PennyPurple said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Housequake has not posted any links to back it up???? So really it's just rumour???

Here is what housequake is saying. I blocked out the name of the person they were referring to.

Housequake ******Wish it was just a rumor. We have a long history of being a credible source for Prince news (since 1997) and what we claim here are facts. Wish the facts were more positive though.

Brand New Expo is the company that worked with the Prince exhibit.

[Edited 9/3/18 9:47am]

PennyPurple said:

rogifan said:

Seems to me a lot of people are projecting what they think PP should be onto Prince. And none of these smarter than everyone else people explain how all of it is paid for. I remember last year when PP management requested a permit to sell alcohol for a special event (which I believe turned out to be a Justin Timberlake album release party) and “fams” all over social media were livid about it (claiming Prince never allowed alcohol at PP) starting petitions and all that nonsense. Well special events are one way to help keep PP afloat. Unless of course these “fams” are so bitter they really want to see it die. Sigh.

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^^^^^ THIS!
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I posted a rather long management analysis reply to Housequake yesterday, if anyone's interested.

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Dr Funk's "source" basically confirmed that the business model needs to change -- and don't we all know that? PP won't close but there will be changes. Good!
They need to expand their weekend/holiday operations and cut back on weekday winter tours unless large groups want to attend.
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All the crying about "alcohol" ignored the fact that Prince did indulge in good wines and liquors AND that he served liquor at his own private events. The alcohol permit was needed for a public event. I'm for ALL public, money-making uses of the park.

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As for Housequake's newest rumor, WHY did they leave that exhibit in the same place for so long? The "organizer" of the event doesn't want to pay the rent for extending the exhibit like they did -- obviously.
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Thanks again, Rogifan.
If folks would be more knowledgeable, there wouldn't be so many complaints here.

LilaLiebe said:

XxAxX said:

now that would be sad. imo it wouldn't hurt PP to expand its customer base by re-opening the studios for recording artists.

I agree and I don't understand why they don't do this. Unless there is a lot of updating and new technology they'd need to invest in to become more competitive in that area and they just either don't have the money or they don't want to spend the money to do it. But I think it would be to their benefit to re-open the studios for other recording artists and for other commercial endeavors, like when tv commercials were filmed there or parts of movies, etc.

Why? Because musicians can achieve the same thing now with a computer and ProTools. The large sound studios are closing. Paisley would be about the most expensive studio in the nation. It was one man's private studio and it was perfect for him. Only a major, already-wealthy entertainer could afford to record there now...and just for the cachet of it.

rogifan said:

BartVanHemelen said:

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Which is of course not gonna happen when they can barely keep it up and running for mere tours and parties. A school would require a massive investment.

Which is what these people don’t seem to get. Amazing when it’s not your money you can easily say everything should be charity. I’m certainly not suggesting everything is perfect but it sure seems a lot of “fams” are projecting their wishes on to Prince as if they were his too. And every suggesting, be it a school or recording studio or turning the lot across the street into a hotel costs money. If we’re supposed to believe they can’t make ends meet now, how in the world could they afford to do all these other things?

The hotel idea was floated initially by Graceland and I think it's a good one. The estate doesn't have to fund it; investors would. It would add to the viability of PP itself by providing nearby lodging and an actual restaurant. How many here would NOT stay in it, if they were visiting Paisley?

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Leasing the land to a hotel project would be big income for the Love4Oneanother charity which actually owns the land. A win-win for all.

PennyPurple said:

Here is what housequake is saying. I blocked out the name of the person they were referring to.

Housequake ******Wish it was just a rumor. We have a long history of being a credible source for Prince news (since 1997) and what we claim here are facts. Wish the facts were more positive though.

Which part of the rumor is Housequake confirming?
That Graceland wants to modify the current "business modal" [sic]?
That the European My Name Is Prince exhibitor wants to skip out on bills?
That PP is in imminent danger of closing?

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The "rumor sites" are so crafty in how they present things and attempt to back them up. By now, a legitimate news agency should have picked this up. No one else has.

laytonian said:

laytonian said:

OperatingThetan said:

rogifan said:

motherfunka said:

The PPAD dance parties have been selling out all summer. You don't have to do the tour to go. They're not going to lower the price now. As a business, why would they? Maybe in the winter months, when tickets aren't selling as well.

