In the Entertainment Weekly October 22, 2004 issue Who's Got the Power Issue... Prince gets a Spot right next 2 Usher in the Power music section ....

ETW- Prince Artist, Producer Age 46 He rewrote the rule book, getting an allowance for CDs given away at concerts to be counted as Billboards/SoundScan sales. Mind you, that power play bred so much resentment that the rule book was rewritten again, so no other artist can pull that stunt in the future. Still, Prince reaped the PR benefits of having a top 10 album for months-his first such reign in over a decade-on top of the year's most consistently sold-out ( and entertaining ) tours.

I don't understand (stand under) why the record industry has to keep harboring such petty jealous and resentment against him. Well, I do, because Prince has basically call the industry on the carpet and helped the world see what frauds they are, but still, it's ignorant. That's okay, though. Every time someone figures out a new way to break into a car, someone else figures out a way to stop the thief. It's all good.

fraud? am i the only fan who wishes prince hadn't forced multiple sales of the album on people who attended multiple concerts? one copy of the album was enough for me

don't get me wrong - i'm glad he did well this year but i think it's a bit sucky that he did so at the expense of his hard-core fans, because that's who really paid, who really pushed him up the charts.

XxAxX said:

actually I think this tour/album was more successful than other recent efforts due to the casual fans who showed up at the Musicology tour. I guarantee you those concerts weren't selling out to a bunch of people who owned NEWS and TRC.

XxAxX said:

What are you talking about? The whole tactic of including the price of the CD with the concert ticket did not hurt P's fans in any way. The price of the ticket was SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than the price other artist's charged for their concerts(like Madonna whose concert ticket price was around $300.00 and you didn't get a copy of her CD). At this point in Prince's career, he had to do something like this because you know as well as i do that his CD would not have sold well if it wasn't for this.

No Kidding!!! I've paid a lot more to see a lot less from other performers. I would like to see this trend continue... Forget selling albums ~ Give 'em away! Artists should earn their living everyday by going to work (playing a concert) like we (the fans) do. I hate the fact that some entertainers feel they should only work for a couple of weeks on a new album and be set financially for life. Granted, a few of them have true talent, but they should be "willing to do the work."

XxAxX said:

This "SALE" that was forced upon you was for the MORE THAN REASONABLE price of under $80 per seat...some seats went for MUCH less.
Don't look at it as a SALE, but that Prince GAVE YOU a CD for a reasonably priced seat...for a GREAT show! sheesh.

Universaluv said:

Right. Now ONA, that's a different story. I'm pretty sure that only Prince's hardcore to obsessed fans even knew that tour was on the road.

XxAxX said:

With all due respect: I think that we "the fans" play that role in his music-industry. So we show up at the gig...and help him up the charts and get a free CD while doing it. If he hadn't done that he wouldn't have "sold" that much,..because we'd be downloading it for free. Who are the cheap bastids here? And we attended his shows, because he is WORTH it... just like he is worth buying the CD... but like I said: we have the Internet now..and prince is already using that as a means to GIVE us as much free music as possible.

I'm in Marketing and I think it is one of the best Marketing techniques I ever seen. And now they rewrote the rule-book... That is just so friggin lame...because premiums are given with sales all the time. And wether they should include it in the charts or not...that is just a stoopid way of saying: We need to have your CD bring US the cash before WE will promote you as a worthy artist. No no no... he prooved himself of being a worthy artist a long time ago...and instead of driving down to the wreckastow down the block...we drove miles to c the man play. He PUT HIMSELF IN THE CHARTS... The music industry just didn't get a chance to take a big fat bite out of HIS WORK. In a very fair and innocent way he got HIS salary for HIS hard work.... Way to go lil'man! I applaud you!
[Edited 10/20/04 15:09pm]

There no point in bitching and moaning about it now. It was done and he got away with it. It was a brilliant marketing move and it paid off.

Who cares anyway?

whoa struck a nerve there, didn't i?

how DARE i post anything remotely critical of our hero, hey? you're right. i should be dipped in boiling oil and hung by my titties. apologies for daring to express my dissenting opinion .. ..

Im not complaining...

I wasn't cheated at all this year. I was the happiest I've been in years and what a better way to enjoy Prince than to get a free CD at a concert that I went to that I enjoyed immensely. Prince did the best thing he's done in years with that giveaway and I would give him a standing ovation for it. He deserves all the accolades he's received and will receive from this project.

XxAxX said:

Is it Ok if I hook up Ur Titties 2 that hangin device ?? that would B cool

XxAxX said:

Girl, of course you can express your opinion. That's the freedom we have in our Western Society. We all do... so as you state your opinion,..expect others to disagree. To disagree doesn't mean to fight. So let's just agree to disagree Eitherway...it really isn't important what WE think of it. As long as he feels good about himself and his actions and I am sure he does.
Have an incredible day!

bundling the album in with the concert ticket WAS a brilliant marketing ploy, it's the kind of tactic a lot of office supply companies use. the promotional give-away. order two boxes of paper and get a free toner cartridge thrown in.

it's kind of neat that prince was the first musician to bundle the album in with his concert ticket sales. he should be proud of himself for being creative enough to apply the buy-one-get-one-free tactic to his music. but the office supply companies don't pat themselves on the back for giving away toner cartridges. and the music industry didn't really pat prince on the back for doing the same with his album. in fact it closed the loophole and there was a lot of argument over whether his album 'sales' should be counted as such

it seems a little 'tricky' is all i'm saying. at the expense of people who weren't given the option to NOT buy yet another copy of the album every time they saw him play. ..

XxAxX said:

-----
Yes, you are the only fan worried about the forced purchase (lol)

XxAxX said:

-----
You did not even take the time to read the responsed. All of them were on point.

of course i read them dear. i just disagree is all.

but no matter. at the end of the day it's great prince had a good year.

