Rebeljuice said:

Haha

the idea of getting a new album with this or any other news paper jut depresses the hell out of me.

newpower99 said:

Fair enough. I know I'm on broken record mode but giving away your cd, I dont care who are, is desperate in my book.

And I don't care at all about chart positions. A number one Prince album doesn't help me in any way, but I'd be willing to bet Prince, the wonderful egomaniac that he is, cares about them as much as any other artist and giving away Musicology was a desperate move to get a higher chart position, imho.

IstenSzek said:

Oh yes! People would lay at his feet if he put a live ep out through that newspaper after his o2 concerts (I soooo wanna go but I can't )!

I guess in the future Prince may possibly be back on the fringes of the music industry. If all of the record stores are up in arms over this move he may find it difficult to get a deal of substance with Sony/BMG or the other "big 3" (because honestly the record labels have to cater to the stores who actually sell the product). And if all that happens it seems like the comeback in '04 was only designed to be temporary. Maybe this is his way to going back to releasing cd's on his own via NPG. I for one certainly can't see any good giving away a cd if you sign with a major (even if it is a one off deal like Musicology, 3121, etc.). It's a new precedent. I mean do you really think (if this does in fact happens) EMI, Universal, or Warners, will jump at his next project?

Wall said:

You don't think that in an era where music video channels don't play videos, and Clear Channel will not play Prince's new music, that he was right in finding new ways to get his music into people's hands? Because of his "desperate" Musicology giveway, his next album was #1.

A) Prince wants people to come see him live. It's what he enjoys doing most and what earns him his living these days.

B) Prince wants people to hear his music, even if he has to give it away. They stopped buying it on a mass scale a long time ago, so he uses his concert appeal to give people access to the music. CD's are overpriced and the industry could have saved itself about 4-5 years ago by lowering prices. It may have signaled the end of the record store as we know it and been sold only by large department stores, but the industry would have lived on and the public would have benefited by having a better quality product than an mp3 be the standard. Sad.

C) Prince is more popular around the world than ever and he's doing it without cursing, instead putting out positive messages in his music. This to me is a bigger story and a good story for the music industry, considering what other options there are in music today.

D) Controversy sells. All this attetion will only help Prince's sales in all aspects. Again, brilliant strategy!
[Edited 6/28/07 12:47pm]

IstenSzek said:

MarcelJ said:

Good points but I don't think he's anywhere near as popular as his heydey of 84-94.

Wall said:

Uh...no shit...

murph said:

Uh... I was responding to the statement that he was.

murph said:

I'll give you that, but not on every level. Sure, radio, movies, but he packs 'em in with his concerts these days and is performing every major event you can think of. He's approaching another peak in his popularity, without a doubt.

MarcelJ said:

Can't wait to see him at Live Earth.

Wall said:

Yo Wall..on the real..You are one of the more clear headed folks on here when it comes to cutting through the FAM behavior on the Org...And I mean that on the real...But at times it seems you go out of your way to disagree with folks on some contrarian shit...lol..

There are things that folks on here will always debate about whether it's concerning Prince's current musical direction or the quality of his most recent albums...I understand that...But if you can't at least understand that Prince is not in the music business to sale albums anymore (And I'm not talking about some artistic credibility shit; I'm talking about purely from an economical standpoint...albums don't make artists' money in 2007), then what else should be said on the matter? Albums for Prince in 2007 are promotional tools to let the general public and fans know there's a reason to go to the concerts beyond the hits...And yes, it's also an ego booster of sorts for the old man...The brick and mortar way of selling selling CD's is steadily becoming extinct...And Prince understands this...He also knows that he can give away the music for free because he's already generated insane ammounts of ticket sales for his live shows...It's nothing but added buzz...

The music biz is changing homie...Try to keep up...
[Edited 6/28/07 13:42pm]

if you give away your music for free your music is worth nothing. Stupid idea.

Wall said:

stop. think about it.

he's going to sell a hell of a lot of BACK CATALOUGE. that's why. he's not going to try and heavy sell a free cd in the set-list. it's hits n bits tour. expect a LOT of high profile guests onstage. A LOT.

wouldn't be surprised to see one of the HITS collections re-enter the top 10 in the UK. so, ironically SONY/BMG go to a lot of trouble to help WARNERS bottom line.

hottest ticket of the year
biggest industry story of the year
most tabloid column inches of the year.

yes, sounds like a typical prince plan. didn't something similar happen with musicology in the states..? (i'm in uk so only

murph said:[quote]

Wall said:

With your guidance, I'll do my best.

