independent and unofficial
Prince fan community
Welcome! Sign up or enter username and password to remember me
Forum jump
Forums > Prince: Music and More > Let’s Help WB/The Estate: What unreleased track could make some noise on radio and the charts?
« Previous topic  Next topic »
Page 1 of 2 12>
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
Author

Tweet     Share

Message
Thread started 06/10/18 8:15am

soladeo1

Let’s Help WB/The Estate: What unreleased track could make some noise on radio and the charts?

With a clever video and some marketing?

I would submit:

Ya, U Know
and
If It’ll Make U Happy


Your thoughts?
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #1 posted 06/10/18 8:35am

Mintchip

avatar

To me, it's hard to imagine tracks by dead artists making much noise on charts. Obviously if something's released right after the passing, there's interest. But after years go by, I mean....It's just not in the cards. Charts are about youth, new sounds, and more pretentiously, celebrating life. Some exceptions just prove the rule: the novelty of hearing a "new" Beatles song, or Elvis singing in front of a dance beat. Nina Simone revisited (did any of these chart?) Dead artists get box sets, you know? Retrospectives with liner notes and pictures. Pretty museum stuff.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #2 posted 06/10/18 8:36am

NorthC

Why are folks here so obsessed with chart success and record sales?
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #3 posted 06/10/18 8:46am

disch

Prince wasn’t “charting” with his singles in his last years of life, let alone after his death. The whole nature of music charts is so different then in his heyday anyway that it’s hard to even use that word.
-
I completely agree that hearing his tunes sandwiched between Cardi b’s something is completely unrealistic and should not be the measure. The goal now should be establishing his work in the pop/rock canon along side acts like the Beatles as Led Zeppelin — stuff that anyone who claims literacy in pop music would be expected to know.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #4 posted 06/10/18 8:46am

Mintchip

avatar

NorthC said:

Why are folks here so obsessed with chart success and record sales?

.

It's just an easy measure of validation, like getting an A or having a six pack. Everyone likes validation. Even artists seem obsessed. But Prince is such a strong (and often weird) flavor, I don't know why it weighs so heavily amongst his fans either. Maybe because of the forever-rivalry between him and Michael? Or because he's so associated with Purple Rain, and it's millions of sales? I can't imagine fans of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, or Jimi Hendrix, plotting out chart success.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #5 posted 06/10/18 8:47am

TrivialPursuit

avatar

NorthC said:

Why are folks here so obsessed with chart success and record sales?


Here, here!

I've said it before, and I'll say it here: Prince fans would do anything Prince does, just because he did it. They changed their beliefs with birthdays, religion, music business - whatever. Prince said charts don't matter, and fans ran with that. Until they didn't, and they turned on a dime and are now barking (even in other threads about how much PR did or didn't sell, calling it "a flop", and calling for the demise of Piano and a Microphone already) about charts and radio, etc. It's hypocritical.

Personally, I don't care about charts. In 1984, only 5 or 6 artists had #1 albums. That shows immense power of music, buying power of the public, and promotion. These days, there is a different #1 every other day. And what constitutes a #1? Streams? Downloads? Almost anyone can have a #1 on some chart these days.

What fans fail to realize, as Prince said in 1999, is that this ain't 1984 up in this mutha. The business has changed, drastically. Albums don't sell 1M, or 2M copies anymore. Major names like Prince, Mariah, Madonna, Janet, Bruce, Timberlake, Rihanna - whoever is considered the hottest of the hot aren't even pushing 250K sometimes in physical sales, or combined sales overall. As if illegal downloading didn't cut into revenue enough, services like Spotify, Apple Music, Prime Music, etc. have cut into it even more. How the RIAA hasn't adjusted what is considered Gold or Platinum is pretty amazing in 2018.

"Noise on radio" - that's the whole truth right there.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #6 posted 06/10/18 8:54am

NorthC

Mintchip said:



NorthC said:


Why are folks here so obsessed with chart success and record sales?

.


It's just an easy measure of validation, like getting an A or having a six pack. Everyone likes validation. Even artists seem obsessed. But Prince is such a strong (and often weird) flavor, I don't know why it weighs so heavily amongst his fans either. Maybe because of the forever-rivalry between him and Michael? Or because he's so associated with Purple Rain, and it's millions of sales? I can't imagine fans of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, or Jimi Hendrix, plotting out chart success.


Yeah, I was thinking about that Prince/Jackson thing too, but Prince will never rival Jackson when it comes to record sales.
I also follow a Dylan blog and no, I don't read about "oh he sold so many albums!" there.
[Edited 6/10/18 8:56am]
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #7 posted 06/10/18 9:19am

jaawwnn

A duet with a current star.


