How many of you think the NPGMC will be able to survive year 3? year 4?..

I regret rejoining this year (I only did it on a whim to see the rehersal), and am definitely not joining next year. But seeing some of the remarks on this board, I'm curious what the rest of u are planning on doing.

I guess some of us have to draw the line somewhere.

I feel sorry for the out of town folks headed to the Celebration unaware of what just happened with the Orpheum show...

Not 2 kick a man when he's down.But that's y i didn't join this year.I could c this comin.He will still have sheep waitin 4 year 3.The only question will b CAN HIS EGO STAND IT!I would guess that club membership is down from last year and will continue 2 do the same next year.Although the money is good Prince has got 2 feel bad knowing he is losing fans a LITTLE EACH YEAR.

The club will b around 4 along time 2 come, believe me!

eye think it will turn in2 a kindof Transition for him.. it will be interesting to c how this year ends in the club, and how the next begins...

The club seems fine to me. So far so good. I'll keep joining until its over.
Peace and Love!

I know this will probably just spark the whole "sheep" debate again but for me the club has been great this year. I've been able to see four shows on this tour because I knew about them before the general public unlike the Hit N Run tour where I'd hear about the show and they'd be sold out instantly. I miss the downloads from the last year but the soundchecks and afterparties have more than made up for that. From my understanding all of the Celebrations have been a little chaotic so I was surprised by the lack of drama till today. I'm with Vgallo, I'll probably be around till it folds.

'Big deal, he moved the concert back to PP.
I'm glad I joined because the soundchecks and front row seats to the concerts e-mails, etc are well worth the hundred dollars.
I think Prince will keep it going, unless he gets tired of the complaining fans.
Aren't some of you fans that are going to the celebration and staying in Chanhassen glad you don't have to drive to the theatre in Minneapolis? Iam.

Tom said:

Well I really think NPGMC slipped up with the 2002 club. Remember in 2001 how every month there was excitement and anticipation for the new music and the "ahdio" shows? Now there is none of that, and it took 5 months to get a CD out the door. Remember how frequently we used to check the NPGMC website? It used to be one of my "hot-links" along with Prince as my regularly visited sites. Now I can't remember when I last visited the site.

Additionally, NPGMC have had plenty of time to make it a real club - that is, before Prince.org got a the big revamp, there was a niche for the NPGMC website to become a real fan community website with forums etc. NPGMC have done very little encourage, maintain or sustain it's membership.

I'm glad I didn't join in 2002. Living in Europe, I wouldn't have gotten any value from the membership fee in terms of concert seating etc, and I really couldn't be bothered with the 5 new songs on "One Night Alone". Perhaps after the second and third CDs have come out I will consider parting with the cash but not before.

Just to say though - I was totally in favour of NPGMC moving over to CDs instead of painful long downloads for those people that have crap internet connectivity. Where they slipped up though was not giving enough information about what you were getting, how much of it you were getting, and exactly when you were getting it. Joining the 2002 NPGMC required a leap of faith on the part of the Prince fan community and there are plenty of people who, having made that leap before and unexpectedly plummeted to a messy and untimely demise, would never do so again.

It'd be better if they just ditched the club entirely in 2003 and sold the new CDs as they are released on the retail site to anyone who has the cash to buy them. The aftershows / soundchecks etc could still work, for users who are registered members of the NPGMC site, but with free membership or a very small fanclub membership fee (e.g. $5).

The thing about the NPGMC $100 membership - it basically insurance so that if Prince goes and puts together a short CD it guarantees that X number of people have already paid for the album - thus there is no financial risk for the project. I can see why Prince would like that way of doing business - he can record whatever shit he likes, without taking any financial risks whatsoever! However you can see why it is bad for consumers though. It'd be a lot better if the consumers know what they are paying for, when they pay for it.

I think we can only judge it at the end of the year.
If the next 3 albums kick ass, all those negative ninnies will be singing another tune (and buying the albums for $100 a piece) ! But we'll have to wait and see...

It really is a case of different strokes for different folks.

I did not join in 2001 because it seemed a lot of money to me at the time. There were also teething problems with the payment methods, for those of us in Europe, in the first couple of months (didn't you have to have some kind of internet credit account, can't remember what it was called). I do not have broadband internet access so I was also put off by the amount of time I would have spent connected to download the new music. We do not get free local calls here in the UK.

For 2002, I thought "Sod it!". I am better off financially this year. I was frustrated at all the new music I had read about throughout 2001. I was desperate for some new Prince music. I liked the idea of at least 4 CDs (although that seems to have been changed now to 4 CDs only - I am still hoping some may be double or even triple CDs). So far I have a brand new One Nite Alone CD which I love. I have downloaded Silicon which I love. Eagerly awaiting the next CD. If Prince tours in the UK and I am able to access the soundcheck and the first few rows that will be a bonus.

