Lotusflower.com blows.
There, I said it.

I'm not one of those fans who think Prince is washed-up and his new records don't live up to his 80's output. I love me some contemporary Prince. I think he's playing guitar better than ever. Go compare some Dirty-Mind-era live performances of "Head" vs. his rendition of "Fury" at SNL. Prince straight kills it.

However, from now on, I'm "breaking the law.." and ripping all his shit. Probably won't see a dime from me unless he tours Oregon.

This "Lotu$flower" fiasco, this debacle, has made me bitter... We paid $77 dollars, during the worst economic crisis in 80 years, for:
- 3 albums that we got to hear a few days before they were released at target for only $12. (The online version of "Lotusflower" doesn't even have "C&C".)
- A handful of videos, only a few of which are new to the die-hards among us.
- Some pics.
- A t-shirt. (A t-shirt that has caused no small amount of consternation around here.)

Compare all that to NIN. And here is where I get to my main point. Prince has got nothing on Trent Reznor in terms of maximizing the web's capabilities for promotion and fan interaction.

At NIN.com, one can:
- Look at hundreds of videos FOR FREE.
- Look at thousands of pictures FOR FREE.
- Download the album "The Slip" FOR FREE.
- Download the 4 instrumental "Ghost" albums, totaling almost 2 hours of music,
for FIVE FREAKING DOLLARS!!!

And I didn't even have to listen to a (mostly) shitty soft-jazz protege album.


[Edited 7/2/09 8:34am]

I love Trent. And I agree with you. And what you say makes sense. Which means Prince won't do it.

im with you.

The site is a discrace. Dont get me wrong-i didn't want anything for free-i happily paid $77 upfront to him cuz aftyer 25 years of Listening-i didn't think in a million years he'd do THIS to me/us. I'm STILL kinda hoping something will happen-and then again-im getting to the point just a straight answer would do. No outlandish claims-no ridiculous hype-WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE SITE ONCE YOU HAVE THE ALBUM ?

and personally-i'd rather they tell me to fuck off than completely ignore me

I though the LetusFUover.con thread way back was then harsh. It's seems fairly accurate now.
[Edited 7/2/09 8:35am]

Check out the free NIN iPhone app. I still wouldn't have paid $77 for it but it is about 100 times better than lotusflow3r.com.

wired.com

I got news 4 u.....Prince is a musician, not a webmaster.

Graycap23 said:

Umm and Trent Reznor is what exactly???

I miss the NPGMusicClub. DRM sucks but at least there was a ton of shite on the site.

No kidding? Thanks 4 pointing that out to all of us.

So one of the biggest, most sophisticated artists of all time has no money or resources to have a website run properly? Oh and charge $77 on top of it.

I'm one bitter pissed off fan right now. Plain and simple! He honestly shits on his fans sooo badly. He really believes w/his talent and JW beliefs that he's above all of us and can do no wrong. His opinion and beliefs change like the wind and those who don't agree or follow are all a bunch of fools in his eyes.

Then you see him on Ellen and Tavis w/both of them feeding him how he's "brilliant", "musically way above everyone else" etc. etc. That's just what his over blown ego needs right?

I'll be the 1st to admit I'm somewhat to blame. I buy anything he ever puts out, shell out money to official NPG mags that ceased ofter 2-3 issues, websites that close and purchases that can no longer be played.

Does anyone remember his "Free the Music" rants? Music is art and nobody should have to pay.LOL

Bottom line is that this guy has a very long track record of starting or saying something that holds no water or is full of holes.

Sorry for the rant. It's been a long time coming though. I get tired of feeling like Prince takes advantage of his core fanbase because he can get some quick change and move on.

SmiggyG said:

Pissed would be an understatement. I hear u loud and clear, but Lotusflow3r has shown all who are paying attention that Prince has ZERO interest in putting together a legit website. I can ONLY speak 4 myself, I will NEVER...and I mean NEVER support another Prince related website on any level. Just look at the results and tell me what u think his intentions were?

see smiggyG

alot of us feel the same-so.....

he'll never be able to use the net to get a quick earner outta alot of us again. For a guy that won't/can't use majors-or shops outside the US-that may become tricky.....so don't stress-just become a big fan of torrents now-he dont get paid from them

There's a lot of money going into that site.
It a portion of it went to something like this then it might be a worthy investment.

