I'm interested in what people think about the lack of action over at Lotu$flower. Why do you all think this is? Legal Issues? Problems between Prince and the site builders? Lack of interest on Prince's behalf? Did the 'teething problems' piss Prince off, so he washed his hands of it? What's your take on all of this?

How much effort is really involved in uploading new music/videos?

When do you reckon we'll see some updates?

Your opinions, please dear Orgers...

i think it's going to take some pressure from the members/fanbase in order to get anything from that site.

unfortunately, the only real "promise" the site offered was the t-shirt, and perhaps some "exclusive content" for early subscribers...which they're now passing off as being the t-shirt.

i think that site is dead in the water and it's only going to develop sour attitudes in his fans with regards to any future online offerings.

Anxiety said:

Couldn't agree with you more, Anx.

I have considered writing in to complain, but unless the majority of the other members do too, I think it'll be like pissing in the wind.

I wonder what response would be garnered if some of the larger music magazines reported on it. I wonder if he'd be OK with looking like a money grabbing, fan screwer in the press?

Anxiety said:

Funny, we haven't even gotten the one thing that was explicitly promised. Wasn't there an official email saying they'd be mailed by the end of the month (May). If that were true, we'd have them by now, even if they were sent media mail.

I really don't see what the problem is. Even if Prince has lost interest in the site, it would be really easy for him to have his web designers upload some perfunctory video clips each moth. Better to do that than continue to piss of your ever-dwindling die-hard fan base.

Fuck a year, I am giving him until June 30th. If there is no other exclusive content other than what we got, then I officially paid $77 for a $12 cd.

TO PRINCE:
I'll quote Wendy from the movie Purple Rain, "Wow...you can REALLY hurt people. Doesn't that mean anything to you? I mean, doesn't that make you feel like SHIT?!"

Didn't the pre-release blurb mention something about 10cds worth of unreleased material, live shows from his home, footage of his Oscar party show, etc? Can anyone remeber where this was bandied about? Was it an email or thread? I know it wasn't a promise, but I'd be interested in re-visiting that info.

MrsGoodnight said:

it was mentioned by the site designer in one of the articles about the site. i have a feeling he may have jumped the gun a little bit with that comment.

Anxiety said:

Can you remember where it was published, Anx?

MrsGoodnight said:

shoot, i know it was posted on the main page, but it was a while back. it was before the site launched, if that helps. did you dare try the org search box?

Anxiety said:

The thing is though, if Scott was out there making statements to the press that weren't true, Prince's camp was surely aware of what was being promised of the site. Notice that no one in Prince's camp issued any statements to clarify any inaccuracies, which leads me to believe that what the web designer said about the site was either part of the original plan or a purposeful attempt to get us all to sign up only to pull the old bait and switch.

-
[Edited 6/12/09 19:22pm]

Anxiety said:

Here's the thread providing the link to drfunkenberry.com where the announcement of the opening of the website appeared:

http://prince.org/msg/13/300962
[Edited 6/12/09 19:31pm]

PicassoFace said:

you have to also keep in mind that scott is not your typical prince employee. to the best of my knowledge, scott wasn't picked from the fan community and given this job, so we're talking about someone running prince's site who didn't have a full grasp on the history of NPGMC, or of how prince operates, or what the culture of his camp is like, etc. so i can see scott kinda thinking out loud in that interview, or tossing out an idea that might have been played with for the site, and not really understanding or appreciating the potential gravity of saying something like that about an official prince fan site.

I'm still trying to keep faith that i didn't pay $77 for 3 downloadable albums that i still had to purchase at Target again, and a t-shirt that is coming one day. Plus video's i use to watch on you-tube until Prince band them all. Don't really care about the photo's. And after reading all the negative comments and checking the site and seeing nothing new, i'm starting to get like everyone else. So i suggest we choose a time period (1st of a certain month)
that if nothing new happens to the site, then all 300 plus members (via semi official lotus census)
Send the site a complaint e-mail and see what happens. Maybe down the road something major may change, but for now, add new videos/concert footage. Change the globe every month or switch out a few videos weekly. And make all the thumbnail's different! How hard can that really be. That's all i have to bitch about. But everyone should e-mail them, say Aug. 1st if its still the same old stuff.....ttfn.....discuss!

