Dear Prince,

This year you opened your house to your fans and fams once again and provided us with a week of great music, fun, and learning. Your hospitality was gracious, inspirational, and, above all, generous. Thank you Prince.

I am not, however, writing this to belabor my gratitude; I am writing this to share an experience and return something to you that should never have come into my possession.

A few months before the celebration there was a buzz around the Prince fan community regarding the 20-CD set of studio outtakes entitled ‘The Work (Volumes I-V).’ It was touted as the most comprehensive collection of its kind and a “must have” for the “serious fan.” Waiting in line for the One Night Alone show in Seattle, I again heard rave reviews for this set – it wasn’t so much that it was anything new (at least to those with bootleg collections) but that it was so complete and of such high quality.

About a week before the 3rd annual Celebration I discovered the first 2 discs of ‘The Work’ on the ‘net as streaming Real Audio. After hearing them I decided to search the set down. Listening to those RA files was a revelation; I realized that there was an entire alternative career available from the man who was already, with the official releases alone, one of the most prolific and compelling artists in history. 20 hour-long CDs of Prince music I had never heard? How could I pass that up? A couple of days before the Celebration I tracked down a source for this collection (with a price tag of $300.00) and left for Minneapolis with the intention of purchasing the set upon my return to Seattle.

I have been an avid fan since I first heard ‘When Doves Cry’ when I was 18. Like many fans, I have every album and several extended singles, but with only one exception I have never purchased a bootleg. I had always respected the fact that had you wanted me to hear this music, you would have released it yourself. As I set off to this year’s Celebration, my long held resolve had been shaken; the temptation to own and experience all of that amazing music had proven too great. But during the course of the week my feelings changed. I am no longer tempted and in fact I feel compelled to, in at least a small way, rectify an injustice as best I can.

The ticket price for the Celebration is truly nominal—the quality and abundance of music is easily worth 5 times the price. Apart from the music, you have always provided entertaining activities and a welcoming and friendly atmosphere. Last year you even opened the greater part of Paisley Park for the attending fans simply to hang out in and enjoy. It was this atmosphere of openness, generosity, and family hospitality that brought me back to my senses.

Many fans will say I am a fool and that I don’t know what I am missing – but it is really a simple choice. Would I support someone who came into my house, invited or not, and made copies of my journal or diary and sold it on the Internet? Would I support someone who came into my office and took pictures of paintings or drawings I had done, printed them up as posters, and sold them or even gave them away? Would I support someone that recorded a talk, a poetry reading, or a song I performed and distributed it without my permission for their profit? The answer is simple: no.

Needless to say, I won’t be purchasing ‘The Work (Volumes I-V).’ The one bootleg that I “own” is a “fan compilation” of ‘Madhouse 24’ that I found on E-Bay. Although it contains some very cool music, I apologize for ever making the choice that brought it into my possession; I have enclosed my one and only copy with this letter; I feel that I should return it to its rightful owner. I realize that this is a symbolic gesture at best – but it is important to me. I want you to know that I am listening, that I respect your art, and your privacy.

Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with me. You are a constant source of inspiration and you have truly made a difference in my life.


Live 4 Love,

Carl Bystrom
PCNBWLD

06/29/02

[I mailed this letter with the CD enclosed to Paisley Park this morning. I am not posting this here to "preach" or chastise those who have made different choices; but simply to share my thoughts and feelings, and my decision, regarding a difficult subject that concerns most of us here. Thanks.]

That's pretty deep, dude. You're opening up a pretty controversial topic around here. Hope you're ready.

I also hope your letter makes it into P's hands; so he can read it in his big white mansion & realize there ARE good little children in the world still who give a shit. I don't believe that it makes that much difference materially but the gesture is unique.

Oh, but I must say, I'm not suprised you're from Seattle...land of political correctness! I live here too.

Thanks for sharing that with us, I think what you did was pretty cool and I'm sure prince would be happy to know that he has fans like you out there.

Carl,

Very inspiring. I think that the action you took is deeper than some people will ever get. I hope P. isn't sending his love through lawyers .

E.

I'm also sending my bootleg collection to Paisley. Can anyone help me pay the shipping costs for my 220+ discs?

Joey,

I almost would if I thought you were at all serious. Of course, if you can afford to pay the inflated prices on all those boots then postage really shouldn't be a problem for you, now should it?

"In ur life did u just give a little
Or did u give all that u had?
Were u just somewhere in the middle
Not 2 good, not 2 bad?"

Peace.

interresting...

I'll send my open little to him inside the EMPTY CD case that he handed out at a previous celebration where HE REFUSED TO PLAY NOT EVEN ONE NOTE OF MUSIC FOR US AT PAISLEY.

Thanks for NOTHING, jerk


Prince

bless u, Carl. that's what it's all about now!

What the hell are you sniveling and thanking him for? He raked in $250,000 for doing his job. He didn't do you any special favors.

You paid him and now you're crying and thanking the MF for FINALLY doing what he's paid to do. Unlike in previous years when he was paid and did JACK SHIT at the celebration accept sit on his ass and pose at the soundboard.


Prince

For all the ppl who feel guilty cuase they have a prince bootleg. Send 2 dollars to paisley parc for every prince bootleg u have. Or even better...Give the money to a good cause.

