much to its dismay, toward Prince, rather than the other way around. I think Prince has been at a place for a while, where money (and record sales) don't matter 2nite (Yes that was cheezy).

Just my $0.02

Chas

"He told them that he wanted to sing a song about a

black-child going buck-wild, and they just...

laughed in his face! "Talk 2 your lawyer, but

you got no case! What you need to do is,

keep ur place! The next time you pull a card,

it better be an Ace..."

[Edited 7/27/15 16:19pm]

"M-O-N-E-Y!!"

"Don't mess wit' my $!!

"You never gonna take what's mine...

"Cause it sho' ain't funny!!"

Blixical said:

I find it odd that Prince has filled the evolutionary niche of MJ's death.

MJ served the roll of the guy on top of the ant hill as far as star power, despite the molestation stuff, but he's been dead for years. One would think people are still looking for that 'guy on top', and Prince is the only one that can do it. Madonna sure didn't.

I don't think that anybody has filled the void after MJ's death.He was a one-of-a-kind artist that won't ever be replaced.

Milty2 said:

SoulAlive said:

Prince is gonna continue to release these one-off singles,with very little promotion and hype.He will also release albums occasionally,but again,with very little real promotion.I just don't think he cares about "structure" anymore He just wants the music to get out there.Kinda makes you miss the 80s and the first half of the 90s,huh? Back when everything was properly planned and organized.

I was actually excited to hear about AOA and PE having release schedules and all that. Then the promotion for it never happened and I thought a great oppurtunity was wasted.

This is gonna be the norm I truly believe that Prince re-signed with Warners for the sole purpose of getting his master recordings.Anything else he promised them....he's not gonna keep up his end of the bargain.That's why we are still waiting for that Purple Rain remaster,lol.

BartVanHemelen said:

NorthC said:

Prince isn't at a low point at all. On the contrary. He's reached the point where he can do whatever he wants. Release a new single...or not. Make an album...or not. Pop up in any given city and sell out a theatre in a few minutes.

.

Ah, good ole Org, where ever lowering expectations mixed with blatant nonsense (no, he cannot just release a single or an album on a whim -- HAVE YOU NOT PAID ATTENTION IN THE PAST YEARS?) is regarded as excellent news.

No there's no problem with him releasing isolated songs if that's what he wants (and can afford) to do.

He hasn't been the big global mega-selling pop star you want him to be in two decades and it's like it's affecting you more than it affects him. He looks like a happy guy doing what he loves to do in his own terms, which is pretty much the definition of fullfilment. He's a legend and can afford to disappoint armchair managers/musical directors/marketing experts the world over.

Who knows? Maybe he only signed back with WB to tie their hands about his old music. It's fun to speculate though in the end he seems happy one way or the other.

Chas said:

I think Prince won't have that big commercial "song of the summer" like "Blurred Lines" or "Uptown Funk." I think he's been there done that, and has moved on.

The new hit-makers have had their music vetted, edited and revised to be commercial hits. Prince can't and won't do that. Mostly because he has no editor. There's no one telling him, "that's a good tune, but I don't hear the hook," "The kids won't buy this," or "Jesus H Christ can you cool it the helium voice?"

And that's OK.

He's in the upper echelon of artists that don't need a big hit to still be relevant. Paul McCartney, The Who, Jimmy Buffett and the Stones can tour and make millions of dollars, sell out arenas, and generate buzz when they do stuff... but can you name their last two albums? That's not saying they're ready for the moldy-oldies tour, but Prince and those guys don't need that validation of a hit record. Especially these days, when hit records are few and far between, and aren't the monsters they once were. That's just the nature of the biz. I believe the music business has bent, much to its dismay, toward Prince, rather than the other way around. I think Prince has been at a place for a while, where money (and record sales) don't matter 2nite (Yes that was cheezy).

Just my $0.02

Chas

On the one hand you're right, on the other hand: Prince is still chasing hits... and failing.

As Alan Leeds wrote in the Hits-booklet: a hit record can change everything (I'm paraphrasing). He just can't write a hit anymore.

It has nothing to do with radio not playing his songs, that's a whole other issue.

Aerogram said:

He hasn't been the big global mega-selling pop star you want him to be

.

Again you're making shit up.

.

He looks like a happy guy doing what he loves to do in his own terms, which is pretty much the definition of fullfilment.

.

Happy people don't call the press to bitch about their record company.