As far as I know PP isn’t open for tours as frequently in the winter months. Many of the responses to the Housequake post said PP should become a school for underprivileged children like Prince wanted. Does anyone have a specific quote from Prince where he said he wanted to turn PP into a school? Preferably one more recent? According to Funkenberry Prince’s plan was for it to be a museum and there was stuff he was working on before he passed. Also Graceland claims most of what they’ve done came from notes and emails that Prince left. People can hate on the family/estate all they want but if Prince left specific instructions to turn PP into a school I highly doubt the estate would’ve said no we’re turning it into a museum instead. Seems to me a lot of people are projecting what they think PP should be onto Prince. And none of these smarter than everyone else people explain how all of it is paid for. I remember last year when PP management requested a permit to sell alcohol for a special event (which I believe turned out to be a Justin Timberlake album release party) and “fams” all over social media were livid about it (claiming Prince never allowed alcohol at PP) starting petitions and all that nonsense. Well special events are one way to help keep PP afloat. Unless of course these “fams” are so bitter they really want to see it die. Sigh.

I think they are closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the winter months. They are only closed Wednesdays now.

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I've never seen where Prince said he wanted PP turned into a school. I believe Prince had planned on doing some sort of residency at PP the summer of 2016 and the plans for doing a "museum" derived from that, although I don't believe he planned on turning it into a full on museum while he was alive. Kirk and Trevor were heavily involved in making it is what it is today.

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The whole alcohol issue is a joke. Prince drank. Alcohol was available at early PP parties. The man owned 4 clubs in the 90s. Did he want to turn PP into a bar and take all the responsibilities that come with that, no.

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People complain about the tour guides not having a lot of knowledge, but those people are part time and making less than $10 an hour. Does anyone really think that ex Paisley Park employees are going to return and make that kind of money? Who knows if they would even want to if they were offered more money, but if they were, the ticket prices that everyone complains about would surely go up.

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The concert screenings were great, but unfortunately that came to a halt in April 2017 courtesy of the Estate. They are doing live music every now and then, which is great. They did a battle of the bands last year, but no one showed up, so they aren't doing it this year. Celebration is expensive, but if you want live music and great stories, that's the way to go. April, June, who cares?

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Prince is gone. It's never going to be the way it was. NEVER! Prince was making millions and had millions. He could afford to have dance parties and do concerts for next to nothing at PP. Those days are gone. I fully support Paisley Park and what they are doing now.

Rogifan this rant is not aimed at u.

LilaLiebe said:

XxAxX said:

now that would be sad. imo it wouldn't hurt PP to expand its customer base by re-opening the studios for recording artists.

I agree and I don't understand why they don't do this. Unless there is a lot of updating and new technology they'd need to invest in to become more competitive in that area and they just either don't have the money or they don't want to spend the money to do it. But I think it would be to their benefit to re-open the studios for other recording artists and for other commercial endeavors, like when tv commercials were filmed there or parts of movies, etc.

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PP was barely a functioning business when Prince was investing millions in it, and that was back when there was still money to be made with a recording studio or a massive soundstage.

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It's not just about having the latest hardware, it's also about having staff on stand-by. Don't you lot read frikking books? Read Duane Tudahl's and notice how Prince repeatedly used engineers etc. that were around when his own engineers weren't available. And those are the highly-skilled folks; but you also need a support staff, janitors, etc. Who's gonna pay their salaries?

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And again: don't you lot read? Didn't you notice the numerous stories about legendary recording studios closing in recent years? Never heard of https://en.wikipedia.org/...ity_(film) ? Never noticed that the music industry is having quite hard times and that there aren't budgets for endless recording sessions in expensive studios?

.

You lot are looking back at how PP was used for a couple of years more than a quarter of a century ago, and you forget several big things: the complex isn't supported by income from a rich pop star, the economy has drastically changed, and PP is missing a significant ingredient: Prince.

rogifan said:

Maybe it's not Paisley Park that is having trouble but rather the exhibition tour that's having the problem.

Back when the My Name is Prince exhibition was in London, I spoke with a close family member of Prince's and asked if it was going to come to the States. The answer I got was, they are wanting it to and if there is interest they would. I suggested that they come to KC and use Union Station, where all the big exhibits go and they said they were aware of Union Station and they would love to, but again if nobody shows interest there is no reason to tour the US.

