I think Prince manipulates math to his advantage:

• Emancipation - a 3 disc set of material, certified double platinum by multiplying the unit sales by 3, each disc counting as a sale. Actual sales were around 650,000 units total.

• NPGMC - promised 4 CDs of new material (even listing album titles in the tourbook) but counting a 3-disc live set and an acoustic disc as fulfillment of that 4-CD promise.

• Musicology Tour - included the CD price into the ticket price, technically qualifying each ticket as an album sold. This one is brilliant enough that Soundscan rewrote the rulebook; it can't happen again.

Se7en said:

I thought that was a giveaway I have four of those Cd's cause I went twice with my husband. I never knew it was added to the ticket price...

babooshleeky said:

You never knew because I guess the ticket price was still so reasonable! It was marketed as a free giveaway but there's little doubt the cost of manufacture was covered in the ticket price - which was why it could count towards chart sales at the time.

Since there is no set price for tickets, there's no real way to tell. It's not as if last time it was, say, $30 without an album and this time it was $40 but they made out the album was free! Anyway, a lot of artists charge a lot more and you don't get anything thrown in.

metalorange said:

I was very pleased witht he concerts and the album. Though at first I did not really care for all the songs, I really like most of them now.

Se7en said:

Based on those examples, it seems like he's pretty damn good at math to me!

No he is a mathematical genius. I just tried it on my calculator... 1+1+1 really does equal 3!

SexyBeautifulOne said:

babooshleeky said:

Between us, my girlfriend and I have 5 copies of Musicology. 2 each from the movie/concert simulcast, 2 each from the actual concert, and 1 that I bought at Best Buy (thinking it might be slightly different; it wasn't).

Se7en said:

It's got a music video on it though doesn't it? I don't think the concert discs have that.

savoirfaire said:

It does have the music video, you're right. I was more concerned with having both versions of the music, if there were 2 versions (which there weren't). It was nice getting the packaging and liner art though.

Se7en said:

That definitely sounds like 4 CDs to me!

So ur theory is that 3=1

adorable2 said:

lol...

I really don't care about the number game. I will get any CD from Prince and don't care if I'm the only one that buys it.

I suck at algebra.

leecaldon said:

Don't even go there

Basically, the tourbook lured people into joining the club by naming the 4 CDs that were supposed to be released throughout the year. In the end, members got only one of the CDs advertised and then waited until December before they received a 3 CD set that you could buy in your local wrecka stow anyway. After many complaints to both NPGMC and the BBB, the club mysteriously closed down prematurely and then Jan 1st had two more albums to download, Xpectation and C-Note. Proof that BBB had seen that the Club had falsely advertised and the albums were clearly released very reluctantly by Prince, especially bearing in mind that just after ONA Live had been released, the official word from NPGMC was that there would be no more product sent out to members.

http://www.mnd.bbb.org/co...d=21003796

Interesting that there have still been complaints within the past 3 years, too.

Thank God the club's gone. Let's hope that 3121.com treats their customers better than NPGMC ever did.

and the point of this topic is

Haystack said:

I know it's a contentious issue, but 4 CDs were promised and 4 CDs delivered (plus a spare copy of One Nite Alone for those who joined early - the value of which more than covers the cost of the year membership).

The titles mentioned in the tourbook had no confirmed tracklisting - for all we know, "Last December" could have been the original name of the live album, "Xenophobia" was probably renamed "Xpectation", which brings us onto the fact that there were the 2 additional download albums.

So it ended up as 4 CDs plus 2 album downloads. I feel like I got more than my money's worth, especially with all the opportunity for soundcheck access/preferential seating/free access to aftershows (with one guest free along with it).

leecaldon said:

Well, as I said at the time; if you don't see that members were conned during NPGMC Yr 2, then you'll clearly allow Prince to treat you anyway he damn well pleases. Like it or not, the evidence is there; members were told that ONA Live was the final product and once people complained, the club closed and then suddenly, there were a couple of download albums, the title of one was clearly a toys-out-of-pram whinge on Prince's behalf (C-Note). And dontcha think it was a little odd that it was only after the Yr 2 debacle that Prince changed the format of the Club?

And I'll ask a question that I asked at the time to members who blindly accepted the con and use the '4 CDs were promised and 4 CDs were delivered' line. If you'd have received 4 blank CDs as part of your membership, would you have been happy with that? I doubt it.

As for the extra ONA piano CD, well again it was like rubbing members noses in it. The Club content was meant to be exclusive but there was Prince encouraging you to give away your extra CD to friends, i.e. non-paying members. And don't forget that the soundchecks and tour privileges were perks that not every member would be able to enjoy either because the tour didn't go anywhere near them or the crappy NPGMC site had a habit of fucking up when lots of people were logged on to it, trying to book tickets.

