Reading through all this drama about the HQ video forum, I have to ask: Do you the fans complain too much?

I'm FAR from a fam. Prince is not beyond criticism. But does he owe us anything besides music? Who are we to tell him he can't act out his legal right to stop online streaming of HIS videos and bootleg trading of HIS music etc? He has given us more music, more amazing concert experiences and performances than 10 lots of other artists give their fans. The problem is: fans get too attached and expect too much in return IMO. There is one of him and millions of us so ratio sits heavily in our corner.

And to top of it off, fans complain about his business decisions all the time! Like WTF? One thing I loved about that Alan Leeds interview is that he defended Prince's right to run his career as he sees fit. That's what makes Prince Prince.

Meh...

.. Prince doesnt owe anyone a damn thing..

i agree with flowers, everybody has the right to live his or her life, i suppose he is out there so he cant please everybody, we should all just be glad that there is somebody like him in the world, it would be a poorer place without him i am sure most would agree. nobody is beyond criticism but he always seems to get more than his fair share.

live for love

Funkmeimfamous said:

Except we do PAY alot for his shows, music, and merchandise....that is our choice as the buyers, but is it really hurting him that much when we view his videos on HQ?

babooshleeky said:

I understand we pay for them. I strictly meant the wealth of material and concert experiences etc that he has made available to us. Fans get greedy IMO.

And the videos are likely not hurting him but I'm sure he has his reasons, which he is entitled to given that's his (fine) ass shaking in them. He is also probably advised what is in his best legal interests. They were a nice treat and I miss having them but I'm not going to abandon ship like some supposedly mistreated fans threaten to do. All these comments are thrown around that such vids (and bootlegs, fanzines) preserve his fanbase and I believe this to only be partly true. The hardcore fanbase, like with many other artists, comprises of like 1/100 of the people that have bought his records so right off the bat we're not the only fans that matter. With or without extra resources, hardcores will always be in the mix. Some who classified themselves as hardcores in the 80s - AND despite the resources available - were out of the picture in the 90s, and others have come and gone. New fans come way of Musicology hype or Superbowl hype and if they hang around it's because of the music and not because of the cool videos on HQ. So you can't even say the videos act as promotion because those that watch them are fans anyway. They serve no other purpose than to stimulate the hardcore fan urge IMO. But those who have been around for a long time just want MORE MORE MORE MORE imo and they feel like they are entitled to it because they have supported him for so long.

I'm in it for the music and not because I want him to take care of my needs as a fan (which he is incidently doing via the music but you know what I mean).
[Edited 4/17/07 6:37am]

I've been a fan since the early 80's. I would never NOT be a fan cuz of HQ videos being gone..I did not even see most of those videos until last month. I am purely a fan because I enjoy his songs and the fact that I love him overall as a musical genius and because he is the sexiest man alive

babooshleeky said:

Oh yeah, I stick around for that too.

I don't think Prince owns the videos to everything that was taken off. He is not the owner of a video of a performance on a public show like David Letterman or an awards ceremony, or a press conference. He might have certain claim to the rights of his image, but it is the producers or corporations of those particular shows that hold those copyrights. And a press conference is free for all!

Music videos, he owns. The audio of his performance he owns... so they could, as a legal insult, have just taken off the audio and then censored him with a dot...

To answer the questions... yeah, I suppose so.

I'd hate to sound like Prince by saying it, but people that are taking the HQ too seriously really fit the definition of "fan" (or fanatic). [yeah I know, I'm such a kiss-up ]

Right now, the situation is overall convenient for me just because I have more important things to do than sit around and watch old interviews over and over again... although there probably are some I haven't seen, I'm in no rush. As long as they eventually come back, I'm not too worried.

I always have my own sources to fall back on (in the case of videos).

I'm approaching the whole aspect of "this world" in a bit of an odd manner compared to the other things I've gotten myself into. And I feel like I'm a bit weird in my ways of thinking (right now, I have a list of 8 albums that I must have in my collection, but I feel like I want to get some from diff. eras at the same time, rather than focusing on one particular era or going in chronological order like people keep telling me to do).
I basically want to learn all I can and I want to start from areas I know a little about, but wish to expand on further.

Prince is free to do whatever he wants. I support his pulling of YouTube videos (that's why I really try not to go there much 4 his material since he has a certain hatred 4 it)... and I suppose he has his reasons for the HQ issue. As far as I'm concerned, what he says goes... that's why I seem to trust myself in hands and make my music-listening decisions for me 90% of the time.
[Edited 4/17/07 9:51am]

When did Orger's start acknowledging/discussing HQ?