XxAxX said:

That I'd like to see....

OdysseyMiles said:

too late! that was yesterday's entertainment

XxAxX said:

Prince didn't force the music industry to count the concert CD's to begin with. Billboard could have easily said no and established their policy up front. Instead they allowed the sales to be counted, caught hell about it, and then decided to revise their policy.

XxAxX said:

I totally agree. After the opening show simulcast, the paid downloaded tracks that would not burn without crashing my computer, the live shows, and the commercial release I still had to buy to get the liner notes, I ended up with a helluva lot more copies of Musicology than I needed.

It was a brilliant but sneaky tactic to build the price of a CD into concert tickets. I'm glad he got away with it because it certainly helped his career, and no other artist will ever be able to pull off what he did. I feel that attendees should have had the option not to purchase (come on people, it was NOT a giveaway) another CD along with a ticket if they already owned one, and get a discounted ticket price. They could have required you present your copy at the ticket booth to get the discount. But of course they didn't, because this would have cost some sales. Forcing your fans to buy an extra copy of your CD in order to attend your show is kind of shady. I am not outraged or anything but I can definitely understand why some people feel the fans got screwed by this arrangement.
[Edited 10/21/04 10:05am]

XxAxX said:

Well, keep in mind that this scheme was hatched at something of the last minute...at first, it was asserted fans would get promo copies of the cds when attending the shows, and indeed we did...the cd's had "promo" written on them.
When they cooked the Billboard idea to conicide with the street date (simply ignoring the weeks of concerts that had come before where the cd's were not counted as sales), they took the word "promo" off, but still kept the cardboard sleeve, and viola, they're now selling it to you. The cd's were never intended to be "included in the price", it was just a matter of wording to satisfy Billboard.

rtc616 said:

SEEMS THE MUSIC industry is throwing a TANTRUM becuz they made no profit on the idea that PRINCE manifested with creativity.

When ever the industry "rears" it's horns up to deny an artist their GOD GIVEN right to FREEDOM with their talent and CREATIVITY ... the industry tries to SHUT THEM down...

It will be very interesting to see those who have made decisions to STOP GOD's CHILDREN in their FULL capacity on this planet to TRULY GIVE what they came here to GIVE to the human race. Those that have suppressed THIS FREE GOD GIVEN TALENT in sharing to the world... will be held accountable on "judgement day" for HOLDING BACK GOD's KIDS in what GOD wanted THEM 2 do...

THAT WILL BE interesting, to say the least...
And I tell ya what... GOD is NOT SOMEBODY anyone should MESS with.

With Love Honor and Respect
SingMia

If some of you fans are hardcore enough that you want to see a number of different shows from the same tour then I really can't take your complaint that you've got too many copies of the Musicology album seriously. I bet some of
you have got more than 1 copies of his other albums too , on vinyl , CD , limited edition , japanese version etc etc , dont pretend you dont

XxAxX said:

No question it was pure gimmick…

I support Billboard for closing the loophole, because it does circumvent what they are trying to do.

As for concerns about getting ‘extra’ copies of the album…who cares? Be a little generous and give a copy away to a burgeoning fan, or just leave it somewhere to be discovered by another.

I’d be willing to bet the vast majority of the people attending the concert I was at, hadn’t bought Musicology, so this was a good deal ($) for them.

Remember they are not all fanATICS, like those of us that spend our time here. If Prince fertilizes the newbies and casual fans, they may grow into a much broader and supportive fan-base. And wouldn’t we all like that?

respectful said:

Okay, let's see...

Record label execs apparantly are going to Hell.
And you say "That Will Be interesting" as if to suggest that somehow in the future you will personally be able to witness their banishment into the lair of the super-mega-anti-great-Evil-One.
Okay that's cool..oh, wait, I meant totally insane...but here's the thing.
How do you know that"those who have supressed this free god given talent in sharing to the world" have not been sent on a mission by God to do that very thing, because God considers the author of such songs as "Head", "Sister" "Jack U off" and "Sexy Motherfucker" to be an immoral follower of Satan who has pushed graphic sexuality into the eyes and ears of children for two decades?
That certainly makes sense in an incredibly judgemental, holier-than-thou, I have a personal insight into how God thinks kind of way.

Makes me seem downright in fact

TheDeacon said:

yes, I am one of those "casual fans" and I am where I am today (on the Org) because I know Prince is a great live entertainer, and decided to see him in concert. The CD giveaway gave me the opportunity to check out his music instead of the hits of yesterday, that I was mainly interested in hearing again and so I didn't mind the cost of a concert ticket to hear them. I would not have paid $12.99 for Musicology. No way. I know this because the 2/3 singles that have come from that album, I hear them enough on the radio... I don't need my own copy. Musicology and CG are just ok to me. I don't stop my radio scanning when I hear them. I do like CMN and I imagine I would just buy the CD single. However I would have missed out Marrying kind, Dear Mr. Man, If I was the man in your life.
I think many "casual fans" have bought CD's of Prince in the past based on his reputation and then felt disappointed because this CD is one that Prince decided to experiment with his music and go in a totally different direction. I know it happened to me with ATWIAD and UTCM albums. I will not pay 12 - $15 for a CD that I only like one or 2 songs. (althought I just bought Grafitti Bridge and.... there is only one or 2 songs I like )

[b]Sup organ grinderz...hey yall know Prince has always been that Power Player...i.e New Power Generation, New Power Soul, so stop trippin' on everything the media says like(reassurance from the establishment-we use to be like that)..."see I knew it all the time"...ask yourself are u really down?...

...so.."we can spread the real soul, doin' it like a mission".....aaawwwhhhhh RAVE!

Kikiriki boooommmmm mandinga...