looking at this week's billboard album chart every award winner at the grammy's album sales skyrocketed in sales this week..it wouldnt suprise me if Musicology returns into the top 200...Ray Charles vaulted to #1 this week.Green Day is at #2 also Los Lonley Boys returned to the top 40...since Prince didnt show up at the Grammy's this week i expect Muaicology could return to the mid 100's on the chart..but it looks like by not showing up he cost himself an extra 20,000 in album sales..oh well like he needs it

You have a point there -- if Prince is as materialistic as many people here make him out to be, then why didn't he perform at the Grammy's, or at least make a showing? It would've sold more albums.


[Edited 2/22/05 17:00pm]

With no current single, and the fact that he wasn't there to recieve the awards, it won't happen for Musicology. Out of sight, out of mind.

I have been hearing the Musicology single, as well as Call My Name, a little more than expected over the past week. Also, I still think that this would have been the perfect time for another single release to R&B radio. No video, just the song.

Musicology is dead.

No big surprise from a lifeless album.

EvilWhiteMale said:

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The lifeless record that went on to sell an additional 1 million copies outside of the concert give-away.

Face it some likes this CD. Not you but, other people on this earth.

Hi evil white male....

It's an awesome album, would you haters just shut up!!!!!

You know the numbers are inflated through soundscan manipulation,right?
Someone broke that down to you right that positions are bought n sold?
Nevermind...

Keep telling yourself Prince sells those numbers of album with no single anywhere in the country.


its not returning and I will tell you why. Prince got that grammy cuz he played Purple Rain live in the round. Thats it. You play Purple Rain live in the round and you get grammies. NARAS doesnt give a shit about Prince's work otherthan Purple Rain and anything associated generating lots of money "Ala the new Purple Rain and other hits tour"






Musicology is just a plastic flyer for that tour.

Master showman, great bandleader...


The only reason it will return if Sony buys that chart position.

laurarichardson said:

The stores sold copies because of the hype created by the touring and TV shows where he played the hits. If not for that, Musicology would have probably sold as much as TRC.

hilton02895 said:

Hi hilton

EvilWhiteMale said:

If those ppl just wanted the hits, you would've seen The Very Best Of selling more than Musicology.

People saw that Prince had a new album out and decided to buy it. Case closed.

EvilWhiteMale said:

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Yes, it is called marketing not hype.(LoL). Your learn that in Business 101.

PurpleKnight said:

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Co-Sign.

PurpleKnight said:

Yeah, because their interest in Prince was sparked again. But had he not played any hits last year, Musicology would have sold much less. People weren't blown away by the album itself.

laurarichardson said:

The two can go hand in hand. That's common sense 101.

EvilWhiteMale said:

It seems like you're really reaching for any way to downplay Prince's accomplishments.

Yes, Prince playing some of his old hits in public sparked interest in him, but that's just marketing. He had to do something to repair his tarnished image and show ppl he's not this crazy fool, and that opened the door for him.

Still, if the songs he released off Musicology had been crap like The Arms of Orion or Hot Wit U, there's no way it would've sold as well as it did.

He had the marketing there, and then the ppl thought what they were hearing sounded like solid Prince.

Prince himself said something like "The album's just meant 2 accompany the concert xperience", so it's not like he intended for Musicology to be some masterpiece.

Seems like he just wanted to create an album that showed ppl he can still record a solid pop album, and it worked.

The album's been well received, so enough with the silly assumptions of how the entire world feels about it.

PurpleKnight said:

Great, now YOU'RE gonna give me a hard time?

Look, all I'm saying is that by itself, Musicology wouldn't have sold as much as it did.

EvilWhiteMale said:

So youre saying without merketing and promotion it wouldn't have sold as well
guess youve got a point there

noonblueapples said:

I'm saying that without the hits, Musicology would have been dead in the water. If he had played nothing but Musicology tracks on TV appearances and the tour, the album sales would have been much lower. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it because it makes sense.

EvilWhiteMale said:

I'm not gonna give you a hard time, I'm just debating with ya.

I maintain that if ppl just cared about the hits, they would've just bought The Very Best Of in 2004.

I think some ppl didn't expect Prince to ever release a decent pop album ever again, so when they saw that he was promoting a new one that didn't have any jazz or instrumental bullshit going on, they jumped at the chance.

Overall, ppl seem to have really liked it, so I don't get your assumption that the entire population of ppl who bought it probably can't stand it now.

Sure, it won't get played like a Purple Rain or a 1999, but it wasn't even meant to be a classic anyway.

It was supposed to solidify Prince's comeback and show ppl that yes, that crazy ol' Prince can still make a normal, generally enjoyable pop album. In that respect, it succeeded.
[Edited 2/23/05 13:51pm]

PurpleKnight said:

Yeah, but a lot of people are trying to make it seem as if Musicology did so well on it's own without any help from the hits he had played last year. He knew how to play the game and that's why he played hits on TV and all over the tour. It's cuz he knew Musicology wouldn't hit the masses like his albums used to. Outside of people here, I don't know one person who's talking about Musicology, and I know a lot of people who like Prince.

