How's it going with the NPG Music Club?
Does Prince drop by to say hi?

In virtual form, yes he does. He's appeared in a few rooms so far, but only in visual form.

If you're referring to the forums and chat, then no-one knows for sure if he's actually been there, yet. I'm sure that he must read the forums and may possibly take part in the chat under a pseudonym, but so far no-one has confirmed anything.

But it doesn't matter anyway. The club this year is the best value for money so far (In my opinion). Definitely worth joining.

Haystack said:

Really? You can chat here or visit the forums for free.

I think most people when they join a music club would like some music I know Shausler agrees with me.

lovemachine said:

Damn. Music at a music club. What a concept.

For the record, I was one of the most vocal complainers from last year.

NPGMC 2003 is less than a month old at this stage.

This year, I've already had more than I had last year at the same stage, bearing in mind that the Club was 3 months old in the middle of May 2002.

This time around, the site is fun, interactive and although it only contains a small amount of music, we know darn well that there are a lot of rooms that haven't opened yet which may contain just about anything.

The site is constantly updated. Have you been in the Musicology room today? You can mix your own jam. Nothing ground-breaking, but it's fun nonetheless.

It's only cost $25. That's about the same in Euros and £16.50 in the UK. Not exactly bank-breaking. The forums and chat aren't exactly riveting there, but who cares? It's the rest of the site that shows promise and I hope that it lives up to it.

I still stand by what I've said; The Club this year is 'definitely worth joining' if you're a Prince fan.

I hope I don't sound like an obsessive, because I'm not. I'm genuinely impressed that Prince has listened to the criticisms of last year and created the kind of Club that most of us wanted.

Give it a chance.

In 3 months if we've had no new music, either for free or for download ($1 per song?) then I'll join your chorus of disapproval.

For now, it's a great place to chill.

And again, bear in mind that this is coming from one of the more vocal complainers from last year.

Haystack said:

I don't want you to think I'm trying to be funny, because I'm not. But I really am trying to understand what it is about this year's club that you like so much. When you say the site is "fun and interactive" what do you mean? And when you say that "Prince has listened to the criticism of last year and created the kind of club that most of us wanted" exactly what criticism is he responding to? And what kind of club did most of us want?

I'm trying to put into perspective the point that you're trying to make. Thanks

FutureShock said:

Year two there was nothing to do but wait. They added some new text like once every 3 months, and a majority of the music didn't arrive till the last minute. But they charged us all 100 bucks up front a year in advance for this. Most of the crap in the downloads section was leftovers from year 1. The retail stayed pretty much the same with junk they couldnt get rid of. Many people who at least thought they would get the best seats at his shows were suprised to see several rows of non members in front of them, me included. The celebration was only worthwhile to those who had a grand or so to drop for tickets, travel expenses, and could get several days off work. But we all paid the same admission price. Not everyone got their moneys worth. Whether or not 100 bucks is a big dent in your income is irrelevant, its the fact that you were wasting it on something like this that irritated some of us. You could have experienced pretty much all the club had to offer without joining. Prince just got a nice chunk of money up front from die hard suckers and did little to thank them for it.

Year two is alot more involved. There are rooms to explore, details to find, and most importantly, a chat room and message board for people to voice their opinions and concerns DIRECTLY. Instead of saying it on the org and hoping it gets noticed, instead of emailing NPGMC only to get one of their vague minimalist replies that dont answer shit, you are saying it instantly to others, discussing issues, and the moderators are watching. There was obviously alot more time put into developing the club this year, its worth revisiting on a daily basis to see where Prince is gonna pop up next, to see what has been added, to search for hidden stuff, to check out if the music clips have changed, to chat with others, etc. Practically none of this existed before. There are several "vault" rooms in place, and it would seem almost absurd for the year to end without them being used. Theyve tested the waters (server load) with the VIP party, and are gradually building upon the site on a regular basis.

They are showing that they take the NPGMC more seriously these days, and that makes it more worthwhile to the fans.

It has potential. It is fun to wander around and enjoy the visuals (at least once), and I enjoy the religion (pardon me, "Knowledge") forum. And I LOVE Reflection. If it stopped here, it wouldn't be too interesting, but as more musical content becomes available and they fill out the structure of the site with more content, and as the Fams get tired of playing their fluffy little roles and become more real (hopefully), I think it could be very cool.

I have one great new song (Reflection) and 4 new videos already from NPGMC. That would cost me more than $25 in a store if I adhere to the overly simplistic - yet commonly used - theory of equating the price of membership to the amount of downloadable material.

Its all good

nice club, worth the money. Prince does'n thave to be a part of the club to make it fun, the members do.

la mont, where the fuck do you do your music shopping? i wanna own stock in THAT store, if yer willing to drop $25 for a song and 4 videos that are all previews of an upcoming release that you're gonna have to buy again.

plus, keep in mind, if you bought ANYthing at the store, you'd have packaging and ACTUAL videos and songs, not just files. (personally, i love downloads, but it makes sense to pay MORE for things IN THE STORE b/c of the extra expense of packaging and the actual tangible product aspect).