We can't expect them to put on these exhibits, and not even break even.

motherfunka said:

PennyPurple said:

LilaLiebe said:

Since this is an unfounded and unsubstantiated rumor (and, apparently, WRONG at that) I won't comment directly on the rumor itself but will take this opportunity to say (again, as others have said as well) that Paisley Park would be doing itself a favor financially, imo, if they'd hold regular dance parties or host up and coming local bands for fans to come together, be in PP and just experience being there with other fans of like minds (and those fans would likely bring friends, who might then bring friends, etc) but NOT charge the RIDICULOUSLY HIGH FEE of $60 each time with PP tour included. Not everyone can afford that much every week, but COULD afford a more reasonable amount each week. Not everyone wants to take the tour each time but WOULD like to attend dance parties/see local bands on a regular basis. Of course I don't know what it would cost PP to host regular parties of these types - DJ or live band - with the expenses of staff, power, and such factored into the equation...but why not try it for a month and see if such a situation might be worth it, financially speaking AND as a way to keep PP vibrant, fun, interesting. They could hold theme dance parties and play one specific era of music, including rarities and proteges. There could be a costume party around Halloween time (if they have a prob with the whole 'Halloween' aspect of it, just hold it around Oct 31st and call it something else, like Prince did with the Celebrations and those being held around his birthday - it's not like we all didn't realize the association of the two). They could hold band 'contests' like battle of the band type thing where people vote for one or another band at the end of the night. There are lots of things they could do to make a PPAD party fresh and different and keep interest up in going out there, and they might just be able to build that kind of thing up enough to generate decent income. Just some ideas. But truly, please...have some dance parties where a person doesn't have to cough up $60 freaking dollars every single time. I know there are others like myself who would love love love to support PP more often and attend parties there regularly to show support, but who can't because for people like myself, 60 is a lot of money on my fixed income. :::end rant:::

love your idea about the dance parties!

BartVanHemelen said:

XxAxX said:

now that would be sad. imo it wouldn't hurt PP to expand its customer base by re-opening the studios for recording artists.

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Oh yeah, sure, at a time when numerous legendary recording studios are shutting their door, PP should invest a ton of money in that business.

and we hear from mr. "keep the faith" (whether we want to or not)

rogifan said:

I get the alcohol thing to a point. Seems like Prince wasn’t much of a drinker other than wine or champagne occasionally. And I’m not sure it was around at PP other than for special events/private parties. It wasn’t served at PPAD events and one of the NPG Horns players, Adrian Crutchfield, joked about onece sneaking alcohol in to PP without Prince knowing because he didn’t allow it. I’m fine with PP not offering alcohol on a regular basis...BUT if they have the ability to rent the soundstage/music club out for special/corporate events and they request the ability to offer alcohol I don’t have a problem with it. It’s not like PP would be supplying the food or drink; that organization/corporation would be the one responsible for the catering. And they could limit it to just beer, wine or champagne - no hard liquor. If this is a way to help keep PP open no one should object.

But even with the JT event, the fans all ranted about alcohol being at PP. Seriously how did serving alcohol at that event affect the fans?

I feel PP can't do anything right with the fans, the fans need to calm down and butt out and let PP try to stay open. They're damned if they do and damned if they don't.

PennyPurple said:

rogifan said:

motherfunka said:

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The whole alcohol issue is a joke. Prince drank. Alcohol was available at early PP parties. The man owned 4 clubs in the 90s. Did he want to turn PP into a bar and take all the responsibilities that come with that, no.

And I’m not sure it was around at PP other than for special events/private parties.

It wasn't. I'm not saying they should serve alcohol, but if they did, I wouldn't be offended like some people were. So many people saying Prince never had alcohol there, when they don't know the facts.

BartVanHemelen said:

LilaLiebe said:

I agree and I don't understand why they don't do this. Unless there is a lot of updating and new technology they'd need to invest in to become more competitive in that area and they just either don't have the money or they don't want to spend the money to do it. But I think it would be to their benefit to re-open the studios for other recording artists and for other commercial endeavors, like when tv commercials were filmed there or parts of movies, etc.

.

PP was barely a functioning business when Prince was investing millions in it, and that was back when there was still money to be made with a recording studio or a massive soundstage.

.