Anxiety said:

Agreed. Though, maybe it's just me, but if I'm in charge of any kind of business venture and I plan on offering something, and one of my underlings is out there saying I"m offering something more, I'm gonna make sure I clarify any misleading info so expectations aren't set too high. It's just good business. But of course, this is Prince we're talking about, and the name "Prince" and the words "good business" should never be used in the same sentence if past experience is any indication.

I think it could be one or more of the following reasons:

1. Prince's health is not good, and his focus has been on that (the hip rumor)
2. Prince was dissatisfied with the website, fired the team, and hasn't replaced them yet
3. Prince thinks he's actually provided a good value for $77
4. Prince has something else on his mind and has lost interest in Lotu$flower

RodeoSchro said:

i'd say it's more 1 and 4 and less 2 and 3.

he seemed pretty involved with the site up until it was launched, and he seemed excited to talk it up in interviews during the first few months of this year. the designers did a good job with what they were given, but they can only do so much with a limited amount of content to work with.

and he may well think he delivered the goods with what's on that site, but i don't think it will take too much pushback from the fans to disabuse him of that notion...

RodeoSchro said:

Could the reason for Prince's lack of interest in his own site be, that to few people signed up for the site? That it simply flopped commercially?

MrsGoodnight said:

Not too long ago I posted 6 reasons why we are disappointed, which should address your concerns!

These three press releases or articles specifically state what we will get with our membership. Unfortunately most of this has nothing to do with the contract on Lotusflow3r.Feel free to add to the list or correct me if I am wrong!


1. Exclusive first week content and a T-shirt – (No exclusive content and no T-shirt yet)
2. Exclusive information about private or secret shows (I have learned about all gigs thus far, from other sources)
3. Possible full length concerts, as well as unreleased music (No unreleased music, but some unreleased video)
4. An array of Film footage and music from the vault (No music from the vault; some film footage)
5. Perks such as live-cam concerts from the mansion (This will be March 25th, 2010, and we will all subscribe again)
6. First dibs at tickets to live shows, unannounced gigs (Trouble with initial access for some of us, did not justify the trip to go to only one gig)

The truth is, these articles and press releases colored our perception, and that is why we are disappointed!

Dr,Funkenberry -Prince also plans to give his fans access to tickets to live shows, concert footage from past performances, exclusive imagery from his past albums and other exclusive photos, exclusive information about any private or secret shows, as well as exclusive content that will only be available in the first week of the site launch and may never become available again. Fans who join the site early will also receive a boutique-quality “Founding Member” t-shirt that displays the central image from the galaxy. Over time, Prince will continue to give fans more access to high-end never released photos and video content and much more.- Press release Drfunkenberry.com

Spinner- and to give fans their money's worth, Prince will continue to roll out content on a regular basis, including live video clips and possible full-length concerts, as well as unreleased music. According to Clay,- Spinner –Prince To Open up vaults for New Web Site

Variety- Prince's revamped Web domain, appropriately Lotusflow3r.com, gives his loyal followers exclusive access to an array of film footage and music from the Purple One's "Vault" -- a library that contains an immense amount of unreleased material. At a lofty annual subscription price of $77, fans also will be treated to such perks as live-cam concerts from the mansion and first dibs at tickets for last-minute, unannounced gigs, which have become a Prince trademark.- Variety- Prince Works Outside Record Label

I hope this helps you understand why you feel the way you do! It was just media hype!

Just boycott the site and never log on ever again
then when January 2010 approaches file a complaint with the BBB.



If the slow process has anything to do with possible personal issues then it will be understandable and forgivable.There has to be a reason for the delay somehow we just aren't privy to the information.


It won't do me any good to complain what's done is done.

Legal Issues?

seems unlikely. if there would be, he would not have put up those old
videos. and even if there are legal issues, he has a ton of music and
videos (released and unreleased) from the post warners period that he
could put up on the site without any legal obligations whatever.

