"The Other Paisley Park Vault: Prince’s Digital Divide and What It Means for His Legacy"

http://flavorwire.com/527026/the-other-paisley-park-vault-princes-digital-divide-and-what-it-means-for-his-legacy

"At a time where the consumption and discovery of music has shifted predominantly from offline to online, the gaps in Prince’s digital discography are hugely frustrating. If all you care about is the hits, you’re more or less covered. But given his prominence and the breadth of his creative output, such a maddening and willful erasure denies this generation a chance to hear the work of a master. This denial of access is worse than any storied Paisley Park vault stuffed with late night studio jams and aborted concept album demos."

Yeah, sometimes it seems as if Prince makes music only for himself.

The one huge gaping hole in availability of Prince's music, is nearly everything released on NPG Records... From 'Emancipation' onward. Can one even get 'The Rainbow Children' currently?

I have no problem with him dismissing Spotify, iTunes, etc., but trying to find any album under NPG Records is likely a challenge.

dustoff said:

"The Other Paisley Park Vault: Prince’s Digital Divide and What It Means for His Legacy"

http://flavorwire.com/527026/the-other-paisley-park-vault-princes-digital-divide-and-what-it-means-for-his-legacy

"At a time where the consumption and discovery of music has shifted predominantly from offline to online, the gaps in Prince’s digital discography are hugely frustrating. If all you care about is the hits, you’re more or less covered. But given his prominence and the breadth of his creative output, such a maddening and willful erasure denies this generation a chance to hear the work of a master. This denial of access is worse than any storied Paisley Park vault stuffed with late night studio jams and aborted concept album demos."

I wonder if as he gets older maybe he'll soften on these issues. He doesnt seem to fear his mortality yet.

I agree!!

Prince could easily, and for minimum costs, mainatin his own digital store, a single place where virtually everything he ever released could be purchased by anyone, with Prince getting 100% of the money. If P was in a businessman's frame one could even imagine him licencing the material he doesn't own (what he has given to other artists, and therefore their respective labels, over the years) in order to make the online store an even more comprehensive testimony of his legacy.

Regardless of royalties issues, Prince CHOOSES to have most of his past catalogue OOP. It's been reported that he finds it amusing to have his new fans having to search the interenet for illegal or second hand copies of his past albums, like hide and seek, IDK if this is true but he is aware of the lack of available material. I suspect we won't know what he has in mind for all those records (if anything) before he gets rid of WB once and for all. Then either he will make everything available, issue remasters and open the vaulmt or he won't, but I think if he won't do it then, he will never do it.