To answer your question, yes. IMO some do take it too far (not just with Prince)
I will forever be a fan of Prince's music.
Prince is free to do whatever he (or his lawyers and representatives) wish.
We do not own Prince.

johnart said:

Prince's negative fan reaction to his attitude/actions in the mid 80's resulted in a decline of his marketability/sales to the point where Sinead O'Conner claimed to have saved his ass with the profits of her cover. And the general public believed it!

So if Prince does burn his bridges publicly, then he does suffer a loss of income and then can no longer support huge scale creative projects.

He's in a good place right now because public opinion is strong, but publicity about stuff like this creates seeds of distaste in the homes and minds of the public, and the results are a decline in interest and sales.

I saw it happen in the 80's. He cancelled his SOTT tour in England, people hated him! (But he did make it up to them with the tour in '88) He didn't do We are The World and had a skirmish with photographers, people hated him. His record sales went steadily down. The Lovesexy tour lost money in the states (empty seats in upper tiers). People considered him arrogant/weird in an uncool way. He picked back up with Batman and then the very commercial Diamonds and Pearls.

johnart said:

I own a lot of Prince
.....just saying

some.
It depends where you are with the man. I've been through the ringer up and down.
That's the ryde divine. I've been dissapointed, but never angered. I've been totally enamored, but only foolish with spending too much money

People's expectations seem to get them really emotional. Ever since he released Around the world in a day, I've been learning this lesson.

The man is going to do WTF he wants to and for the most part that's a trait we all admire.

I def. think so. Now i don't feel anyone should start kissing Prince's ass by any means but I do feel fans are just way to harsh. A lot fans seem to feel that since they bought so many albums and went to say many concerts that they are owed something... yet they seem forget what they where paying that money for. They speak as if they gave this money to Prince in order to help him pay some bills and Prince hasn't said thank you. Fans.. you seem to forget you got his new album(s) in exchange for your money, you got to go to concerts in exchange for your money.


Now as for this HQ video thing.... Okay... so we've know Prince is very much a control freak when it comes to his career, heck that's why we love his music so much. because he's so in control of it. So he wants control over what videos of himself people can view. Why does he want this. I don't know he has his reasons. Maybe he doesn't think there up to par, or because of his new religious beleifs doesn't feel comfortable with older video's being seem. I'm fine with that, i understand that, and i respect as i would with ANY person, For example if someone who was visting me felt uncomfortable celebrating my birthday, i sure as heck wouldn't force them to celebrate with me, and say something like "hey, i loaned money, you owe me it" I would never do that, because that's disrespectful !!

ufoclub said:

I completely agree that public perception has tremendous impact.
Those are all great examples of that.

I do not think that means Prince (or whomever) need to give fans free use of any and everything that's out there. I say give a little, take a little works fine.
I'm not being a hypocrite and say I don't enjoy free use of downloadable material, cuz of course I do . It's Prince, and I love him and if it's there Imma want to hear or see it.

I'm just saying, I think there's a lot of other things Prince could do to change my opinion of him. Claiming and insisting on control of materials (again,or whomever is at work here) that are legally his/theirs would not be one of them.

glt said:

Which parts???

I can see the fucking videos anyway. I felt bad for the people who just got into Prince and wanted to backtrack and see what they had missed from the past. I know somewhere on this site it has probably already been discussed that people who buy bootlegs and watch vids from the past probably already buy official anyway. Casual fans probably don't even look for rare shit. They're happy to hear Purple Rain and Kiss and move on. Nonetheless its Prince and its totally his perogative to do what he wants with HIS music and videos. I just wish the videos and music were available so others could hear how genius P was and still is.
[Edited 4/17/07 11:08am]

adorable2 said:

I agree...I've seen alot on HQ recently and other ways too(don't want to say in case the videos get pulled from there too) ANd I know there is still more to see and I have loved Prince since b4 PR...
[Edited 4/17/07 11:45am]

johnart said:

ufoclub said:[quote]

johnart said:

With everything going on in the world right now, do you really think the public at large cares about Prince's battle with HQ?

wonder505 said:[quote]

ufoclub said:

Well if his income is a barometer of people caring... obviously yes. Newspapers/magazines still print articles about him. People still seemed to notice the superbowl performance...

There's always been something going on in the world, always. Yet people still value entertainment. There is nothing worse/more significant today then there was 10 years ago or 200 years ago. Though we have managed to stave off a 3rd world war.... so far. So things have been better now on the average.

YES!