it's all good here, my sign-up and download process went smoothly on the first try.

Prince probably told them I do NOT want any words on the site Make sure you create a vast... empty space with just my music alone.I want my own world away from worlds...All I want is streaming 16 digit CC #s


Thank you, This meeting is done,Any questions? OK...fine have a good day gentleman I'll review the final specs.



[Edited 3/26/09 6:59am]

utopia7 said:

ya know? and def NO "member connection" hahahahaha

stanleylieber said:

then hush

xlr8r said:

did you really think anyone was trying to say the jonas brothers will outlast prince? you're the only one who's said those words this thread. several times now.

the point was that the jonas brothers are obviously a bigger draw in march, 2009. that's why their records sell more than prince's. that fact doesn't say anything about the quality of prince's music or his importance to pop music.

relax. prince's legacy is intact no matter how many records the jonas dorks sell or how many fans they attract to their website.

Don't I remember that one version of the NPGMC had a choice of whether you wanted the Flash side or non-Flash? Maybe something like that would help, although I have no idea how much extra work it'd mean.

It was good they communicated, but it could've been better. I know they probably have 42 gazillion emails, so maybe they should ask us to get an organized list together of what general problems still exist and who needs personal contact regarding billing issues, etc..

xlr8r said:

sit on it

stanleylieber said:

My point exactly.

NuPwrSoul said:

Damn I miss Member Connection heck for the trouble he should have ALL the transcripts from the npgmc for DL
[Edited 3/25/09 22:27pm]

xlr8r said:

but it's a non-point. no one here disagrees with it. the point you were bristling at doesn't even disagree with your point.

stanleylieber said:

ALL THE CRITICS LOVE YOU IN LA..Carlos bring some of that soul sacrifice to LA.

I just feel, as a graphic design minor, I might have at least a tiny bit of insight on this issue...

When designing anything, we were always taught that FUNCTIONALITY comes before everything else. (Yes, even aesthetics.) The site has to work and work effortlessly. Period. If it doesn't do that, then all of the artistic flourishes are ignored and put to waste due to user frustration.. (Here's an analogy:: Imagine walking into an art gallery, and before you could view any of the beautiful pieces, you had to complete a successful round of Sudoku just to properly view any kind of drawing or painting.. That's just frustrating, isn't it?)

I don't know about everyone else, but when I want to visit a Prince website, I just want the music and videos. I don't want to play a game. Heck, that's why we have video game counsels. They are BUILT solely for that purpose. Trying to make a website into some elaborate "Myst" experience is just a very poor idea on its face. Why? Because it all goes back to functionality. Websites are built for this and for accessing information first and foremost. If they aren't doing that very well, then there needs to be a redesign. It really is that simple.

Plus, why would you want to alienate a large portion of your fan base who happen to be running PC's with lower specs? If anyone has ever wondered why the "Diablo" video game series has been so ridiculously popular after all these years, I speculate that a large part of its success might have to do with the fact that ANYONE with ANY kind of computer can smoothly run the game. (PC or Mac) This increases your potential market share greatly and ends up benefiting everyone involved..

Basically, it comes down to this:: Make the website leaner, faster, and more straightforward. I say this even as a Graphic Design minor and Art major. There's a time and place for clever Flash tricks.. and this certainly isn't it.

heebong said:

Me too! I paid and cannot even get on...it stays on the first webpage for me. After I log on, I am unable to click on anything. Any suggestions as to why this is? Is it because I have an older computer? Does anybody else have this problem?

ShadeoViolet said:

Interesting stuff.
Oh, and I wouldn't mind the Sudoku thing. I'm an addict to them

The reason the videos are so choppy is that there are too high of a quality. Lower the quality and then the buffer will fill up faster than the play speed. Same for the audio MP3's. 320kps is over kill is you have the WAV versions. 193 kb s is more than enough if you put them on a portable player. I have a 3.2G machine and 4G memory and get choppy video. We all need a T3 connection. Anyone try the site on their company network?

kbarso said:

True that! The 'Crimson & Clover' video is OVER 30 MB!!!! Way too much for a stream that's accomodating to everyone, IMO.

ShadeoViolet said:

You don't need to be an Graphic Design minor and Art major to figure that out. This is EXACTLY THE SAME CRAP we went through with NPGMC v1.

kbarso said:

The problem is that they're running inside a HUGE 3D FLASH app that is sucking all power from your graphics card.

kbarso said:

Oh come on. You're complaining about a 100 MB zip? That's ONE 720p HD trailer at Apple -- the 1080p trailers are even bigger.

kbarso said:

Perhaps there should be a VBR version available. But then I look at the level of questions here ("what is WAV?") and I despair to think what would happen if you offer people the choice between TWO sets of MP3s.

