I have never been a member of the NPGMC but from the sounds of it, a lot of people are dissatisfied with npgmc.com. Is that a fair assumption?

Assuming it's not just isolated incidents (or a vocal minority who just have to bitch about everything), why do you think Prince lets it continue? ...asssuming he knows about it -- and I find it hard to believe he doesn't; it's his club after all.

For instance, the often-mentioned late CDs, lack of 'value' joining up, censoring posts, etc. I know I'd make doubly sure my paying fans would receive music well before everyone else if I could - to show my appreciation. I would probably only delete the more obscene posts to keep order, and have staff on hand to reassure and rectify any irate customers. But it's hard to say how it will all come together in practice, you know? Especially if I wanted to stay away from the business side as much as possible and concentrate on the music.

Could it be harder than we think to run the club? Is what's on offer - in Prince's mind - good value, I wonder? Are delivery and other problems just part and parcel of the direct artist-to-fan business model? Is everything running as smoothly as it can reasonably be expected to, under the circumstances?

Or is Prince truly taking advantage of his fanbase (like some say) and really doesn't have his heart, commitment and dedication to his fans...or the skills to run a business like this? Is he treating his fans like sheep and their concerns as inconsequential and petty. If so, why? There have to be reasons behind his actions, and the actions of his staff.

Anyone want to speculate what's going on behind the scenes?

cynicalbastard said:

speculate on your speculation of what the club is like behind the scenes? Hmmm...

Universaluv said:

Please point out my speculation.

You don't think it's a fair assumption that lot of fans are dissatisfied with the club, or are the posts I read about this all BS?

Surely some of this has got to reach Prince? I think it would be a miracle if it didn't. I'm not asking people to speculate on my speculation; I think it's a fact some ppl are dissatisfied, and I think it's a fact Prince gets fan feedback, here and there. I'm asking ppl to speculate themselves on what they think is going on behind the scenes, so that it might give some sense and context to some of the actions that are performed in the club.

I myself have no idea what goes on behind the scenes, but would love to make sense of some of the actions like late CDs, trigger-happy censoring, general dissatisfaction with what's on offer, etc.
[This message was edited Mon Aug 11 0:38:05 PDT 2003 by cynicalbastard]
[This message was edited Mon Aug 11 0:40:06 PDT 2003 by cynicalbastard]

cynicalbastard said:

Define "lot". Disatisfied customers tend to be the most vocal. The member who gets their copy of NEWS when they thought they would is probably less motivated to post something up here than the one who gets it 3 weeks late. Honestly, without some sort of a poll or something, its hard for me to say either way.

Oh, as for speculation, you used the word "assuming" twice and "assumption" once. By definition your speculating. There's more, but I don't wanna disect your post for speculative minutiae.

Just seems odd to question the possible inner workings of a club of which you've never actually been a member. Not that you're question is meritless, just odd.

Universaluv said:

You said "speculate on your speculation of what the club is like behind the scenes?". No, I never speculated on that.

I used assumption/assuming in connection with the amount of dissatisfied customers (I was assuming because I honestly don't know, and would like to hear input on members) and I used it in connection with Prince's knowledge of what goes on via feedback he gets (which I think we can safely call fact, not assumption). First post I specifically asked "Is that a fair assumption?", meaning I was asking for input on this from members.

But you're right, some sort of poll is needed. This post was my way of opening up the doors to discuss it, because I know a vocal majority can make it sound all bad, so I wanted to elaborate on that. And I also know that maybe it isn't easy to run NPGMC, so I wanted some insight into that, and was willing to accept that sometimes things don't happen as they should in business.

I'm still after opinions/experiences with the club if people wanna share them, I'm all ears.
[This message was edited Tue Aug 12 9:18:45 PDT 2003 by cynicalbastard]