Just got this...

High NPGMC,

We would like 2 remind all the members of the NPG Music Club 2 please not bring any cameras or any video or audio recording equipment in2 the concerts. They r not allowed in the theater at any time. We take this very seriously, and we will have 2 have u ejected from the concert and ur membership revoked if we find u breaking this rule. So please, leave the cameras and recorders at home. We appreciate ur consideration of the per4mer's wishes. Thank u 4 ur cooperation.

Love4oneanother,
The NPG Music Club

Personally, I think it's a little absurd that Prince is so overprotective of his onstage image. I hardly think everyone who wants his picture wants to profit from it...maybe they're just after a souvenir that's more personal than a $30 program or $40 t-shirt.

The email is in response to the posts showing up on alt.music.prince about fans being seen with tape recorders hanging out of their pockets at the shows.

In addition, people have been seen standing up and snapping pictures at soundchecks and at least one show.

This could be a valid criticism of Prince. How do other artists'/musicians feel about the use of video recorders? Is Prince excessive in his stance?

Some artists don't care if they are taped, but Prince is one of the most bootlegged artists out there. He wants to be paid for his music. Bootleggers and illegal tapers are making money off of Prince's music.

Tape recorders have been banned from plenty of artists' concerts for decades! Remember on What's Happening? When Rerun was approached by this bootlegger that wanted him to tape The Doobie Brothers' concert? And Rerun started dancing and jumping up and down...and the tape recorder fell out of his trench coat pocket? And when it hit the floor the whole band stop playing? Huh...do you remember?

To everyone going to the concert tonite in Houston...see ya at the show!!

Some people who have recorded, have NEVER traded or sold there recordings too. I'm serious. Sometimes it's really just a personal record for your private enjoyment.

But of course the majority really just want to bootleg. Which sucks. But what also sucks is that Prince and his organization, don't make every concert available!

Many bands LET fans record. I forget who but many actually have sections for letting fans record.

It's an interesting debate.

1.) 99% of people bring in some cameras r "0 8 15" item which r not professional and normaly only as a remember for the night.

2.) if prince will release all concert by himself (like pearl jam) then nobody will buy the bootlegs!

so it's more on him 2 release all the stuff!!!!!

or were is remembering 1998 when his people handed out some flyer "own your live xperience from 2night"..... ????
well i never have seen, that he released any of the JOTY concerts!

i hope he will do it in the future.

But this warning is for anyone carrying anything from a $5 disposable camera who wants a quick snapshot, say for their "concert scrapbook,"to someone intending to videotape the entire show for profit. There's a big difference. And there are plenty of artists who could care less if people tape their shows or take pictures. This is Prince being a control-freak...I wonder what he does when performing on The Today Show or something - does he ban tourists in NYC from bringing cameras?

i agree with u but "professional" bootlegers bring in the items in every hall, club, arena. so the only people they "normaly" find r "hobby" bootlegers.
with the videos: i know not many tape which r viewable and i have more than just one tape.
but as i said in the other answer:
Prince must just release all the stuff by himself! i concert from every tour on DVD (like the sheffield 93 tape which he showed last celebration!!) and every concert on CD. they don't need a 4 color 24 page booklet. just a sleeve with all the titles. go to a record store and watch the pearl jam section! i'm not a fan of that band but when i saw the cd from the zurich concert (my hometown) i have buyed that cd.

Camera and audio recording devices are not allowed at a lot of events..even things like special events at museums. Don't try to make this into a Prince specific issue. It's standard practice not something Prince invented to be a "control freak"

Prince should seriously consider a DVD or audio release of the best show of this tour. I'm sure Prince records (at least the audio) of all his shows. Why not beat the bootleggers at their own game?

I was at a Hit 'n Run show last year where professional camera crews were filming. They were filming right in front of the stage and filming shots of the audience. I thought all of this filming was going to show up on a DVD or VHS release.

The celebration listening sessions for The Rainbow Children were also filmed and nothing was done with that footage either.

Prince is waiting so long to release this stuff. The number of interested buyers will keep getting smaller. The only way for him to make a lot of money on this stuff now is if he has a big hit and gets back on the charts like Santana and gets a new generation of fans to sell his old recordings to.

My understanding is that he's such a perfectionist that if one little thing is off in the performance/recording it will not see the light of day. Hence his having to re-record Sign of the Times footage back at Paisley for the "concert" film.

Can't think of him ever releasing a "raw" live track... everything that started live seems to get overdubbed, etc., by the time it makes it on record. Oh yeah there was that "Jam of the Year/Face Down" NYC live tape which I never bought...anyone who did, was it pure live or did it have any overdubs?

CmputrBlu said:

Ok, maybe he's not a control freak, just a jerkoff. A polaroid taken by someone in the 25th row is hardly reason to have someone ejected from a concert. Plenty of well-known bands encourage or at the very least allow video and audio recordings of their show. And museums? Well, I just spent 3 hours photographing the Brooklyn Museum's Star Wars: the Magic of Myth exhibit - dozens of one of a kind items from all 4 Star Wars movies - from costumes to props & models - & photography was encouraged.

NuPwrSoul said:

I saw on another thread that there was studio tweaking even on that "live" tape. I think that part of the thrill of a live performance is the possibility of imperfection. You don't go to a live event expecting to hear something exactly as it is on record. At a concert, there's a chance that something can go completely, utterly & magically wrong. As long as Prince is so protective of his live performances, the bootleggers are going to thrive. It's a demand rather foolishly unmet by Prince that they're willing to provide.

As everyone knows, there were a number of live recordings, movies and mp3's, released by the NPG MC last year, so it's not like he's opposed to releasing any of it.

And to address an earlier post, at least 5 separate live HitN'Run videos were in fact released:

Bambi
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Controversy/Mutiny
Gett Off
I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man

But I agree. It would be fantastic for fans to be able to purchase (from the NPGMC) a CD or DVD of the concert they attended, or wished they attended! Seems like a no-brainer from a business standpoint. You KNOW he's thought about it, so there must be a reason he's not done it yet.

As far as a live CD for mainstream release, when you have a catalog as vast as his, it can't be easy selecting the "best" 12+ trax. Must be nice having that problem!

IrishEcho said:

Especially this is already a controlled environment. It's all NPG club members. I worked at an ampitheatre one summer and almost every artist from Aerosmith to Dave Matthews and Elton John met with fans before or after the show. During this time you could get to shake hands and ask questions more one on one and get at least one thing signed and get at least one picture with the artist. If I remember correctly I think Aerosmith or some band that big gave all the fans disposable cameras and allowed them to use them the whole time. Now that was cool. Oh yea it was free too.
[This message was edited Sun Apr 14 17:36:49 PDT 2002 by DMSR]

TheMax said:

And the thing is it's very easy to make a professional DVD with today's technology. Most people can do them on their home Macs these days. It wouldn't cost him that much and he could sell them forever and as they were ordered through the club he could just make more. An intern could do this for free too!

Hey Irish!