I am not planning to join next year, neither am I planning to not join (is that a double negative?). I will wait and see what the NPGMC outline for the 2003 membership and decide then. Who knows, I may have broadband by then and they may go back to monthly downloads, they might increase CD mailings to 8 CDs of vault material, or they might decide to stop the club altogether. Who knows.

My advice is don't plan that far ahead, you will set yourself up for disappointment.

Peace

james said:

Well the good thing is, if the albums are good, I'll buy all 4 albums at the end of the year (NPGMC are still accepting 2002 memberships) and at least I will have the benefit of hindsight - I will know what I am buying, unlike you guys who handed out your $100 at the start of the year.

ian said:

Ian, do you remember how the first year of the NPGMC was advertised? I agree with you that 2002 members did not know exactly what we were paying for but was the first year any different.

Do you mean purely because you could pay monthly? Surely the NPGMC did not list what downloads were going to be available for premium members did they?

I merely read all of your reports on the org about each new song (Vavoom, Supercute, etc) and cursed you all for having access to all this new stuff I still haven't heard any of these songs to this day!
[This message was edited Thu Jun 20 3:58:06 PDT 2002 by KeithyT]

So far, I am not glad that I joined the club again and will not be joining again next year. If something miraculous happens, I might join again... the remaining discs of this year's subscription would have to be really good though. At this point, I don't think that Prince is going to bring me back... he is probably going to try to continue milking the "fams" out of all their money, but I don't believe I am going to wear the sticker on my forehead that says "sucker" next year.


On a related noted, the subscription I have to cEvin Key's Skinny Puppy/Download CD experiment is going GREAT! cEvin Key is actually sending out seven CDs this year and they have all been on time thus far and have been excellent.

http://www.subconsciousst...things.htm

Maybe Prince should call cEvin Key to see how the big boys do it.

By the way, Skinny Puppy has reformed and will be releasing a new CD next year and they will be TOURING again!!!

KeithyT said:

Well at least in 2001, we all knew WHEN the new music would be delivered (every month) and WHAT to expect - that is, some videos, some new songs, and an ahdio show. It still wasn't ideal because we were effectively paying for music we knew nothing about - that was the "leap of faith" I referred to earler.

Having been stung by that experience, I would totally understand anyone's reluctance to join the club in 2002 without knowing EXACTLY what is on the table.

CDs are getting more and more expensive, as are DVDs, video games etc. It is rare nowadays that I buy something completely randomly - I will usually try to hear some of it before I buy. The problem with NPGMC in 2002 is - you don't know what you are getting, and you don't know when you are getting it. The cards are stacked 100% in Prince's favour in this regard: he can release whatever he wants, whenever he wants to, safe in the knowledge that he has ALREADY sold enough copies of the album to at least cover costs. What other business ventures would allow completely risk-free ventures like this?

We're suckers for permitting it. A better deal would be - Prince makes his music, and if we like it, we buy it. Easy eh?

By the end of 2002, there should be 4 CDs available from NPGMC. I'll have the benefit of the wisdom of all you "early adopters" who took the risk of handing over your cash early in the year. If at the end of the year I think the albums are worth buying, I'll hand over the $100. Not before. Now isn't that a better approach?

Im going to wait until I hear the other 3 CD's the flame him then

ian said:

Totally. I wasn't trying to suggest "early adoption" was the best policy. I do know that since I began "getting into"
Prince I have enjoyed 99% of his output. To me joining the NPGMC was not a question of risk. I was sure I would like the first CD. Admittedly if he released 4 one-track CD singles I would have been pretty annoyed

I am interested to read you felt stung by the first year's membership too. How come?

Christ, it's only $100--many of us spend more than that for just a weekend's entertainment. People act as if it's a HUGE amount of money or something... I'm hardly rolling in the dough, I'm just a social worker, but even I can afford it. I'll continue to take my chances!

AnotherLoverHoleinYoHead said:

It doesn't matter where it is $100 or $1000 the principle is the same.

AnotherLoverHoleinYoHead said:

Well, if it's "only" $100, can you send ME a check?

Am I the only one having this problem - Prince.org seems slightly too wide for my web browser. I have to scroll across the screen to read posts. Even though my browser is maximised to full screen, and I am running in 1024 x 768, and my font size isn't that big. Weird... something has changed recently I think.

ian said:

I'm having that same problem, and I think it just started recently... hmmm...

I'm having the same prob. Can't read the posts without scrolling 'cause they are too wide for my screen.

Unforunately, the Club has been operating on a trial and error basis for the first two years, and has had it's ups and downs.
I think the club will hopefully continue to improve and make itself valuable. I feel that I did get my money's worth for both years.
I think the celebration thing may have run it's course after this year. If all the so-called logistical issues ruin much of the celebration this year, along with all the people who couldn't get passes, it could leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth, including Prince's.

