The Decemeber issue of Business 2.0 magazine (www.business2.com)features an interview with Prince, discussing how to take control of your intellectual property. The magazine is on newsstands now. Here's an excerpt of from the interview:

Does your NPGMusicClub.com site scare the labels?


We didn't create r Music Club 2 make other labels nervous. It was created out of necessity. We make a lot of music and needed a worldwide distribution service that works as fast as we do. Labels take a lot longer 2 "set-up" records (Never quite understood y).


U can get music from r club in the time it takes 2 open an emale. 4 once, eye have a distribution service that actually works FASTER than eye do. It's heaven 4 a musician who writes as much as eye do.

kurtypie said:

He's heaven But some argue his business moves are from hell.

assist

http://homepage.mac.com/e...ce4web.pdf

Universaluv said:

nice, thanks. LOVE that picture!

hmmmm....?
HOUSEQUAKE...!!!

Anxiety said:

Yes...that pic is nice!

kurtypie said:

- It´s funny. I am not a member...but as far as I know, Prince is not putting out so much music at the club. Only one outtake of Musicology (Glass Cutter) and a few jams from the ONA tour as far as I know.
I have reasons to believe he released much more music in 87...please correct me if I am wrong...

magnificent
united states of division
silver tongue
question of u/the one
san jose jam
glass cutter

..and if you wanna get all technical, "the dance" from TCI download LP was previously unreleased (not to mention i LOVE that song)...

that's a decent little ep right there, no?

Anxiety said:

The Dance is my favorite download from npgmc ever. Im incredibly thankful for the site. Especially for the concert tickets. Just because he doesnt release music at a faster pace does not diminish the value of the npgmc website.

and again, ya gotta look at what prince releases in contrast to what other artists give their fans. for example, try being a kate bush or a sade fan. GOOD LUCK! even as sharp as bowie's fan site is, you'd be hard-pressed to find much site-exclusive music for fans to download. i think he had one mash-up remix that you can get on itunes or something like that...honestly, i think NPGMC has become pretty competitive this year. we'll see if they can keep it up.

Anxiety said:

Not to mention all the music he's released in the last four years and that was first available at his club, some of it Internet only. What other major artist has released more music than Prince in the last 4 years? If anything, Prince could be accused of releasing music too quickly. In the old days, he'd have to sit on songs much longer, and with time he would have an idea of the song's worth. Now he can release anything anytime, and that means he does not have to stay enthusiastic about a song for too long. He is certainly more likely to release minor material. Lately, he's been releasing relatively less music, and maybe that means he's more picky and/or he's been busy with Musicology (promotion and tour).

yeah yeah the site is cool but why does one still get a when he waxs on about business?

sosgemini said:

cuz he writes in rebus-ese and pretends to be willy wonka?

Anxiety said:

He did have the same cane, hat, and hair. Now he has the suits to go with it. He also wrote and performed the song Chocolate.

Anxiety said:

Nail head: "Aaaaahh, nooooo!"
Anxiety's hammer: :direct hit:
Nail head: "Oh why oh why oh WHY does this shit always happen to me?!"

i like the part of the interview where he precedes to go in the "i'm funny" direction

How do you go about finding the good people on the business side-- lawyers, managers, accountants?


Prince: U don't! (A good manager? Did u really ask that?...laughs even harder/ had 2 get tissue)


i nearly lost it

i just wish the dude would get over his bitterness for the music industry - not just the labels, but the weaselry in general - and use that energy for creating a template that he thinks is better. to a certain extent, that's what he's doing - and he's in the perfect position to create some substantial change if he chooses - but i just get so sick of him throwing attitude about the biz after all these years...okay, we get it. now what have ya got that's better?

Universaluv said:

Can't get that link to work!

Prince and the NPG Music Club are part of the same publicity stunt. He hasn't released music with the pace he swore to do 10 years ago. Shameful him since he got the money, the tools and the outlet for it. Instead he's kept cheating and stealing money out of his most devoted fans. Where is the avalanche of music for the last few years since the club started up? Not certainly works as his music outlet as he's supposed to create music. Liar, liar... where are you?

I just d/led Adobe, now it works perfectly.

kurtypie said:

Like I always said: Prince is, has & always WILL B AHEAD of his time. Plus, the fact he now has the FREEDOM 2 "put out" all the music he wants 2 is awesome. THIS is HEAVEN 4 me as well. MUSIC THERAPY 24/7 ....y'all.

ivdf said:

Prince released more music than any major artist in the last four years, to the point that quality has suffered. If it's quantity you want, he can do that -- but shouldn't.

Aerogram said:

Yeah, I'll go with that. I used to believe that we were being cheated, too. I used to believe that it would be awesome if Prince were able to put out a new songs as soon as they were done. But, now I think that he should be able to keep the pace he keeps. He's doing fine really. Sure, I haven't got to actually hear much of what he's done over the past 4 years, but what he has released to stores has been satisfying for me. Like someone else said, imagine being the fan of a different artist other than Prince. Imagine being a Janet Jackson fan and getting that one album, and just that one album, every four years. Or a Fiona Apple fan, having not heard anything from her since 1999. I think we're better off being Prince fans because even if he doesn't release new stuff every 6 months, we still get releases more often than any other artist AND it's almost always good stuff.

GustavoRibas said:

You know, I agree. These songs he's releasing are like tokens. I don't think of them as real music that will define his legacy.

I'd prefer he, as Aerogram said, focus on quality and release some fully defined, well crafted albums. Considering how in the 80s his undergound music would produce whole albums in a few months, I feel cheated to have only gotten Musicology this year. When's the next album, Prince?

he must've skipped the bit about "lawyers".

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

that or else londell is gonna be raising his fees soon.

Anxiety said:

Did Business2.0 magazine actually transcribe his answers with Princebonics?

CinisterCee said:

it's an email interview.

Universaluv said:

Thanks 4 the assist Universaluv, lemme help y'all a bit more: