i don't know the inner workings of the record industry, but with P being the control freak he is and having his own studio, with employees he probably has cavity searched. i imagine he would even do if not supervise the mixing of his projects too. it would seem as if the only way his albums could leak is once they're handed over for mastering and he could execute a contract it seems ensuring the security of the material. i wasn't here when 3121 came out so did they pinpoint the source of the leak and am i simplifying the ease of preventing leaks if one really wanted to?

datdude said:

You can't prevent leaks when you're using a major label. Too many insiders have the album. The only Prince albums that didn't leak were the ones he released on his own.
[Edited 6/14/07 21:20pm]

I wish they were preventable but I think its inevitable that the album will leak. I just hope that Prince will still promote the CD unlike 3121. My concern is what will Prince do if this CD is leaked.

I doubt it!

purplecam said:

I don't think whether or not it leaks will affect his promotion at all. When an album leaks, 99% of the population probably don't even know it. Most people don't even know that a new album has been released until they see it in stores. There may seem like a lot of us here, but really, us obsessives are a very small minority of the Prince fan base.

You can't really stop a leak on an album that is being pressed and distributed
on a physical format (CD, LP etc.). All you can do is leave manufacture and
shipping until the last minute, and disallow the distribution of pre-release copies.
to ensure that any leaks that do happen are as close to the scheduled release
date as possible (thus making them less worthwhile).

The thing is with albums leaking and stuff like that, it really doesnt "hurt" artists that have strong fan bases, because we all know that we will be buying the damn thing anyway, so Prince sales are not going to be hurt by a leak, its not like he is T Pain or Rihanna where people would rather not invest in their shit because someone just like them is around the corner.

purplecam said:

Agreed

i feel what's been said, "too many insiders" when working with a "major" but call me naive, but it seems like Prince would have very strict "terms" when dealing with the "industry"; like only these two ppl get the album, or whatever, so if it was leaked, u could figure out who did it. at this point, if a major wanted to work with Prince they either would or wouldn't, so how many ppl REALLY need to have the album. does that make sense? engineers, mixers and masters, would have to be under contract. no one else in the room, etc. seems preventable to me.