This is the kind of thing that baffles me...

Prince gets all the hype of the Super Bowl performance, the 3121 Vegas thing, and the publicity with Planet Earth coming, and he misses the chance, at the very least, to make some money and expose people to more recent stuff they wouldn't hear otherwise. What was the downside for him?

Does anyone know what the issues around the dissolving of this were?

Seems like a waste to me...

Thanks!

There was a copyright issue with another NPG (Nature Publishing Group). NPGMC was forced to close when it announced that it planned on retail ventures for books. Apparently, Nature Publishing Group was happy to coexist with the NPGMC so long as there was no confusion. But once NPGMC advertised that published books were in the works, the two were no longer seen as mutually exclusive, so they had to shut down.

Prince gave a typically cryptic message on the site about it at the time.

Moonbeam said:

Oh yeah that's right... Thanks - I had forgotten that. Seems like the could have been many solutions; (i.e., change the name slightly), so that he could have stillkept things going.

We see how the "printed" stuff is working out:)

Ah Prince; a lover of shooting himself in the foot...

how can someone who's releasing an album titled and focused on planet earth not coexist with a nature publishing group

happyhappy said:

The same reason someone who claims he's going to "free the music", will release so little of it to those who want it.

jpav said:

sounds like a certain someone is a bit of a buzz kill sometimes (I hope I don't die now )
[Edited 6/18/07 19:32pm]

Moonbeam said:

Prince's lawyer denied that was the reason the site shut down. And Prince has been using NPG for 20 years now. Plus, NPGMC is hard to confuse with Nature Publishing Group. I think there's gotta be a different reason.

i'm upset i finally decided to join the group... and then a couple of months later, it shut down. Prince owes me money!

i just hope that once planet earth is released and a couple of months
have passed he'll start putting up new music on his website again and
perhaps even some albums.

that's what i'd love to get from his online ventures the most. there
is a big market for him in the hardcore fans.

if he wants a new car all he'd have to do was put up an aftershow or
an EP of Gold Experience outtakes and *kaching*

I was really bummed about the Club shutting down too. It was
great for getting awesome tickets and cool merchandies..
He could of kept it open if he wanted too..
Like some one said.. just tweak the name slightly..
I think he gets bored with stuff to easily and just
moves on.....
But we the fans suffer.....