AmyThyst said:

Yea I forgot it was right after he mentioned the "preacher" thing. I can't believe he does this in every town.
And I was the first to point it out? Other people weren't offended by this? When he performed Anna Stesia on the Lovesexy tour it was so uplifitng, he was raised into the sky and kept saying "Cross the Line" "God Is Love" It was great. To cheapen the song with a sales tactic made me feel like I was at a trade show in Las Vegas or the scene from "Magnolia" with Tom Cruise as the salesman.

Heeeyyyy stay on the subject go back to your own bitchin and cryin thread. This is about if he is a scalper or not.

tnt,

We would like to stay on the subject, but you keep asking ?'s that are off of it. At least we are answering your ?'s

BanishedBrian said:[quote]

welcum2thedawn said:

You used a scalper then? How much did you pay? I bet less than $250 dollars to get a general admission ticket that you still had to line up for and had the possibility to be in the first 15 rows but you were so far in the corner you could only see half of the stage? Then if you wanted to leave your seat for any reason you had to trust your fellow members to save your seat? I doubt it. Scalpers have treated me much better than the Reverend Nelson.
[This message was edited Fri Apr 12 13:25:02 PDT 2002 by DMSR]

LOUISVILLLEPRINCEFAN said:

I was joking to AmyThyst and DMSR, none of my questions were off subject.

DMSR check this out --> http://www.ticketsnow.com...&year=2002

LOUISVILLLEPRINCEFAN said:

no, the club membership is for the cds, as well as soundchecks, aftershows, celebrations, or whatever else we end up getting...
tickets range in price for the dallas show from 50something dollars up to the $125 amount...so i'm sure you could still get fairly good seats without spending $100 for the club...

I say It is Prince who is doin the show he should B able 2 charge when ever and what ever he wants. Just go 2 ticket master if U dont wanna B N the club or buy tickets thru the club. No 1 forces U 2 Put N that credit card # or make U buy Tix thru the club. PPL this is wak! (LOL) IF YALL HATE PRINCE WAIT TILL THE NEXT N SYNC CONCERT!! NOW THATS A RIP OFF N MORE WAYS THAN 1 lol

Now Please B quite so I can go back 2 watchin my Porno!

The NPG club has TOTALLY paid for itself. Soundcheck was awesome..Cover charge to the afterparty was $30, i didn't pay a thing...and it was worth $100 not to wait in line for the party with 400 other people. We just walked right in and to the front of the stage that was roped off for us. I would have paid a scalper for those things, so why shouldn't i pay him. Im glad $$$ goes straight to him and not a label or venue or best of all NOT TO TICKETMASTER!

masondrums said:

This is the best point so far. I agree he should receive all the $'s. But again as true fans why $125 per ticket. How bout lowering them for NPGMC fans.

ChickenLittle said:

Boo hoo.

The point is that if there is a soundcheck, you get to go. If you're going to complain because Prince sometimes isn't able to do a soundcheck, then quit the club. I'll tell Billy Sparks that the people in Saginaw would rather Prince just not play there at all than dare play without having a soundcheck. Is that better?

I went to two shows in DC... first show there was no soundcheck and the second was very abreviated because of Easter. Did I complain about it? No.

Quit your whining. Prince has not failed to deliver anything that was promised to be part of the club.
[This message was edited Fri Apr 12 14:40:14 PDT 2002 by BanishedBrian]

CrazyCaGuy6160 said:

christopher?...is that you?

Life is about choices. If you see that a ticket costs $150.00 and you think its too expensive. You have the right not to buy it. When i saw the ticket prices i thought WOW thats pretty expensive! but you know what im still going to buy them and i know that i will have a good time. Even if somehow Prince puts on a bad show it will still be a good one.

BanishedBrian said:

Shut up. Who made you the Prince.org cop? Who gives a shit if you do or if you don't complain if you get screwed. Some of us don't like paying money and then being screwed. Maybe you do, but that's your hang-up.

You keep sticking your nose in everything on this site and acting like its your job to keep folks in line. Back off and let people vent. That's what a discussion board is for.

ChickenLittle said:

AGREE AGREE AGREE!!!!!

For those who complain. What do you do to fix your situation?

what does chicken little say? "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

vgallo6 said:

They are fixing their situation by complaining. The squeaky wheel gets the oil.

Sitting quietly and waiting their turn for Prince to "do right by them" is not working.

So they stopped patiently hoping and waiting for "their turn" and started making noise. Makes sense to me.

Well recently it seems like the complaining has been working. Seems like the club heard everyone, and they took steps to reduce the scalping -- seems to have worked. They heard complaints initially about the seating, and seems like from reports that they are at least trying to work it out with the venues. Hopefully they will hear you guys again, and work out the seating better. I went to the show in DC and had an assigned seat, and frankly would have been ticked if after all that money I'd have to wait in line all day. I just don't think that the club had the resources to whip out a seat prioritization and assignment system (different data for every venue) on their own site over night. I am still hoping that they work it out --- although that doesn't really help the folks who have already fought the general admission fight.