It may have been some time ago, but once conned - people don't forget. And only the blind fans will try to defend Prince's actions during NPGMC Yr 2.

Haystack said:

I agree - I am still a little sore from that one.

I was 100% excited about 4 CDs of NEW Prince material!! He knew exactly how fans would react to that. I remember wondering what they might be, and then saw the names on the tourbook.

I got ONA: Voice and Piano and I was very excited and very impressed. I love that CD! I still listen to it to this day (IMO it's more consistent than "The Truth").

So I was patient and waited probably 6 more months (at least) with nothing . . . then we all get ONA: Live and THAT is supposed to fulfill our contract?

First, it's not "new" material - unless you consider a live recording "new". I don't. If it's been released at all, it's not new.

Second, if it counted as 1 CD, that would be OK with me. I'm not really a fan of "live" recorded music. I don't buy it in stores, and had I known that's what was being offered, I might not have joined.

Third - Xpecation and C-Note only partially fulfilled the contract, IMO, because they weren't CDs - they were downloads (which are of course not CD-quality).
[Edited 4/15/07 17:48pm]

Add to this that the ONA Live box set came slightly dented on one edge, and it's not really good service.

My Crystal Ball CDs came scratched too

Haystack said:

I'm not 100% on dates here, but when I signed up, the ONA tour hadn't started, so there was no tourbook with 4 vague titles in it - all I was expecting was 4 CDs of music. To be honest, I thought I'd be getting one every 3 months throughout the year, but that was not promised. I personally preferred the monthly downloads (although the content of the some of the downloads was sometimes questionable, like Thieves In The Temple remix, for example) - it felt like a more interactive experience.

And how can you complain about not getting "The Best of O->" when there was never any clear indication of what the content was (although some pretty intelligent speculation).

On the "C-Note" title - it's never been clear to me where this originated from. I remember the idea of it being called "C-Note" popping up on the org after some creative fan-thinking, and then Prince used it as the official title when it was released through the download store.

I, for one, certainly still wish there was an annual NPGMC membership, if a little better run. But hey, it's Prince!

leecaldon said:

If someone has the original signup, maybe they can post it.

I'm not 100% sure that album titles were named at the time of signup, but they were for sure named in the tourbook (either as teasers or real promotion).

The thing that is really hypocritical is that he touted his online music website as "an Xperiment In Truth".

Personally, I was never that upset about the whole 4-CD thing. Whatever the format it was released in (hard copy or download), I got a whole bunch of music from a favorite artist. My perspective is also probably flavored by the fact that I joined before the tour book and the album titles, so I didn't join under the impression that THOSE were THE albums I would get. And even when I did see them in the tour book, I took the titles with a grain of salt since Prince has been known to flip the script on this releases. What you called it or how it was packaged didn't really matter to me as long as I got the audio experience in the end.

Whether all of it was to my taste or not is hardly relevant. If I buy a CD unheard, even by an artist I like, I always run the risk that I won't like it. More deceptive to me is when you buy the CD because of a particular cut you hear on the radio, then find it'a different edit or even a totally different arrangement when you get it home.

Live music to me is a pleasure and I was very excited that we FINALLY had an officially-released live album from Prince, especialy as this is an area in which he excels.

All that being said, I understand that a lot of folks interpreted the promotion differently and felt manipulated. I think the club responded nicely with the two downloads of new material.

InsatiableCream said:

U know what needs 2 b said

savoirfaire said:

depends on who you are asking...

Hmmmm, well. Mark off one album sold, whn we went to the musicology tour my husband wouldn't take his because we already had three as a family. He joined the love4oneanother website (not a fan) to get me crystal ball. He said he had to pay extra but i didn't ever go to that site much and didn't reap any benefits there except a "free t shirt". I do remember there being some claptrap on that site about opening a hospital/clinic for the underpriveleged. i offered to volunteer time there and a pediatrician friend of mine pledged time to if it ever came to fruition. I ain't heard a word since he and Mayte split 'bout that. Where did all that money go?
Also, I must be the kiss of death for Princ endeavors in general. Every time he came near me on tour, I had to take call duty. Every time I join a site and give him some money, it shuts down. The above site shut down shortly after I started visiting. AND after I paid my lifetime membership for NPGMC, it shut down within months. I never got to upgrade my technology in time to even get any downloads. Wish he'd release all his downloads at the wrecka stowe so I'd have a shot at them again.

Prince isn't the only one doing this...Speakerboxxx/the love below???? Yeah you can divide their album sales by 2 as well!

The reason double or even triple albums count as 2-3 albums is because they cost more than the regular price for a single album

drscoggin said:

someday ull get ure chance

redlobster83 said:

In the UK, double albums cost pretty much exactly the same as single CDs these days, at least when they're in charts.