Then again, I bet I could have build them a site where you would have that option and you wouldn't hear anyone complain or ask questions (as long as they weren't too lazy to read the instructions).

kbarso said:

The site runs perfectly well on my PC at home, and it's not like I have some pimped out state of the art machine. I also have cable broadband, but nothing that special.

CarrieMpls said:

Another page might make it even slower

Prince's New Subscription Web Site Greeted by Complaints and Derision
March 25
Link

After spending most of 2009 promoting his new online presence, Minnesota's own Prince finally launched LotusFlow3r.com Tuesday night as a paid site. And mere moments after paying their $77 for full admission, many Prince fans took to the Internet to start complaining.

Difficulty downloading songs, a cumbersome interface and overall lack of content were among the cries aired on the fan message board Prince.org, which inadvertently ended up acting as an FAQ for folks scratching their heads as to just how, exactly, they could sign up to join LotusFlow3r.com in the first place.

(The trick is to click on the small purple ticket found on the splash page and enter "1986" and "Los Angeles" into the blanks.)

So far, the $77 membership fee gives users access to photos (taken from his recent book "21 Nights"), video clips from recent live performances (streaming in a choppy manner that makes viewing them a chore) and the option to download and/or stream Prince's three new albums, the guitar-heavy "LOtUSFLOW3R," the synth-driven "MPLSoUND" and "Elixir," a Sade-like effort featuring Prince's latest protégé, Bria Valente. Numerous users have reported problems with corrupted music files and the need to download them several times.

Prince may be too busy to work out the bugs on LotusFlow3r.com. He's performing live the rest of the week on NBC's "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. Saturday night, he'll stage a trio of concerts in the Los Angeles area. And Sunday, the physical versions of his new albums will arrive exclusively in Target stores, bundled together for the price of $11.98.

Anxiety said:

whatever, I still didn't get my tix.

Anxiety said:

This message contains BS on so many levels that I'd rather see them.

Anyway, those of you that are on Twitter can follow and inquire @joyent . Joyent is the company that provides (part of?) the cloud resources for lotusflow3r.

Ilove said:

Does that stand for slutty or skanky? Ok I should stop drinking now.

serioulsy, if ran my business like this i'd go bust within weeks. It really is hard to imagine the planning could be any worse than this. Fair play that Scott has replied directly but surely it would have been better to assume that they needed to have a worst case scenario on capacity capacity i.e. if I were P my first question would be 'if 250k fans wanted to register around the world within a short time frame do we have a system that could cope'?.
This is a real shame because I think we all agree that this really is some of the strongest material he has done in many years and deserves much better.
Scott it's all about planning!.

kbarso said:

epic FAIL.

these graphic designers / managers of Prince are really f-king up. right there, they say the site is suited to newer computers. good business idea....restrict the potential audience from day one, load site with horrible (and dated) Flash animations, tell Prince (who isn't all that clued up), "wow, you are SO popular the really expensive site we billed you for has FAIL".

i feel bad for prince. his age is showing, when it comes to the business. he just got taken for a ride.

ShadeoViolet said:

Nice post, eloquently put. Good to be reminded of the form & function principle, thanks!

As for the site, jeez, could it be made any harder? A mean for fucks sake a quiz to pay your money???? What genius thought that up?? Right there, the whole thing starts as a function nightmare.

^ makes me wonder how I would have signed up without the org?

CarrieMpls said:

That is exactly my situation. Laptop less than a year old. I watch all my tv shows online since I am in Europe and don't get American channels, and have absolutely NO problems with those.

Anxiety said:

Oh my god, could he be anymore condescending?

1. "that several people have had issues with the site"
Several THOUSAND people HAVE issues with the site.

2. "fans can get all of the albums and videos they desire."
That is why folk paid 77$ to join, its not like an after thought, did u plan
or even care? The files are corrupt, the mp3s are not even titled..Ridiculous!

3. "3D and video, which is pushing the boundary of the web and current technology, only newer machines can adequately handle it."
Do you think we are STUPID. I have a brand new high spec Imac, Powerbook and a PC in my office. NONE of them can handle it. IT IS NOT PUSHING ANY BOUNDARIES.

4. "To accommodate our friends overseas."
See the www. on the web address? That stands for WORLD WIDE WEB, Jesus is this world war 2????
WE ARE A GLOBAL MARKET, every other international site does not have these problems. It is pathetic to try and blame it in anything other than incompetence.


Talk about rubbing salt in, if you are going to make a statement, at least come clean, own up and admit the launch was a disaster.

FIX IT, Don't Bullshit.