TheFrog said:

I mean, it's just total fucking nonsense!

"the only way potential customers can learn about the bootlegs is through websites such as yours".

Well, you've done your research haven't you.

See, in the big wide world there are things called friends you can call up, contacts, or persons to meet to discuss bootlegs. Incredible i know!

I own shed loads of bootlegs. How many times have I read about bootlegs on Housequake or on any other site which have induced me in any way into buying a bootleg?

A big fat zero

Call me as a witness, Princey-babes.

Well, that second letter says it all really. Does the little fucker realise the damage he's doing to his own customer base with this shit. I am sorely tempted to boycott him again. The little wankstain.

I'm thinking of sending this letter to him :

Dear Prince,

Stop being such a tit, you irritatingly ungrateful little shit.

Yours sincerely,

AsylumUtopia.
(a former customer).

p.s. the Rainbow Children was crap.


TheFrog said :

I think you're correct here, trading (i.e. giving, swapping, whatever, but not selling) is not illegal and copyright doesn't even come into it (at least not in Europe).

Especially when you consider who is going to read that shit. But hey, whatever.

Go listen to my version of life can be so nice!!

VVVVV right down there!! FIGHT THE POWER!

Mazerati said:

Exactly...
But by Prince's retarded logic you are doing something illegal just by using your avatar...

Neversin.

TheFrog said:

Well, by the legal reckoning of these lawyer folk, calling up a mate and asking about a bootleg would hold your telephone service provider legally responsible for the sale/distribution/knowledge of bootleg material. Could the lawyers ask for your service to be closed down?

In the same light, meeting your friend in a pub and discussing bootlegs would hold the landlord of the pub legally responsible. Could the lawyers ask for the pub to be closed down?

At the end of the day, HQ's forum is a virtual room or meeting place for people to join in conversation. Using their argument, if I invited you all around to my house for a party and designated the lounge as a place to meet and discuss bootlegs, I would be held responsible and have to 'close down' my lounge!

The argument just doesnt stand up. Its just scare tactics.

I he sues the org, or send a bullshit letter like this, i WILL NEVER AGAIN buy nothing from NPGMUSICCLUB, and i was thinking of being a member and I wont no more, he is to greedy, i will download everything illegaly, it's easy.

TheFrog said:

It is total, absolute bullshit. Let's see Prince's hotshot lawyers go after Rolling Stone for writing an expose on the "bootleg" culture. Let's see Prince's hotshot lawyers go after Time Magazine for writing an article about people downloading Purple Rain through Kazaa. They would be introducing far more "potential customers" to learn about bootlegs than Housequake ever could.

The argument they're using against Housequake is: "freedom of speech doesn't cover copyright infringement." No, but it DOES cover Freedom of Speech. I feel sorry for Aaron and what he's going through. I have been there THREE times on my site. GeoCities wrote me threatening letters regarding my GeoShitties parody. Microsoft's lawyers came at me for "slander" against Bill Gates over a few satirical "interviews" I wrote with Gates. Lastly, J.K. Rowling's lawyers sent me a VERY nasty letter insisting that I immediately stop "encouraging" people running Harry Potter sites to ignore their warnings to take down Potter pictures and fan fiction. I disregarded ALL their warnings. Did they sue me? No. They went away.

What I told the Potter webmasters is that lawyers BULLY whenever they have a chance. If an artist pays them to BULLY, they will do so. It's their job. But they don't usually have a leg to stand on. I don't know whether or not they have grounds to stop the actually trading going on at Housequake, because I am not familiar enough with it (I don't own any bootlegs), but I do know they have NO GROUNDS AT ALL to say you can't DISCUSS bootlegs.

Aaron has EVERY right to put back those threads. Any members of Housequake that would like to repost my message there, feel free (and let them know who wrote it. Those lawyers want to come after me, I say, "bring it on!"). This is a violation of Freedom of Speech. It's that simple. I've seen it too many times. J.K. Rowling, George Lucas, KISS, Metallica, Bob Dylan, Prince -- I'm getting sick and fucking tired of bands attacking the people that MADE THEM RICH!

Any1 living in Minneapolis may wanna check the used record bins. I'm burning all of my Prince CDs and then I'm selling them. The Purple One won't be getting another cent from me. From now on, if he releases a new CD, I'll be acquiring it through alternate means.

Good one, Prince. Keep it up and maybe your sales will sink back down to mid-90's levels and then you can change your name and start writing "slave" on your cheek again. Prince's attack on fans not only proves that he's an asshole, but also a dumbass. Check in with Metallica and ask them what happened with their newest album, the one they released AFTER suing their fans. It sold less than anything they had done since the mid-80s.

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

Anybody want some cheese with their whine?

OdysseyMiles said:

Prince deserves a whole cheeseboard with his.

3bogs said:

Yeah, but the difference is that he is only excercising his right to protect his own unauthorized work.

OdysseyMiles said:

but that's the question isn't it? is he exercising his rights or is he pulling his weight in a threatening manner, perhaps unjustifiably so?

If he goes after the manufacturers of bootlegs, it's an open and closed story.

these tactics...i'm not so sure it's that clearcut that Prince = correct and defender of rights, and Housequake = wrong.

