If you were in charge of the NPGMC, What would your policies be?

straightforward communication with members regarding product releases, content and shipping dates (customer service)

timely responses to members' concerns and legitimate questions

clear, succinct posts - phrased so as to be intelligible rather than merely puzzling

a philosophy which accepts religious diversity

acceptance of member input regarding club areas which show room for improvement - two way street

and a policy of embracing change and constantly looking for ways to improve and grow which would include
the expansion of current features to keep the scenery interesting and draw people to the site, like:

photo gallery of tour pics (thank you NPGMC!)
art gallery
expanded retail section: pay per download, direct purchase area for new and old product
journal area for band members who wish to participate

hmm. there's another post in this forum where folks enthusiastically responded to a similar topic with ideas for improving the club which (imo) were quite good.

i think the club could be fantastic. it's a great diea and prince is truly a pioneer for going this route. i really! hope it succeeds

1 Fire Prince and send him to some marketing classes at the local community college.

2 Put some savy business people on the board and let them get that wonderful music in the vault out 2 the masses properly without the creator interfering or bumbling it up.

3 Rehire Prince and as a gag supply him with invisible ink pens for a while as the movie offers, awards and endorsements roll in..

4 Dot the Is and cross the Ts on your resignation letter while you watch your stopwatch tick by until 2 of his henchmen arrive to escort you off the property.

5. Gracefully waltz out the door with your shoe box containing a Fortune award entitled "Biggest Turnaround of 2003"

that's odd. i clearly remember that topic but can't find it now??? garnered quite a reaction and a lot of posts because, although folks are irritated now at the way things are going, people really do care about seeing the club succeed.

no one at all would have joined if they hated prince and his stuff. i think it's safe to say we wish him heaven

Savannah said:

hehehe. wish him heaven, that is, except for when we're all a feeling bit angry about being left in the dark

Haystack said:

I would be the first one of my kind, evidently.


Okay, okay...in all seriousness, I would just make sure that if I supplied potential members information about CD titles that would be shipped during the year, those members would be kept first and foremost informed about their status. If it was apparent that those titles weren't going to service, then post it on the website and ensure us that we won't be disappointed with what's being planned instead. No one has said that yet, have they?

I think the real question is: If you were Prince, how would you run the NPGMC? since everyone knows that nothing gets done without his say so. You could have a PhD in MusicClub-ology and it wouldn't mean sh*t if Prince woke up one day and decided "hmmm, I think today I will cancel all my tour plans and move to Argentina."

Let's point the finger of responsibility in the one and only direction - Prince himself. All things NPG start and stop there. 24 years of ex-employee interviews make that crystal clear.

DonnieDarko said:

What!DonnieDarko having something negative to say about Prince!(even though it's true!).Maybe there is hope for the truth to reach prince's sheep!lol

Hi Gang

I can see that this is a pretty heated ongoing discussion. I hope that Prince's people read this as it is a pretty unhealthy emotional state to leave his fans in.

As a non-member of the club, I have been tempted to join the club purely for the 4 cd's which i believe will be delivered before the february deadline. However from listening to each members' criticisms, the same issues seems to coming through.

Lack of communication (including involvement in how the club is operated) and too little when it's finally delivered from a lot of promise. I've been scanning the band websites and have found only a couple that seem to meet their fan bases demands. (This is not an advertisement for the others but perhaps a reference to how things should be tackled). Primarily they are Julian Cope (www.headheritage.co.uk) and Marillion (www.marillion.com). I don't think they would appeal to the standard Prince fan but have always impressed me in their use of the internet medium.

English group Marillions' site is probably the most best run, updated, subjective, unbiased and all round fan-oriented band site I have ever experienced.

A band who are not ignorant to the problems with record companies they have in the past asked their fans to fork out for their upcoming album before it was recorded. They are by no means as big an organisation as Prince but are well outdoing him on all fronts in regards to their fans.

Apart from the usual bio's, news, discography's, etc. they offer the fan everything they might want for their CD players...With individually arranged clubs (based around a reasonably priced retainer), you can sign up for comprehensive newsletters, purchase the demo's to each album, review whether you'd like to buy the selected live album (Highlight shows for die-hard fans) and offer extended versions of each of their commercially released long players. God, they even give free the fan members a Christmas disc (album length).

Julian's site is not fee related but offers the user with well structured info-bursts, radio shows, political and socio-information to educate...and the obiligatory merchandise section. The music is what Julian Cope has been working on most recently. Each recording session is rolled out into an album and the listener is given the opportunity to decide if they wish to buy it...If it's not what you're into, fine then don't buy it. If it is, great, drop us a mail.

I don't think there is any rocket science involved, I think that to ignore a fan base that has such mixed feeling on it's own handling is a little rash.

There is no mysticism or garbled messages. I believe that it is time after two years of burning bridges for the NPGMC to open it's ears and start listening to how it can satisfy it's members and operate that will entice the folks sitting on the fence to come join.

Perhaps it's time to organise an open forum with your general public, sir - the peasants are revolting. When u gonna learn?

James Dunne
jamesrdunne@hotmail.com

Miko said:

It's not a criticism. It's an observation. The bottom line for me is, Prince can do whatever the hell he wants. It's his choice and I support his right to choose. And frankly I don't care that much either way what he decides to do. I just get mad when people want to rob him of that right and tell him what to do, like somehow they know better. It's ridiculous. Why treat him like a commodity? a product? Why wish he was like a different celebrity? The minute he does that he wouldn't be Prince anymore. Prince would cease to exist. And I think some of you would like nothing better.