Hey, you asked.


He's still gonna be the Purple Rain guy though.
[Edited 6/10/18 9:24am]
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #8 posted 06/10/18 9:34am

Mintchip

avatar

jaawwnn said:

A duet with a current star. Hey, you asked. He's still gonna be the Purple Rain guy though. [Edited 6/10/18 9:24am]

"Come Elektra Tuesday", a duet with Shawn Mendes, featuring Cardi B. (Jill Jones clearly heard in the mix, but still uncredited.) eek

.

This is one of those jokes you write out and then get scared because it's 2018 and worse things have happened.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #9 posted 06/10/18 9:43am

TrivialPursuit

avatar

jaawwnn said:

A duet with a current star. Hey, you asked. He's still gonna be the Purple Rain guy though. [Edited 6/10/18 9:24am]


Or pull out his version(s) of "Bad" and "Like A Prayer", if they exist.

"eye don’t really care so much what people say about me because it is a reflection of who they r."
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #10 posted 06/10/18 10:36am

mbdtyler

I don't think anything is going to make much noise on the charts at this point. I'll probably get torn to shreds for saying this, but to most people, Prince is kind of a relic of a bygone era. Especially to the kind of audience that dictates what is popular on the charts today. Whoever said that more emphasis should be placed on securing Prince's legacy as a classic genius artist, they're correct. If some unreleased Prince song from the past even managed to make it onto the charts, I guarantee it wouldn't last long. As long his older work is put into circulation so that younger folks (and older folks out of the loop) have a chance to discover it and realize how prolific and consistently talented Prince was, that's all that truly matters. I became a fan of Prince because I was fortunate enough to have access to some of his CDs that my dad owned, but it became so much easier to work through his discography once it became available on Spotify and various places online. It's more about accessibility to the world than fleeting moments of mainstream buzz.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #11 posted 06/10/18 10:37am

luvsexy4all

not what would make the charts..but something that would make the general population go ...WOW!!

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #12 posted 06/10/18 10:46am

luvsexy4all

luvsexy4all said:

not what would make the charts..but something that would make the general population go ...WOW!!

like those aftershows

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #13 posted 06/10/18 1:15pm

donnyenglish

LOVE THY WILL BE DONE (Gold era npg version with Prince on vocals)
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #14 posted 06/10/18 1:34pm

IstenSzek

avatar

disch said:

Prince wasn’t “charting” with his singles in his last years of life, let alone after his death. The whole nature of music charts is so different then in his heyday anyway that it’s hard to even use that word. - I completely agree that hearing his tunes sandwiched between Cardi b’s something is completely unrealistic and should not be the measure. The goal now should be establishing his work in the pop/rock canon along side acts like the Beatles as Led Zeppelin — stuff that anyone who claims literacy in pop music would be expected to know.


speak! nod

and true love lives on lollipops and crisps
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #15 posted 06/10/18 1:44pm

laytonian

Forget "radio" and "charts". There is no one place for listening.

.

NOW, if you're talking "increase awareness" -- how does that happen now?
Through visual means and social media.

.

What about releasing a late-period concert FILM online on the Prince official YouTube channel that could be streamed online AND SHARED? Not Purple Rain era. One of those great concerts he did in 2010-2012, where people can SEE and HEAR the genius? Preferably a bright, exciting, outdoor show OR a compendium of several.

Welcome to "the org", laytonian… come bathe with me.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #16 posted 06/10/18 5:53pm

OperatingTheta
n

Charts are irrelevant. Chart positions haven't mattered to Prince's music for over 20 years.

A premium service needs to be established to serve later unreleased material to hardcore fans. The more casual fans can be catered for by selective wider releases. Without this kind of model, much of Prince's vault material will be wasted.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #17 posted 06/10/18 7:28pm

Lovejunky

OperatingThetan said:

Charts are irrelevant. Chart positions haven't mattered to Prince's music for over 20 years. A premium service needs to be established to serve later unreleased material to hardcore fans. The more casual fans can be catered for by selective wider releases. Without this kind of model, much of Prince's vault material will be wasted.

I agree...