Aristotle said:[quote]There's a lot of money going into that site.
It a portion of it went to something like this then it might be a worthy investment.


That's friggin' awesome :
I love the part where the guy is like, "You turned a bunch of ruffians in fishnets and eyeliner into a grassroots movement.."

Prince is too caught up in the web of his own ideas.. which have about as much longevity as his recent album sales.

Not only that. Trent let us trade live recording (audio and video)and he actually encourages it. There is a dvd project of the "Lights In The Sky" tour and he asked us to forward copies of it once we receive our copy(something like Prince did with "The War"). I saw Nails 3 weeks ago and we were allowed to bring professional video cameras or recording equipment. Prince has a lot to learn from him or even John Mayer or The Smashing Pumpkins. You can also take "The Black Crowes" and "Pearl Jam" as an example. As far as I know Trent is a Prince fan-he recently posted a comment that Prince claims to have so much unreleased music,why he insists to release shitty albums(I have to agree with him on that,as a lot of other fans probably do -the last 3 albums before Lotusflow3r were royal crap)and Trent actually attended the 3121 purple ticket party/show. All the other artist I mentioned also communicate with their followers.

- Look at hundreds of videos FOR FREE.
- Look at thousands of pictures FOR FREE.
- Download the album "The Slip" FOR FREE.
- Download the 4 instrumental "Ghost" albums, totaling almost 2 hours of music,
for FIVE FREAKING DOLLARS!!!

this is Prince we are talking about

let's not forget that

Serving Your Fans: The Trent Reznor Case Study

^ Wow! Thanks for that

Aristotle said:

Trent Reznor is the shit...

Reznor's Basic Model is: Connect With Fans + A Reason To Buy = $$$$. Without the need for LAWSUITS or COPYRIGHTS.

Lotusflower Model: Piss Fans Off + A Reason Never to Buy Again = Abysmal Failure.

My favorite part of the whole presentation is when he talks about an e-mail Trent sent to his fans that made him seem HUMAN. When was the last time Prince made you feel like he was a real person who cared about his fans? The impression I get from him is that he is aloof, narcissistic, delusional and completely out-of-touch. I just wish he still played basketball so I could open up a can of whoop-ass on him. hehehe

I'm just proud to be on the wagon with his music.. he delivers quality music and I will go out of my way to support him because of Trents business ways.

Sdldawn said:

Me, too.

I met him in May. He seems like a good guy as well.

The LITS video stuff is good quality too.

Equanimity said:

Trent is so cool that he lets fans film and tape his shows. He eliminates bootleggers and still sells out shows and sells a ton of albums.

I'll add that Trent has even released the multitrack files to many of his songs for us to play with.Imagine if Prince did that!

yeah. I love the fact that Trent has let his fans remix his catalog of music, and allowed them to freely upload them and his fans can download the remixes for free.

Except Trent ain't got shit musically on Prince, I mean I can give my music away for free too, doesn't mean people want it.

Thibaut said:

I, as I a NIN fan, do want it.

Nobody said Trent had anything on Prince musically.

Vendetta1 said:

Then it is sort of POINTLESS isn't it?

Vendetta1 said:

-----
Yes, Trent is selling out venues and on top of the charts as we discuss this.
Get out of your fantasy world. If you dig his music great but do not blow up this dudes popularity to make a point.

Graycap23 said:

-----
Of course it is pointless but that will not stop people on this board from pulling this guy out of their ass.

This doesn't have shit to do with the music of Trent. It's about the approach and business aspects he chose to take... and how others should find similar ways.

This is a very informative thing to be talking about. This isn't about trent's music, but about how he separates himself from the pack with how he does it, and how others should do it. Look at the disaster fan club prince tried to do this year, even if he does pull it out its tailspin, he once again displays how unfit he is in the digital world. Looking back, just releasing it in Target would have been the appropriate step. Having a site like any other normal artist where it is easy to find tickets for concerts shouldn't be a hard task. Even giving them special deals shouldn't be this trivial.



.
[Edited 7/7/09 14:08pm]