EvilWhiteMale said:

Well, you've definitely a got a point there. He didn't play much Musicology songs on the tour, and the focus of his comeback was definitely the greatest hits tour itself.

Still, just the fact that his main focus was the tour and then just giving ppl a decent album to go with it keeps Musicology from really being a failure.

If he'd done publicity saying it's one of his best albums ever or something (like with Emancipation), then I'd call it a total failure.

PurpleKnight said:

I agree. I'm just recognizing the situation for what it is. I'm breaking down why I think Musicology sold as many copies as it did. I'll give a new Prince album more credit when it sells on its own.

EvilWhiteMale said:

Yeah, but I still think a lot of ppl bought Musicology for the simple fact that it was the first real pop album he'd done in years, and the first one he'd bothered to promote properly as "Prince" in ages.

I think the whole Hits hype contributed to it, but I think the fact that they thought he hadn't done anything in years also helped quite a lot. The curiosity factor and all.

Now that that's gone, I fear for his next album if he relies on its merits and his creativity is at the same level.

PurpleKnight said:

I believe a lot of people bought Musicology out of curiosity, because it was his most commercial project in years. It was a great year of marketing, I'll give him that much. It'll be interesting to see what he does with the next album. I have a feeling it's gonna be a much quieter year as he said he won't do the hits (again), there's no RRHOF, and there's no 20th Anniversary for Purple Rain anymore.

Trickology said:

i dont know why i bother answering people like you but how about all the downloaded musicology albums Prince sold on his website that WERENT COUNTED??
how about the number of cd's that WERENT COUNTED before soundscan decided to count them? the fucking cd is still selling at amazon where last week it moved back into the mid 100's on the chart while other cd's that were released during that same time have fallin to the 1,000's in sales...fuck some of these people are not only negative they fucking lie like a bitch too

Yep! I have to completely agree with that comment by Mazerati. Also, can someone please tell me when a major pop or commercial album wasn’t accompanied by publicity of some sort? Damn near every artist does this, Nora Jones, Kanye West, U2, ...EVERYBODY! Not everyone knows Prince’s every movement the way that some of you do. Some of us occasionally need to be made aware of when an album is being released. It’s called smart business.

In regards to the Musicology criticisms, please note the following (old news):
I) A double-platinum album in the US, with nearly platinum retail sales.
II) 3 million copies sold worldwide.
III) Appeared on the Top 10 album chart in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Argentina, etc.
IV) Heavily downloaded new material.
V) A song that stayed on the Billboard 100 for 18 weeks, which is important since longevity on the charts also defines a hit song!

Yes, much of the reason for this is because of publicity. So what! An artist is supposed to support his or her new material when they want to get it out to the masses. It’s cool if some of you don’t like the album. You’re entitled to your opinion. However, when you criticize the reasons that ANY ALBUM sold well, then you are full of shit!

The simple fact is that many of you don’t like R&B, which is why there is so much bitching going on around here regarding Musicology. Get this through your head: No R&B = No Prince. He started there, and that’s where he gets most of his love. Deal with it.

EvilWhiteMale said:

Boring...give it a break. Just admit that whatever the hell happened it worked and was a success. Any established artist should perform their hits on stage. It would be pretty dumb if they didn't. This was his baby and no matter what way you look at it he sold 3Million records. His shows sold out from state to state. Major success for Prince with a pretty solid album. Speak for yourself when you say no one is listening to the album. I "know" people who like P and don't come any where near this board and still listen to the record. Your spiel is old and bitter. Pick up a book and channel your frustrations into something positive. If you don't like him or the album, why bother fighting it. It becomes very hard debating a musical ICON after a while. I gave that up ages ago.
m
[Edited 2/23/05 22:03pm]

audience1 said:

Okay...Could you guys sit down, catch your breath and listen to what evil white male is trying to say....We all know that a huge part of the music industry is about great marketing.....But let's not kid ourselves...Prince sold those Musicology records because of a brilliant greatest hits tour, which is different than artists getting help from hype and SoundScan padding....It was a lukewarm album that had its moments...Here's what was great about the entire Musicoligy package: It reminded the public (who pretty much forgot about Prince) that our boy deserved to be named with the all-time greats and that he's beyond an "'80s artist"....No one is saying Prince doesn't deserve his props...(We know how great he is) What the level-headed members of this site are trying to say is that Musicology did not sell on its own merits...And that's cool...What 46 year old artist is still out there being competitive in R&B, pop and beyond and is still alive? None...Hey it was a decent album with a few standout songs..

I Don't expect Prince to make another Dirty Mind, 1999, Purple Rain or Sign Or The Times...Just like I don't expect the Stones to make another Let It Bleed or Nas to make another Illmatic...Hey guys....here's what you should do: Understand that Prince is one of the immortals and get into some new music...Stop waiting for Purple Rain...Enjoy life and Prince's musical legacy...Stop being so defensive and understand that some people on this site are able to be honset with themselves and still be Prince fans (Yes...I said fans, not fams)...Cool?
[Edited 2/23/05 23:20pm]