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #18 posted 06/10/18 8:37pm

jdcxc

We are the wrong demographic for this question (I’m guessing lol)

I was shocked that Moonbeam Levels didn’t get any radio play on my local indy channel. WB didn’t even try tho
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #19 posted 06/10/18 8:43pm

disch

we're not the wrong demo. There's no radio station that's going to put a 20- or 30-year-old song by an artist who died 2 years ago at the age of 57, and who hadn't had a hit single in decades, into their rotation. And do people even discover new music based on radio play anyway? Isn't it all about streaming playlists and youtube nowadays?

jdcxc said:

We are the wrong demographic for this question (I’m guessing lol) I was shocked that Moonbeam Levels didn’t get any radio play on my local indy channel. WB didn’t even try tho

[Edited 6/10/18 20:51pm]

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #20 posted 06/11/18 6:30am

wreckasto

avatar

To me the last missed opertunity at a “current” single for AirPlay was Hard Rock Lover. This was classic Prince screams , guitar solo’s with a fresh vibe. I always felt this song could of done well on the charts.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #21 posted 06/11/18 1:53pm

luvsexy4all

wreckasto said:

To me the last missed opertunity at a “current” single for AirPlay was Hard Rock Lover. This was classic Prince screams , guitar solo’s with a fresh vibe. I always felt this song could of done well on the charts.

yeh..during the lost era of music airplay

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #22 posted 06/11/18 2:15pm

renfield

avatar

As others have said, it would have to be a duet on a Rihanna or Drake single, like how MJ's "Love Never Felt So Good" made the top ten thanks to Justin Timberlake. Otherwise, the only charts he could even have a hope of doing well on are the album charts. Vault releases can make the top 40 or even top ten there, and that will further push him up the all-time most successful album artists list. Otherwise, just enjoy the music that gets released in the future and accept the sad fact that Prince's career, especially as a hit-maker, is past tense.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #23 posted 06/11/18 2:36pm

luvsexy4all

renfield said:

As others have said, it would have to be a duet on a Rihanna or Drake single, like how MJ's "Love Never Felt So Good" made the top ten thanks to Justin Timberlake. Otherwise, the only charts he could even have a hope of doing well on are the album charts. Vault releases can make the top 40 or even top ten there, and that will further push him up the all-time most successful album artists list. Otherwise, just enjoy the music that gets released in the future and accept the sad fact that Prince's career, especially as a hit-maker, is past tense.

if they release those duets with an ipecac

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #24 posted 06/11/18 3:19pm

thebiscuit

Geez, guys, just answer the damn thread question. IMHO two tracks that could be radio friendly are EVERYBODY WANT WHAT THEY DONT GOT and STONE. Thank you.
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #25 posted 06/12/18 11:02pm

Transformed1

I cannot see ANY Prince song on today's radio. Sure, the hits are played frequently on the oldies stations, but thats it. New music has a very different formula. Someone not "current" and without todays "image" is never going to make it. I would say that even Sting, Bono & U2, or Bruce Springstein have been passed by. They all have die hard adult fans, and they could put out pure gold songs, but they do not appeal to the mainstream anymore. when was Madonna's last hit? She held out for longer than most, but her time is done as well.

I'd love to see Prince get airplay, but I just can't see it happening. I'm pretty current with all the leaked boot songs, and a great as some of it is, there is nothing I've heard that would have a chance in hell of mainstream radio play. In my opinion at least.

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #26 posted 06/12/18 11:06pm

Transformed1

Also...

I absolutely LOVE "If It'll Make U Happy". Possibly my favorite unreleased track of all time. It's very accessable to casual fans in my opinion. My girlfriend likes Prince's hits, but isn't into the "deeper" tracks.

I played "If It'll Make U Happy" to her expecting that she would like it. Her response: "eh, it's ok. nothing special."

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #27 posted 06/13/18 8:01am

renfield

avatar

Transformed1 said:

Also...

I absolutely LOVE "If It'll Make U Happy". Possibly my favorite unreleased track of all time. It's very accessable to casual fans in my opinion. My girlfriend likes Prince's hits, but isn't into the "deeper" tracks.

I played "If It'll Make U Happy" to her expecting that she would like it. Her response: "eh, it's ok. nothing special."

You forgot to put "ex" in front of "girlfriend" lol. "If It'll Make U Happy" is definitely special, I can't wait to hear the full version someday!

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #28 posted 06/13/18 8:21am

CherryMoon57

avatar

disch said:

we're not the wrong demo. There's no radio station that's going to put a 20- or 30-year-old song by an artist who died 2 years ago at the age of 57, and who hadn't had a hit single in decades, into their rotation. And do people even discover new music based on radio play anyway? Isn't it all about streaming playlists and youtube nowadays?

wave

Life Matters
  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Reply #29 posted 06/13/18 9:28am

RJOrion

"Coco Boys"

and/or

"In A Large Room With No Light"

  - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator
Page 1 of 2 12>
  New topic   Printable     (Log in to 'subscribe' to this topic)
« Previous topic  Next topic »
Forums > Prince: Music and More > Let’s Help WB/The Estate: What unreleased track could make some noise on radio and the charts?