3bogs said:

And even if he has the right to do so before the law, it still is not morally right

OdysseyMiles said:

Please explain to me how stopping people from DISCUSSING bootlegs is merely Prince "exercising his right to protect his own unauthorized work." Please explain how this is not a violation of Freedom of Speech. And, while you're at it, riddle me this: do you think Prince should be able to sue Rolling Stone magazine when it does an article on various bootlegs? Should an artist be able to sue Time Magazine for making a uniformed audience "aware" of an online service that allows people to download music? If you think he and his lawyers should have that right, than can you explain to me how you managed to be absent from class every single day someone tried to teach you about The First Amendment and Freedom of Speech?

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

You would think that the people that call themselves hardcore fans would respect him the most. Oh, well.

Serious said:

It's not legal, either. Prince's lawyers can write their letters, but citing past cases and spitting out scary sounding legal jargon doesn't make a damn thing they say true. Prince's lawyers huffed and puffed and tried to blow Housequake down. Aaron was right regarding Freedom of Speech. Prince's legal team know that. They're basically playing the, "if you ignore this threatening letter, beware, for we'll send you another threatening letter again, in a week!" They have nothing better to do. It's not like we have a homeless problem, medical malpractice problems, a war in Iraq, a President appointed rather than elected, or any other serious problems in this world. Prince is priority number one.

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

Do you take us all for masochists? The more Prince disrespects and abuses us, the more we love him? It doesn't work that way.

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince
[Edited 9/29/04 8:23am]

sloopydrew4u said:

You're kidding yourself if you think folks are merely "discussing" bootlegs.
Look, I'm not telling you guys what to do. I'm simply pointing out the comical reasoning of some of the posts in this thread. People are mad at a guy over music that is not even theirs. As a fellow perfectionist and an artist, it's just easier and more convenient for me to see things from P's point of view.

sloopydrew4u said:

With all due respect, could you please explain how Prince is abusing and disrespecting us?

sloopydrew4u said:

How in the world are fans being disrespected and abused?
I think fans of P have received a lot of cool things this year, and it came a lot cheaper than it would have come from another artist.
Looks to me like boot traders and sellers have been making out pretty well by disrespecting P's wishes. They've been getting and getting and hardly giving anything.

Daddy was always going to come along and smack the little fams when they continued to play the trading tree game.

I'm amazed people think this is a shock. Housequake only really got off the ground in a big way as it became to place to link up for bootlegs.

Can he get to the hub? if so, That will be next.

I AM boycotting Prince now.

I won't pay money to him for any more Prince-related music or merchandise.

It's a tough decision to make, but he needs a lesson in how to treat fans who support him.

I could understand if he were going after someone making money off of his likeness...

but free trading and open discussion amongst hard-core fans? Asshole.

OdysseyMiles said:

You must be joking. Prince tries to make as much money from his fams as possible (at least since he is no longer with WB he does), he is charging ridiculous prices just because he knows that his fans are somehow addicted to his music . For him it is clearly about the money and about control and not about the music

Okay, now I get it. Prince fans are not rational.

Serious said:

So, it's Prince's fault that his fans would pay anything?

SynthiaRose said:

I made the decision about 2 years ago. It was a hard one and it took me quite some time to really do it, but it was long overdue .

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

Of course it's also the fault of the fams who are willing to pay these prices. But I think a true artist should care about his art first and being paid should come second

OdysseyMiles said:

And if he's going about it the wrong way, and if he's unable to achieve his desired effect, or if through this process he eventually decides to ease up - well, those are all things that will become evident with time. But the guy has a right to bitch about things that piss him off (regardless of whether we agree) and if he has the money (which he does), he has the right to use that money to employ some legal muscle. HQ can always attempt to fight back. And for all those who support HQ and think Prince is a big, bad meanie...how much have you contributed to HQ to help with legal fees? I'm hearing the mouth but I'm not smelling the money.

Again, like I've said in other threads - I'm not saying that I'm "down" with Prince's POV and methods - but the guy's got every right to do what he's doing. Just a simple, boring, plain fact.

Anxiety said:

This is what's so comical to me.
1) So you boycott all things Prince. That's cool. That's your right.
2) You still frequent websites that discuss P and his music. Cool. Strange, but cool. That's your right.
3)Since you're not buying the music, you complain about the fact that he doesn't want you to trade bootlegs that have been passed around without his permission. Mmkay.
Why do I find this to be comical? Like I said, I see his point.
If it was my music, I'd probably take legal action too. What's mine is mine and I WILL NOT ALLOW PEOPLE TO DISREPECT ME!!! Serious, I'll see you in court, buddy!!!!!
Sorry, got a little carried away.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

Yes HQ didn't have to take it down they were advised to do so...and since they don't have the money to battle this legally, they did.

The "likeness thing" and the "fan calendar" thing that pissed me off...more so than the trading thing, though I think that was just icing on the cake. I also think that this incident yet again brings to light the fact that Prince does nothing to counter any of this in a positive way. I'm not saying he has to do anything. But if it were me, I'd be doing some hard thinking about trying to release this stuff myself. I don't say this selfishly, but more logically...He gets upset over the boot thing, yet the boot thing can't be stopped. Well as the line goes...if you can't beat em..join em. Servie it up Frankie!