It's not just about having the latest hardware, it's also about having staff on stand-by. Don't you lot read frikking books? Read Duane Tudahl's and notice how Prince repeatedly used engineers etc. that were around when his own engineers weren't available. And those are the highly-skilled folks; but you also need a support staff, janitors, etc. Who's gonna pay their salaries?

.

And again: don't you lot read? Didn't you notice the numerous stories about legendary recording studios closing in recent years? Never heard of https://en.wikipedia.org/...ity_(film) ? Never noticed that the music industry is having quite hard times and that there aren't budgets for endless recording sessions in expensive studios?

.

You lot are looking back at how PP was used for a couple of years more than a quarter of a century ago, and you forget several big things: the complex isn't supported by income from a rich pop star, the economy has drastically changed, and PP is missing a significant ingredient: Prince.

XxAxX said:

LilaLiebe said:

Since this is an unfounded and unsubstantiated rumor (and, apparently, WRONG at that) I won't comment directly on the rumor itself but will take this opportunity to say (again, as others have said as well) that Paisley Park would be doing itself a favor financially, imo, if they'd hold regular dance parties or host up and coming local bands for fans to come together, be in PP and just experience being there with other fans of like minds (and those fans would likely bring friends, who might then bring friends, etc) but NOT charge the RIDICULOUSLY HIGH FEE of $60 each time with PP tour included. Not everyone can afford that much every week, but COULD afford a more reasonable amount each week. Not everyone wants to take the tour each time but WOULD like to attend dance parties/see local bands on a regular basis. Of course I don't know what it would cost PP to host regular parties of these types - DJ or live band - with the expenses of staff, power, and such factored into the equation...but why not try it for a month and see if such a situation might be worth it, financially speaking AND as a way to keep PP vibrant, fun, interesting. They could hold theme dance parties and play one specific era of music, including rarities and proteges. There could be a costume party around Halloween time (if they have a prob with the whole 'Halloween' aspect of it, just hold it around Oct 31st and call it something else, like Prince did with the Celebrations and those being held around his birthday - it's not like we all didn't realize the association of the two). They could hold band 'contests' like battle of the band type thing where people vote for one or another band at the end of the night. There are lots of things they could do to make a PPAD party fresh and different and keep interest up in going out there, and they might just be able to build that kind of thing up enough to generate decent income. Just some ideas. But truly, please...have some dance parties where a person doesn't have to cough up $60 freaking dollars every single time. I know there are others like myself who would love love love to support PP more often and attend parties there regularly to show support, but who can't because for people like myself, 60 is a lot of money on my fixed income. :::end rant:::

love your idea about the dance parties!

Thank you, XxAxX! I appreciate it (I also appreciate that there are still people like you around the Org that can respond kindly vs voicing their opinions using a snide tone or needlessly being an a*hole about it! )

motherfunka said:

BartVanHemelen said:

LilaLiebe said:

I agree and I don't understand why they don't do this. Unless there is a lot of updating and new technology they'd need to invest in to become more competitive in that area and they just either don't have the money or they don't want to spend the money to do it. But I think it would be to their benefit to re-open the studios for other recording artists and for other commercial endeavors, like when tv commercials were filmed there or parts of movies, etc.

.

PP was barely a functioning business when Prince was investing millions in it, and that was back when there was still money to be made with a recording studio or a massive soundstage.

.

It's not just about having the latest hardware, it's also about having staff on stand-by. Don't you lot read frikking books? Read Duane Tudahl's and notice how Prince repeatedly used engineers etc. that were around when his own engineers weren't available. And those are the highly-skilled folks; but you also need a support staff, janitors, etc. Who's gonna pay their salaries?

.

And again: don't you lot read? Didn't you notice the numerous stories about legendary recording studios closing in recent years? Never heard of https://en.wikipedia.org/...ity_(film) ? Never noticed that the music industry is having quite hard times and that there aren't budgets for endless recording sessions in expensive studios?

.

You lot are looking back at how PP was used for a couple of years more than a quarter of a century ago, and you forget several big things: the complex isn't supported by income from a rich pop star, the economy has drastically changed, and PP is missing a significant ingredient: Prince.

Yeah, it's a shame that PP as a recording studio is not viable.

I think the hotel idea could work though. I can't imagine anyone travelling from far afield wouldn't want to stay there, unless the prices were extortionate.