Problems between Prince and the site builders?

hmm, perhaps. although scott is still running that ship, isn't he?
and if there were problems i'm sure there would be a quicker way to
resolve the issue, hire new people or just put up a new site with a
quickness. if you want to keep your customers happy, the last thing
they should have to suffer is management problems. especially at an
early stage like this and without any information on what's going on.

Lack of interest on Prince's behalf?

likely. if he wanted to put more stuff on there it would be done. he
is after all the one who is calling the shots. a designer is just a
designer and a hired hand. all the music/videos that go up are only
those that prince wants to put up. if nothing appears, that means he
has no interest in putting anything up right now.

Did the 'teething problems' piss Prince off, so he washed his hands of it?
could be. but he should have learned from the npgmc and the 3121 site.
there's not really an excuse for all those 'teething problems' that
could have been easily avoided. some of the things that went wrong on
the site launch and shortly after were beyond embarrassing.

if prince got upset or pissed off because people complained en mass,
he should take note and make things better and just move on with the
project. people complained for a reason. i didn't hear anyone say
stuff like "i don't like the songs, i want a refund". the complaints
were about legit problems. if he can't take that kind of flack he
should never have set up a new site. besides, he's the ones who went
for the graphics heavy site that's extremely low on new content.

How much effort is really involved in uploading new music/videos?

not a whole lot. if the site and the bandwith etc are all up the way
they should be, a kid could upload the new content onto it. in fact,
kids do it from their bedroom every minute of the day.

When do you reckon we'll see some updates?

that's the million dollar question right now. if the reason for no
new content is a combination of the questions you asked, it could
be a whole while. i wouldn't mind to wait until august or even some
longer if they would at least give us teasers of new stuff or let
us in on what's going on.

pray4rain said:

That's a good point, although it still doesn't absolve him of the responsibility of delivering the benefit of the bargain.

The more I think about it, the more I think there's an outside reason for Lotusflow3r's floundering, so I'm going to quit typing "Lotu$flower". As I look back on Prince's business career, I don't see many examples of him not following through (I know some of you will disagree). And I can think of examples where he's faced criticism and responded appropriately. Finally, all the band members he's ever let go have said he handles his business like a man.

In my opinion, it's not like him to take the money and run.

I am now of the opinion that there's something happening that precludes Prince from delivering on Lotusflow3r. I certainly don't think it's a lack of funds on Prince's part. I think he's made about $100 million since 2004 (he really, really cleaned up on the "Musicology" tour).

There's something else, and it is not entirely within Prince's control. I just don't know what it is.

I hope it's not health-related.

There are laws, you can't promises things like 10 unreleased CDs or 2 hour long concert videos if you pay $77, and then not deliver.
You could probably sue them for false advertising.

mypancakeplaces said:

they never promised anything. they simply said that in the future some
of that stuff would be possible. so i doubt you could sue them for that.
i think it sucks, don't get me wrong. and i fell for those lines once
again, just like with the npgmc.

although, looking back on it, i can't say i wish the npgmc had never
been. i got some nice music from it. the only thing that bugs the hell
out of me is the way his sites are run. just a little bit of news or
some clear communication could resolve 90% of the problems.

i alrea

i already complained-i was respectful and not rude-and got no reply-but i think EVERYONE thats unhappy should deffo mail em'

ps-and you dont type-or upload stuff using a hip-even if it is supposedly dodgy-and if he was ill-i doubt he'd have been out and about so much lately-Paris-the theatre-awards in NY-all pictured IN HIS BLING-LOOKING VERY VERY HAPPY-and deffo not ill. We can all make excuses for him-but there is no excuse for terrible customer service.
Everyone should maile em' and thank then for valuing out support so much lol

OK... So there seems to be a general concensus that if all of the disatisfied members complain 'En Masse', then we MAY get somewhere.

Right... so be it.

i didn't so much complain -rather i just put to them-you charge me for a year-and by month three its obvious there are big problems with the site-lack of official intarest being the main problem. and i thanked them for valuing my support.....!

polkadotbliss said:

Indeed. I'd have thought that, had this actually been a professional set-up Prince would have given the techs and designers a whole bunch of stuff, along with a release schedule. Anyway, doesn't he have staff that can sort stuff like this for him...