Swinger said:

Previous years I paid $70 ($10 a day) to listen to unreleased tracks, see great live music, tour and hang out at Paisley, not to mention party till all hours with a great group of people from all over the world that I wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.

This year I paid $250 for 14 live shows of unparalled quality and inimacy. That's ~$18 per show ($36 per night). This doesn't include the listening sessions workshops and activities.

No other artist in histroy has offered this kind of opportunity. I thank Prince for doing far and beyond "his job."

It never ceases to amaze me how some people always find something to complain about. Positivity y'all.

Peace.

pcnbwld said:

"Positivity?" My experiences with Prince going back a long way have been far from positive.

He did NOT do anything "far and beyond" his job. He performed because he was paid $250,000 to do so. If he had pulled the same crap as he had in other years, the celebrations would be over. Nobody would come back and spend all that money on accomodations, transportation and travel expenses just to dance in 100-degree heat and walk through a "museum" with postcards taped to the walls.

You invite people from all over the world to your place and then sit on your ass entertaining yourself by watching the crowd?


Prince

joeycoco said:

Send them to me Joey and I'll pass them on.

Janeau said:

I thought about that too. "What if sent him $300 too? Would that make it alright?"

But I am a musician, artist, and writer and all I had to do was imagine if someone came in and copied one of my notebooks, or CDs, or snapped a shot of some of my artwork and distributed it - even for free. Making art is like making solid a peice of your soul - it is an expression of your mind, heart, and life - when someone steals that from you it is a true violation.

Now I am a nobody, and maybe nobody would be interested in what I create, but just because Prince is a great talent and a superstar doesn't mean I have the right rob him or listen to his work without his permission.

Send him 2 bucks, thats fine. If I were Prince I would say: "Keep your money; I want my life back."

Anyway, I've had my say on this topic and I did what I felt was right.

Peace.

By the way, I am getting orgnotes from folks who understand where I'm coming from.

One person who said they paid $1,800 to be at the first celebration and was very disappointed and said the experience wasn't worth the money. Those of you who went this year and got your money's worth, good for you.

I'm just making it clear that Prince is not some spiritual saintly being who does things out of the goodness of his heart. He did not *give* you anything out of the goodness of his heart. He did not perform because he appreciated the people who came from all over the world to be there. He performed because he was paid $250,000.


Prince

Swinger said:

And how are you supposed to know all that?

You only hate for whatever shit you can find. I'm getting tired of reading your shit.

Abrazo said:

.
Tough titty.


Prince

pcnbwld said:

First I think you need to stop using the word stealing and making things worse than they really are. Yes there is an infringement of artists rights, but stealing is quit a different matter.
You should also realise that, despite the infringement on an artists rights, a fan can really enjoy listening to a bootleg. In that case the bootleg doesn't do any harm, in fact it does exactly what music is suppse to do, that is bring enjoyment of art to the people...

I also think you need to make a difference between a live bootleg and a studio recording. The live bootleg is less worse, since the artist already decided that his public needed to hear the songs played live. They already made it public, so a secundary publication is not that bad, not legal either without permission, but not that bad, especially not when they aren't being sold, but only traded among fans.
With an unreleased recording it is different, but then you have to ask yourself how Prince lets all these recordings escape from his studio.

All in all bootlegging is something that has existed since recording equipments existed and yes professional bootleggers can do serious damage to an artist, but then again remember that they can do serious pleasure to the fans who genuinly enjoy prince's music and that these same fans probably already own any offical released material as well.

I do think that you have a point that some fans need to seriously consider to stop putting all that money in bootleggers pockets and instead trade or stop doing at all. Then again it is their own choice to spend their money this way.


-
[This message was edited Sat Jun 29 18:35:45 PDT 2002 by Abrazo]

Am I the only one who thinks that Carl Bystrom is a dork?

klhk said:

Nope, klhk, I definitely agree with you on that one. =)

carl

Swinger said:

lol Any silly person that pays that much is going to be disappointed. Spend more wisely.

The expenses to see Prince can be high. I saw a post here from some guy who said he spent over $2,000 for himself and his wife to see the LA ONA shows. Another person said they paid $700 to see the ONA shows in Chicago.

If he spent 2,000 on himself and his wife to see a show he paid for a lot more than just two tickets to see the concert. And even if he paid for all 3 concerts at the Kodak for 2 people it didn't cost that much.

I too wrote an open letter to Prince. Like to hear it? Here it goes:

"Dear Prince,

WTF is OTAN?

Sincerely,

2the9s
Premium Member"




[This message was edited Sat Jun 29 20:03:46 PDT 2002 by 2the9s]

I admire your honesty... my only problem is that I think that Prince is the one who releases the bootlegs. You watch and see... the Acoustic set performed by Prince at this years Celebration is going to end up on DVD really soon. I saw the cameraman hand the tapes over to Prince's bodyguard- I guess we will see what happens

Bladerunner said:

The guy didn't break down his expenses, but the $2,000 probably covers air fare for 2, a hotel room for 2, show tickets for 2 for a couple of nights, meals and maybe transportation.

I just talked 2 Prince and he said
shut the hell up.He don't care if ya'll bootleg his
stuff.As long as u pay premium 4 anything he releases.
He also said if u have a problem with the boots out there.Avoid them completly and don't even talk about
them(like in this post)