Funkmeimfamous said:

a flower by any other name smells just as sweet!

That's so poignant Robert Frost just peed a little.
[Edited 6/14/07 8:55am]

Mirrorbestfriend It's not fair to say that no self-respecting person should ever go to Las Vegas. You should stop being so judgemental of other people, your opinion is just that YOUR opinion. There's nothing wrong with getting paid for doing what you love to do.
[Edited 6/14/07 8:59am]

wlcm2thdwn said:

I'm not judging him just commenting on his lack of artistic integrity

how u gonna put slave on your face then turn aroud and be in vegas doing the elvis thing?

mirrorbestfriend said:

Holy crap, you're still on about this thing??

Get the fuck over it already! If you have a problem with Prince making money at this stage of the game and think that it impacts his artistry, then you should go sit on the corner and play bongos for the public all day.

It's a good thing my sister, who is an artist, makes some money selling her work, I don't want to be supporting her ass! But, I'll have to tell her you said she's not a REAL artist since she makes the devil's blood by selling her art.

By the tone of your posts and the ridiculous things you say just to be contrary, I see you're still trolling the org waters.

Serena said:

its ok to make money a lil....just dont be greedy

I think Prince just wants his music to be heard. We all know that Radio is a powerful promotion tool for any Artist. We also know that radio doesn't always promote the most talented Artists, and the fact is.. when you think about the people who are listening to radio, you know that it is hard for a 50 year old Musician to have relevance with that audience-. When you factor in a very eccentric personality, the very public fight with Warner Brothers- it is much harder now for Prince to get his music to new audience.

I think Prince understands this, and has made a conscious decision to "re-invent" himself a little-- which includes making business decisions that he probably objected to a little, on a personal level.

But again, let me say- I think he just wants to get exposure for his new material.

Flowerz said:

How the fuck does this relate to the topic?

dseann said:

exactly

Klyph said:

It is obvious YOU don't know Prince and black audience history.

go look at the top songs of 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 for black music and for white music. Prince was not on any white music list until LRC. He was ALWAYS on charts for black music... so was sheila E, and the Time.

the reason that the NUMBERS don't compare to the numbers he sold when he crossed over is simply (SIMPLE) math. Blacks make up about 12% of US population.

If you cater to just 12% your slice of the pie will be a lot smaller.

mirrorbestfriend said:

I didn't even notice that he stated his first 2 albums

prodigalfan said:

I see we have someone else with a high level of knowledge on here....thank God
dealing with all these mentally challeged people is a chore for me!

adorable2 said:

@ your signature "If u have something to ask me or say about me don't orgnote mirrorbestfriend cause he doesn't know me. Click on my profile and orgnote me."

mirrorbestfriend said:

Someone needs to tell Klyph Prince didn't really target the black population with his albums, his first four albums target the funk population which was and is an eclectic group. Dirty Mind is still considered a classic gem in the music industry as a whole and almost every black person I know in my age group(35) regardless of race has a copy of 1999. Educate his ass please.

dseann said:

DMSR, Let's Pretend We're Married, Lady Cab Driver.... STILL get played on WGPR in Detroit.


[Edited 6/17/07 18:00pm]

mirrorbestfriend said:

Here's a headline: "Prince is a Pop Act!"

In other words, its difficult to claim Prince is a sell out when his whole career's existence has been based on...um...selling.

I get a kick out of people hurling the "sell out" accusation at people whose careers depend on being marketable. If you want to call the guy out for making mediocre music and losing his lust for his craft, go right ahead. But the sell out thing never makes much sense to me when spoken about someone who actually needs to be prominent in the media in order to do what they do.

mirrorbestfriend said:

DON"T YOU GET IT!!!!! HE"S A SLAVE!!!!!HE KNOWS HE"S UNWORTHY OF ALL THIS SUCCESS AND CORPORATE AMERICA IS PLAYING HIM LIKE A FREAKIN FIDDLE!!!

myfavorite said:

hahaha, amen + you're an awesome person for having a Mulan icon

There are two (unrelated) arguments here.

One is that a musician should be dedicated to making music for the pure joy of doing so. If he attempts to make a living off of it and get paid, he's selling out.

The problem with this logic is it makes the assumption that if the artist completes the work created just for the fun of it, he can't later seek to profit from it in order to continue to support making more without being deemed a "sell out". There's no reason that the two actions can't be considered separately. In other words, how can you prove that Prince doesn't create music from a pure desire/need for self expression, then choose to sell it after the fact? I'd think that history would support that this is exactly what he does -- isn't the vault supposed to be filled with music he's created and decided NOT to release/sell?

The second argument is that other musicians are not sell outs because they didn't enter into promotional deals with major corporations. However, the artists you picked as examples are irrelevant to the argument because they were operating in a completely different paradigm than what we have today. You wouldn't compare him to Bach and Mozart and hold them up as examples of musicians who never sold out, would you? (If you did, you'd find that they, too, had to answer to bishops and monarchs of their time and create what pleased them, not only themselves.) You need to compare Prince's actions to his contemporaries. If you do, I think you'll be hard pressed to find another musician of the same stature that hasn't relied on corporate sponsorship, promotions or support in some way.

Is this selling out? No. It's making an artistic statement and then seeking a way to ensure that statement is shared with as wide an audience as possible. Regardless of theoretical ideals, the reality is that an artist is not different from the rest of us -- they still have to pay the light bill, buy groceries and shell out for taxes. And if they don't get paid for the art they create, they can't continue to fund making any more.

So he can't add any new friends on MySpace, but he CAN do a phone commercial?



Whatever.

happyhappy said:

it really doesn't matter, your gift makes room for you and that what his has done.....as loong as he is on top of his game and happy, that's all that matters.....

i hope he makes sure the game don't landon him....then he'll probably have to go to thearapy, who knows???

mirrorbestfriend said:

co caine....it's a helluva drug

myfavorite said:

ahh youre the one with a cartoon character as an avatar so yes cocaine is a powerful drug

myfavorite said:

well yeah, plus he seems to enjoy pioneering stuff. and the whole concept of the v-cast/indentifying music/whatever it does is new so i'm sure he wanted to jump on a new/partly sneeky way to market.

mirrorbestfriend said:

I can't help but chime in on this one... who/what is your avatar??

isn't that the 6 million dollar man... half man/half super robot?

prodigalfan said:

steve austin is correct

mirrorbestfriend said:

HAVE U EVER BEEN ON STAGE? business is business, music is music u are lucky if u get 2 do both --hey honey whats for dinner 2nite? top ramen and water again?

bjt57 said:

I was thinking the same thing.