Why even have a club in the first place...set up a mailing and emailing system on npgmc.

Whenever Prince makes a new album, print 10,000 copies, and put it up for sale via the website--just like in the retail section.

People can either buy it or not. Add reviews as fans write in just like movie reviews.

Then release it via music stores(like TRC and Crystal Ball) using Redline distribution about a month or 2 later.
He keeps the masters, no one waits for a new CD, no one gets screwed.
Advertise on your website--or just set up an emailing list to notify npg fans-- when tickets go on sale for the concerts. Or even better, give them a code--via email that gives them a 2 hour presale option thru ticketmaster. One code per mailing list person.
I like the club idea, but from how people are reacting, it sounds very frustrating.

nightwing said:

Totally agree.

Hmmm... (tap, tap of pencil on pad) How do I put this to not offend.

1. I loved the "new" music downloads every month.

2. I did not like the "live" tracks and, with the exception of Audio Show 8, I thought the Audio Shows were a waste of hard drive.
3. I still haven't figured out why there is no chatroom or at least a discussion board.

4. I prefer the cd's to the downloads because of the collecting potential. (Not to be confused with selling on Ebay)

5. I did expect more content that did not reenforce his views (ahem, ego). How many of you wrote a review, per the email request from NPGMC, about the One Nite Alone cd that didn't bubble with "genuis"? Have you found it on the website yet? I've noticed there isn't a lick criticism unless it is about other people outside of the Prince network.

6. For those of you are benefiting from the concert connections, great. Yet there are those of us who have been glossed over. For the New England are, he went to New York. What about those of us in CT, NH, VT, ME, MA, DE, and RI qho can afford the drive and the concert tickets but not the hotel room, the babysitters, the sudden disappearing act from work in such an unstable economy?

7. And then the ONA cd. Like I said in my critique, perhaps, 5 years from now, I'll rediscover it.

8. What happened to the second Crystal Ball, Madrid to Chicago, as well as the real bootlegs?

Perhaps, I'm not as freaked about him as I used to be. Perhaps if he didn't ask what WE want only to do what HE wants, I would be willing to ride the wave. Perhaps...he'll see me in 2003, only because I dig the music...sometimes

ian said:

The 2002 NPGMC started in mid-February. The first CD was delivered 3 months later. With a minimum of 4 CD's coming that makes 1 every 3 months. Right on schedule as far as I'm concerned. I did like the excitement of the downloads every month and wish that they had kept that format but things change. I'm sure that a lot happens behind the scenes that we don't know about and the new format may have seemed like a great idea. It still may be.

As for knowing what we were going to get in 2002...I knew from day 1 that we were getting CD's instead of downloads. They told us so.

Everyone was so accustomed to the monthly downloads that this new approach was doomed from the start. If 2001 had been CD's and 2002 was downloads I bet everyone would be happy.

There are 8 months left in the current 2002 NPGMC year. My predictions are:

-We will be quite surprised at some of the CD's we'll be receiving. In a good way.

-We will get more than 4 CD's. And maybe some non-CD items. I'm thinking a video of an afterparty perhaps.

-At the end of NPGMC Year 2 we will have just as many songs sent to us as we did in Year 1 (not including the ahdio shows which I thought were great. to bad they couldn't have continued those.)

-Prince will personally show up at each of our houses to deliver the 3rd CD to each one of us along with a copy of The Watchtower.


Enough of this nonsense. My main point is that it's okay to be disappointed with the NPGMC but make sure that you get the facts straight as to why you're upset. And don't compare it to the past incarnation of the club, just make your decision to rejoin for Year 3 after you see how Year 2 ends up. There's no reason to get all worked up over something that hasn't even happened yet. If we get screwed by the club I will be the first to blast them in February of 2003. Until then...

ian said:

I totally agree. I think the first year was fantastic value for money, I think we were spoilt, this time last year I would have about 6 CDs worth of music to play, this year I have a single short-lengthed CD half of which I heard last year. Perhaps they realised they couldn't keep up that level. $100 for 4 rare-ish CDs isn't so bad, only trouble is we've payed up front and we've no idea when they're going to arrive. A new injection of Prince music every month last year was great, compared to the one album a year before that, so 4 CDs in a year is great compared to that, not so good compared to last year. Legitimately they could send the remaining 3 out the last day of the year! but that would be kind of unfair

If Prince came to the UK and I got into see a rehearsal, I would definately consider that money well spent. Until then, well, I preferred the NPGMC last year, it seemed more organised and generous. I've got a lowly 56k modem, and it was a pain downloading the audio shows, but not impossible...

herbthe4 said:

I certainly would if you had anything on offer that appealed to me, the way Prince does...