$25 for 4 great quality previews of a dvd that is presumedly being released later in the year and a low-quality mp3 (i mean the bit-rate, not the artistic quality, which imho is SUPERB)? that's shitty return for my money.

my whole thing is the idea of always giving prince money up front yet never being able to say, "all right, where's my goddamn product?" he put himself in the same situation this year as he did last, except this year he charged less and promised nothing specific.

i mean, i like tom's way of looking at things, i really do. and i wanna feel like we're gonna get hooked up with a flood of new music at SOME point in the near future - right??...so i'm gonna jerk off for a while as i'm reading paisleypark9's recent posts and look at nupwrsoul's avatar. that'll help the positivity FLOOOW through my bilious body, and squirt steaming against the wall.

yuck.

LaMont said:

$25 isn't a lot of money, and If I was into chatting and spending lots of time on his website, I would join in a heartbeat.
But with no new music, no new tour and no celebration,
I just don't see what the advantage for me to join. I've been a member for every other year, but even with the reduced price, nothing presented to me has gotten me the least bit excited.

If he puts on a DVD, I can wait to actually buy it in a store for the video clips.

lemoncrush said:

Lemoncruse, those are my sentiments exactly. I just don't see the value in joining. But that's a personal thing, and I realize that. The problem for me is that just like always, there are just way too many unkowns and too many variables in the equation. My biggest complaint from previous years was the lack of communication between the Club and it's members, and from what I've been reading on the org, none of that has changed.

It seems to me that a lot of members are giving NPGMC good credit for it's "potential" rather than it's substance. We'll see what happens to that credit in a few months.

Tom has a really positive outlook, and I commend him for that. But, going to a chat room, for instance, and ASSUMING that Prince is listening is one thing. But the minute someone says something that is perceived as "negative" then what happens? What kind of communication is that? Does that mean I can only communicate with you if I am kissing your butt??? So, the question is not just ASSUMING that Prince is listening, but rather "DOES PRINCE ACTUALLY RESPOND DIRECTLY TO QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS?" If he does, then I think that's great. If he doesn't, then nothing has changed as far as I'm concerned.

But, if you all are happy, then I'm happy for you.

Prince is Paisley Park #9.. that is all i will give away, but i have spoken in chat and in message to pp9 and have every reason to believe that it is PRince. of course i may be wrong,



i'm not


but i could be...

tho i promise i am not..

i don't think PP9 is prince. if it IS, then i honestly can't believe he doesn't have better things to do with his time.

i think it's either just a random, idol-worshipping employee or one of the grahams.

i never considered the possibility that PP9 could actually be prince. that would be pretty rad if prince kicked me out of the chatroom his-DANG-self. but i don't think so.

annawaiting, is it just the posts you've seen from PP9 that make you think this?

theblueangel said:

I actually thought the same thing too as PP9 is the only moderator of all the forums. It would be cool if he was around.

Tom said:

I think this was only the case for a few of the early shows when ticket sales for members were still being managed by ticketmaster. By the third or fourth show, however, when the NPGMC started holding the first 5 to 15 rows for presale through the site directly, I don't recall there ever being the case where non-members sat in front of members. In New York, even VIP guests like Chris Rock and ?uestLove had to sit BEHIND the members section.

Last year by this time, a tour was in full progress, and though it did not promise to visit every city, the prospect of getting in early for soundchecks, priority seating, and free admission to an afterparty/show was very exciting. Right now, even with the grandiosity of the new site being what it is, all seems mighty quiet in Prince world at the moment with no tour, no announcement of a celebration, and only hints of new music.

I wish I would've read this thread before I joined.

I just joined and I was wondering to myself, "Why did I just givethem twenty-five bucks?"

Was it to wander around 3-d rooms with zero instruction or information? The windows media clips kept stopping and starting (buffering) and that got on my nerves.

I don't know, I've enjoyed the Club the last two years (even while waiting for the music) but I don't get it this year.

I'm just going to take Tom's point of view and wait it out. If I'm missing something really cool, please, anyone, let me know what it is.

You guys are the best!

theblueangel said:

That would be funny as hell to get booted from prince's web site by none-other-than Prince, LMAO!

NuPwrSoul said:

I'm just speaking from my own experience. At the rehersal there were about 4 or so rows of people. At the concert I was row 13. I cant imagine 9 rows of members would opt-out going to the rehersal and just come to the show. So that leaves 9 rows of people in front of me at a concert I paid quite a bit for and another 100 bucks to join his club which was supposed to guarantee a presale to members first. Aparently all those people were able to purchase the tickets before or during the presale.