Here's my take on the whole NPGMC thing.

Year One I paid $100 and I downloaded 50 songs, 25 videos, 11 hours of audio shows and The Rainbow Children. Just taking into account the songs, we basically got 5 CD's worth of music. That's $20 per CD and I haven't even figured in the videos and audio shows. I certainly feel like I got my monies worth.

Year Two I paid another $100. No downloads, although they have said that there may be some occasionally. We are promised 4 CD's of new material though. That, in itself, is almost worth the $100 considering the price of CD's today. As an added bonus we get access to the soundcheck at any Prince show that we go to, seats in the first 15 rows and free access into the afterparty. The fact that the price of admission to the show is $100 - $150 doesn't have anything to do with the cost of being a club member. Non-Club members pay the same price for the show and DO NOT get access to the soundcheck, DO NOT get seats in the first 15 rows and have to pay an additional $30 - $40 to attend the afterparty.

It is unfortunate that some cities will not get a soundcheck or an afterparty but it is clearly stated that these things are NOT guaranteed.

If the current NPGMC simply promised 4 new CD's and some downloads for $100 I would still be a member. The concert stuff is just icing on the cake for me.

I still think that the ticketing process could use some tweaking. I've been lucky so far but I feel for those at other shows that ended up in the balcony. The lack of soundchecks and afterparties could be due to many things which we don't know about. I have to believe that the powers that be are trying to solve all the problems that have arisen in the last few months. You can never please everyone though and someone will always think that they could have handled the situation better.

Maybe I'm just one of those people that believes that people are doing their best to make everyone happy. I don't think there are a group of guys at Paisley Park discussing how they can screw us out of all of our money. But I could be naive. I prefer that over being cynical anyday.

Amen, Bosco.

Amen, Bosco. seconded

Are you people for real????? You dont see what is happening here. In year 2 of the NPGMC nothing has happened except 1 download and 100's of rules. I think control is the main issue. He is a control freak, forcing his religious beleifs on us, and taking our money at the same time. At the Louisville soundcheck he made a fool out of the preacher he called on stage and separated black from white with his ridiculous comments about HIS beliefs and tried to slam his beliefs down our throats because we had the chance to sit down with the almighty Prince. Yes the chance for the ones who have never been up close and personal with a superstar is probably overwhelming, but lets stop the worshiping of the man and just enjoy the music new or old. Again I have been a fan for over 20 years with 52 concerts under my belt but I am finding my fan status slipping away. Again for 2002 the $100 that was paid for the NPGMC membership got me better seats to the shows just like it does when you contact a scalper. What is the difference here from between Prince and a scalper? " buy into my club and receive better concert seats..... and 1 download for your trouble..... "but hey thanks for your $100."

I think the bottom line here is that Prince & his cronies can't figure out (or won't figure out) a good, fair way to be sure the best tickets get into the hands of the NPGMC members. So they just basically said F-them, let them (meaning us) figure it out...

A scalper buys up blocks of tickets and sells them for a lot more than the face value for his own personal gain. The Prince ticket that you bought as a member was the same price as the ticket that a non-member bought. But by paying $100 to be a member you got a better seat. If you had paid a scalper an extra $100 for a seat all that you would get is a seat. The $100 you paid to the NPGMC got you a good seat, entrance to the soundcheck and afterparty and 4 promised CD's. I wonder, if you had received all 4 CD's in the mail 2 weeks ago would you be complaining about the $100 now?

People pay to be a member of clubs all the time for the priveledge of getting preferred treatment. That is what we are getting with the NPGMC. Plus the free CD's and extra activities associated with the concerts.

I don't think that it is a big secret that Prince is a control freak. Hell, it was a main theme in the movie Purple Rain.

I personally think it is pretty cheesy the way he is preaching to everyone but he can do or say whatever he wants to. If he feels that strongly about something that he wants to share it with others then let him do it. I have my own beliefs and there is nothing he could say that would change them. I may think a little less of him for trying to cram his beliefs down my throat but that doesn't make me dance any less to his music when I listen to it.

I'm just waiting for the JW's to ring my doorbell so I can invite them in to talk about their new member Prince and maybe play them a few of his older songs and discuss the religious implications of Head, Sexy MF, Darling Nikki and 18 & Over.

LOUISVILLLEPRINCEFAN said:

You must have you own personal definition of "scalping" because it is not the one that everyone else uses.

And if it is not worth the money for you to attend the show, then don't go. Most of us consider it a reasonable price, and you essentially feel the same way, despite what you say here, if you are paying the prices.

