Now that time has passed since Lotusflow3r.com shut down. Also considering there have been leaks recently and gifts thru Funkenberry's site. There's been considerable tlak of Prince having a website of his own on several threads.

So here's the questions...

do you think Prince should launch another website, yes or no?

and...

if he did will you or won't you sign up for it?

By the way I don't think he should(for various reasons) but if he did I'd sign up.

I think that ship has sailed.

rdhull said:

I think that ship has sailed.

I was never disappointed by any of the sites but I'm probably in the minority on that. I also never dealt with the Crystal ball issue because I bought the 4 disc version at HMV and the 5 disc one at a concert. I got my t-shirt from Lotusflow3r too and used my membership to download the music for several friends on their computers for them to enjoy. I think he shouldn't because it doesn't seem it would be well recieved no matter the outcome.

Prince has such a great brand, merchandise and music wise. Even though people download I still think there are fans that will purchase things the legal way. I would be open to website that was just like the NPG Music Club. I mean that website was perfect, however, its obvious Prince just does not operate things properly. The lotusflowr website was a disaster. I believe there are reasons why he could never launch a music club type website where fans get priority on seating at a very cheap price. aww man, that was an incredible perk!

short and simple: yes.

but he should just keep it very clean and simple. a site with a name like prince.npg.com

or something like that.

just a very basic store type site.

send out a press release, do some promotion, get the word out there that he has a new

album coming.

then allow people free access to the site and 1 free download song after they've given

their email adress (for promo and update mailings later on).

once people access the site they get their exclusive download and are able to listen to

snippets and then directly purchase the album in various formats. download lossless or

mp3, and a physical copy with download upon payment.

he could then sort or rerelease all his out of prince indi albums on there as well and just

maybe tempt people into buying them again online through bonus tracks (there must be

a truckload of outtakes from his post warners albums too, stuff we've never even heard

or read about since there's a pretty tight lid on studiosessions these days). but i guess i

am already thinking too complicated with deluxe edition rereleases and such.

so if he just wants to keep it simple, open up the site on album launch day, have the free

download and acces in exchange for emailadress access and then put up the album with

the backcatalogue (post warners) already up for sale as well.

it would be nice to just see all his post warners stuff in one place, under one umbrella so

to speak. there were so many tracks that slipped through the cracks in the past 20 years

that many people would be tempted to check them out or to download them again in a

lossless quality. and if anything, those albums just need to be on sale somewhere instead

of simply out of print and largely ignored even by prince himself.

i know i would dish out (be it for the third time or something) for tracks like "glasscutter"

or "jukebox with a heartbeat" etc in lossless.

like they say, a clean house gives you a clear head. i'm sure he would be rather content

to have all his post warner albums, singles, soundtrack songs, internet releases, and the

occasional 'radio' song in one place, together. it would be an imposing collection of songs

and once he gets his remasters back he could build the site further on that.

once again download lossless, plus physical copy options etc etc.

the main priority tho, needs to be a website that stays put. something that is conceived of

as a lasting presence. nothing 'of the moment' but something timeless that is about all of

his music, and nothing but the music.

a place that people will visit after he does high profile performances like the superbowl or

coachella etc. if you have your site up to date and running along smoothly you will be in a

position where the casual fan has something to dive into when they look you up. listen to

snippets, see the sheer volume of product and be tempted to buy stuff.

he should have had that since the npgmc went belly up. it would have allowed him to sell

many, many more records than he did in the past 10 years. he had some incredibly well

received mass exposure yet nowhere for casual fans or curious people to visit.

an example: "all along the watchtower/best of you". it was simply a crime that this song

was not up for download on a site when he was performing it at the superbowl. etc etc.

for someone who has been all about the music, recorded or live, in the past, he sure did

drop the ball on his internet ventures. mostly because he chose graphics (tacky ones at

that) and sermonising over actual content. coupled with rather bizarre sign up fees and a

'how to shoot yourself in the foot for dummys" promotion campagne for every site.

don't promise 10 albums of outtakes. just put one up and then send out the mailing, when

it's there, ready to be downloaded. then a month later, the next one. don't promise fans a

single thing, just give them what you want, when you want. and let them decide if they are

gonna buy it or not. no exclusivity, no religious essays, just transparancy and product.

Yes I think Prince should launch another site.

Whether I sign up for it or not depends on content, format, and of course cost. I'm not really interested in recently recorded material being spewed out in abysmally low mp3 bitrates.

If older vault tracks were made available in a proper lossless format, then i'm in. If it's a site dedicated to a new album or just new tracks, then no.

I'm stupid, but not that stupid! No, never ever will I sign up for a Prince website again.

I will sign up to a new website if it was FREE!! I have signed up and registered on all official websites of all my other fave bands and artists and NOT ONCE did I ever have to part with any money!!!

@IstenSzek

Excellent post. Nothing to add. If only someone from Prince's camp who has a bit of influence could read it. That good.

[Edited 6/29/12 12:54pm]

80spfantwp said:

@IstenSzek

Excellent post. Nothing to add. If only someone from Prince's camp who has a bit of influence could read it. That good.

[Edited 6/29/12 12:54pm]

hey, prince can call me anytime, day or night and i'll oversee his new website free of charge

Something along the lines of NPGMC would be

HonestMan13 said:

Now that time has passed since Lotusflow3r.com shut down. Also considering there have been leaks recently and gifts thru Funkenberry's site. There's been considerable tlak of Prince having a website of his own on several threads.

So here's the questions...

do you think Prince should launch another website, yes or no?

and...

if he did will you or won't you sign up for it?

I'd sign up for it if it was free lol

HonestMan13 said:

Now that time has passed since Lotusflow3r.com shut down. Also considering there have been leaks recently and gifts thru Funkenberry's site. There's been considerable tlak of Prince having a website of his own on several threads.

So here's the questions...

do you think Prince should launch another website, yes or no?

and...

if he did will you or won't you sign up for it?

New website would be awesome! I'll sign up IF it happens.

...

[Edited 8/24/12 0:23am]

Fool me one (NPGMC.com)

Shame on you.

Fool me twice (lotusflow3r.com)

Shame on me.

Full me 3 times.

You cant fool me again.

I'd sign up. At the end of the day, I'm still a hard core fan, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't.

LadyCasanova said:

I'd sign up. At the end of the day, I'm still a hard core fan, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't.

I am with you. No, I never got my t-shirt from Lotusflower and when I see Prince, furniture might be moving a bit because when I signed up for Lotus; I was working two jobs, so my duckets were in short supply, if you feel me. Lotusflower came when I was in lean times, financially. But, when I think about it, when Prince came to The Forum here in LA; I did get to see him four times in concert and each show he performed was like a little after party, so maybe it is okay that I didn't get the t-shirt. Shoot, the after parties alone were like an old fashion house party, so I guess we are cool now.

However, I can't help it; I love me some Prince. I would sign up without hesitation.

It does allow him to be in control of his own material.

I have no money at the moment, so could not sign up for it.

And as far as a forum goes, I don't like censorship, so, I would just hang around here for the social talk.