And I'll say it again, if you people think Prince doesn't want to sell albums, you're nuts. On the real, the concept of money hasn't changed.

So what are these mp3's I keep seeing everyone bring up? Get me up to speed on that one homie.

Wall said:[quote]

murph said:

What Prince wants, I beleieve, is buzz...He wants critical buzz and he wants radio buzz...Album sales are not so much the aim, but icing on the cake...The concept of money may not have changed Wall, but the concept of the music business has...

There's a reason why the press didn't make a big deal out of Prince not going platinum in the US with 3121...They know, like most leveled headed folks, that Prince and his peers like Paul Macartney, Bruce Springteen and the like are no longer aiming for triple platinum album sales...They are legendary live acts who work off of critical album buzz and initial album sales...In other words, Prince debuting no. 1 with 3121 was the true story...How many copies he sold is moot...The buzz helped him stay in the public eye, along with his latenight gigs, The Super Bowl, Vegas, ect, ect...I think that's his aim at the age of 49...Now if you want to talk about how you feel his music has lacked an adventurous edge, then I get that...That's a debate worth having...
[Edited 6/28/07 13:58pm]

I agree he's done a great job keeping himself in the public eye the last few years but as a poster above said, giving away a cd makes it seem worthless.

A sign of his contemporary value in terms of music might just be what many here are suggesting -- this will lead people to buy his back catalogue and hits packages. Then he can stay in the public eye and play Purple Rain or Let's Go Crazy one more time for SuperfestUltrawards '07.

mkaye8 said:

What? Are you serious? Have you never gone to a free concert in a park, or was given a free CD by some underground band or artist that isn't signed yet the album was killer? It's about the music!!! And I thought the record industry was messed up!! I forgot, the record industry thrives on people like this.

Giving away a sampler CD would have been a much smarter idea imo than giving away the whole CD. Just the first 3 songs to get people intrigued to go out and buy the record but now they won't need to..

So art is valueless unless it's barcoded. How does that jibe with the pantheon of musicians, painters and writers who labored in obscurity and died penniless only to have their works revered years, decades or even centuries later.

This is truly the Age Of Consumerism.

livewire said:

The idea of free art is great but I personally believe artists should be supported for their efforts so they continue to create art. Even Shakespeare needed a patron.

You're making a leap to suggest anyone has said that it's not art unless you pay for it. Fortunately for Prince, he doesn't have to worry about laboring in obsucurity with this pantheon of artists you mention, just his recent music does.

fuck me, it aint rocket science!
he was giving up to 400,000 copies away free, anyway. to help put butts on seats. the seats are basically taken care of, from his (financial) point of view. he's guessing he may only sell another 200,000 copies (possibly) considering the fact that most of his FANS are already getting a free copy (or more) when they go to his O2 gigs. so not only has he decided to give a couple of million away, which is a fantastic idea, as he will be the most talked about musician going and MANY new people will be introduced to Prince, as this will obviously be another highly accessible album for the casual listener and will gain more fans and will then increase sales and interest in other areas. He will gain more than he will lose, not only this but the shrewd mutherfucka has made the money from the newspaper for the deal anyway. how can HE possibly lose??
He's many things, but he aint no fool.

mkaye8 said:

Wall, this is the post I was responding to. Klyph commented on it right above me and I was chiming in. Keep up.

Wall said:

He's not as popular but I believe that he's more loved and respected since 2004( with the Musicology tour, the ascoutic "art of Musicology", the tribute to George Harrisson, the Superbowl half-time performance..) than he ever was before.
*
[Edited 6/28/07 14:56pm]

Some of this may be designed 2 DRIVE the actual sales price of cd's down. Why in the world is a 50 cent cd selling for $16.99?..... or more?

Graycap23 said:

I know we have always been fucked over with the pricing, but surely it's to make the fat cat's fatter and to pay 'over paid' 'artists' the going rate. you can't sign 'artists' for millions if you only gonna sell a cd for a couple of $'s or £'s

bonedaddy said:

also, these big record companies have bigger 'over-heads'