I was at the Chicago show on March 3, 2002. I did not have great seats. I would have liked to be closer. But there was a soundcheck on this day. During this time, members were able to discuss with The Brother about scalping and how members got seats in the back of the theatre. He said they would work on making things better. They did. Members can now get the first 15 rows to a concert. Of course some complain about that because they might get a seat on the side. But try being in a seat on the side in the 50th row. Hope you see my point. I am slightly jealous because other members are getting to enjoy they things I could not. ie better seating, better soundchecks where they can get on stage and even play an instrument or sing. Oh how I wish he would come back to Chicago and let us do that. Oh well, maybe next time.

My other point is that because of members in Chicago and other members in previous shows, the NPGMC is making changes to the system. THEY ARE NOT GOD! So don't expect for them to be perfect in everything they do. The system needs tweaking. This is true. But it is better than it was before. There were only 3 members in the orchestra pit at the Chicago show. Now all members have that opportunity. Would you rather have it the old way with 3 members or the new way with all even if that member is not you?

A whiner is someone that complains about his or her situation but does nothing to make it better. What you can do is send a friendly yes friendly email to the NPGMC and voice your concerns. They usually respond quickly. If they do not respond don't take it as a personal slight against you. Just know that your voice has been heard. In addition, people who are satisfied with the changes should email as well. A good comment goes a long way. If you have any suggestions about how to make things better, let them know. Don't just post it at the org. They may never read it. In case you forgot, this is Ben's site, not the NPGMC.

I just want us to get better. No he can not please everyone individually. So when you send suggestions, think of how it may affect the whole body of the club.

Your Brother and Friend,


COI

What about those of us who have yet to see their city, or even their region, appear on an upcoming shows list? So far Prince has shown no intention of coming to Boston or New England on this tour. Which I couldn't have known when I put down my $100. The CDs better be good.

I think everyone should know by now that the reason they are getting better seats on the latter part of the tour is because of what happened in Chicago.

Ticketmaster set aside blocks of tickets for scalpers and brokers in Chicago, leaving only a handful of preferred seats available for NPGMC members. It was because of the complaints from members in Chicago that NPGMC took measures to try different methods to get the tickets to members so that other cities wouldn't have the same situation that Chicago did.

It's just unfortunate that even though there was extra time built in the schedule around Chicago, nothing was done for the members there and for those who traveled to Chicago to at least try to give them something for their $100 memberships. Prince has been getting better in recent years, but people should be grateful because things used to be much worse.

There is a city on the West Coast that I can't think of the exact name at the moment, but a Prince show was canceled about a half hour before showtime. Thousands of people had already arrived at the arena. Babysitters had been hired for the evening. People had taken time off from work or school. Hotel rooms had been rented. People had traveled from all over, and Prince canceled a few minutes before showtime.

A couple of years go in Detroit, Prince for some unknown reason ended his show 2/3 way through the setlist. People in the Motor City were stunned when he just left the stage and ended the show abruptly.

Detroit thought that Prince would always treat them well because they have a sizeable fanclub group and they have been strongly loyal to Prince since even before the Purple Rain hype.

There are some cities that Prince should never shortchange, and Detroit is one of them. But he did indeed shortchange them. People were furious, it was as if they had been betrayed by an old friend. Prince was dogged ou on the local call in radio shows the next morning.

From what I read, he went back to Detroit to make it up to them, but for the first time in his entire career, he had a hard sell in Detroit. The tickets that used to sell out almost instantly took a lot longer to sell after Prince broke that special bond that had been there with Detroit.

Hmmmmm..... I don't know if this Cat is trying to get discounted tickets for the BEST seats in the house or if he really doesn't have a clue about the seating at the soundcheck/concerts for members. Did we not ask Prince to give us the best seats at his concerts considering we are NPMC members? Did Prince say we get discounted tickets because we are members or did he say he'd guarantee the best seats at the concerts due to membership?

As the membership grows, I assume we know our chances of getting the seats we desire depend on how early we arrive at the venue. I am sure Prince only reserves the seats that would cost equally the same for non members. If Prince is the true ticket scalper you claim he is, why did he stop selling tickets to members during presale (think carefully)? Every member and their guest who went to the NYC concert was in the VIP section or had the best seats. That wasn't true for most members during the beginnig of the tour. Didn't you read the reports?

Would you be complaining if Prince assigned everyone a seat? I guess he assumed our maturity levels were not delayed. I would be upset as well if someone took my seat but how's that Prince's fault? There were ushers, security, and the Police in attendance. Everyone who brought guests were probably in a better postion to save seats because one person could always stay behind. He reserved all the best seats for club members and eliminated ticket scalpers to keep uninvited nonmembers from buying those seats before members had their opportunity. What more do you want?

I did join the NPGMC for great seats, but more important, I joined the music club to continue to recieve his music. I guess you call me a lover of Music.