This just smacks of desperation.

Only washed up artists have CDs given away with the mail on sunday.

bonedaddy said:

its about the interest it generates anyway.

UK is an influentual market, if Prince gets big (or bigger) in the UK, he will be "noticed" in Europe, Japan and the rest of the world. Not sure about the US (maybe he has given up on the US market??)...

There are so many benefits to giving the CD away. Newspaper shifts more copies, advertising income will increase.. The 1.40 price is nothing. In London, METRO newspapers are free, and make huge profits only through advertising because their exposure is massive...The same can be said for the likes of Sunday papers. Its those big ads that make the cash cow moo.... I reckon there is more than 3-4 million for Prince here, I think it could be in the 5-10 million range. Add to this the money he will make from the London concerts, the costs of making the CD in the first place will be immaterial.

Then there is the extra income through increased exposure and new fans... Prince has proven ability to keep fans once they are hooked. His back catalogue is massive and is for sale.. Therefore those who love Planet Earth, might start going to the record store to look for say, 3121 and Musicology.. those more adventurous will look for Lovesexy, Dirty Mind,etc.. Not that Columbia care about selling these records, but it's a win hands down for Prince.

All this hard work, and he will be able to retire at the end of the year and do his "sabbatical" thingy.. not that this will last of course, Prince needs to keep making music, its part of his soul, he is addicted to it.

Horntooter said:

I agree, The Mail on Sunday??? What a bunch of right wing arseholes. Prince should steer clear of these facists. The Sunday Sport has a natural affinity with Prince - nice one!

The album is called Planet Earth, and so it would be very cool that instead of an artist talking about 'how sad the Earth's demise is', whilst making a buck out of it. He makes no money, but brings the plight to the fore. Now that really would be nice - how much do you think Al Gore made off his DVD?

unkleg said:

I suspect that "the mail on sunday" trash as it may be is also the most popular Sunday paper so if it was put in any of the alternatives there could be alot more copies of the cd binned than distributed

If this is true, and bear in mind that not everything printed in newspapers is - remember the Prince to play on Big Brother BS a few weeks back? - I think it's an incredibly bad idea.

Prince's fans or people purporting to like his music certainly don't buy the Mail on Sunday in the UK. Some might, but they'll be in a minority as the majority won't. It's politics are firmly on the right, it's articles are conservative scaremongering (at best) for the scared middle classes in England hiding behind their curtains or locked doors, usually around topics like the dangers of asylum seekers and violent crime amongst minorities and young boys.

Another reason for not doing it is that in general artists make tuppence from free CD giveaways in general, and it's just another way to undercut the measly profits they do receive on each individual copy in a music shop. However Prince will get a good cut/percentage or deal with the Mail newspaper because he's learned to be an agressive businessman and has good lawyers representing him.

It's (a) a bad idea and (b) an incredibly self-indulgent and selfish one which smacks of vanity. He doesn't need to sell any more concert tickets and was going to give a free copy away with every ticket anyway. Maybe he should ask himself this, before embarking on a flimsy 'promotion' with a suspect publication:

"Oh just how far was the walk for the Morning Papers...?"

I think I'll wait for mine at the o2...

tainacher said:

Or better yet, undiscovered treasrues that everyone's been wanting forever and a day....

Just watch

girl66 said:

Prince, you know I adore you, but THE MAIL?! Yuck! It's one of the vilest, most disgusting excuses for a newspaper ever to grace the earth. I thought you had a social conscience?

Unless that's why you've chosen them? Although to be honest dear I'm not sure they'll get far enough into the first track for it to open up their minds...

Clearly the best thing I have ever heard of, George Michael would be proud of boldness.
P never seems 2 amaze me, he is back!!!!!

Koodos 2U P, koodos.

By the way people from reading your posts, it's not about the paper, it's 4 us FANS.

Not many artists have the balls to give their NEW release away, only P.

A truly brillant action. Maybe something similar will happen here in the US.

Prince seems to want to get his music to as many people as possible.

CJK505 said:

If its about the fans, why not give it away on the website?

As far as other artists not having the "balls" to give it the away, I would say they aren't stupid enough to give it away.

The only message this move sends out to the general public is that no one wants his new studio material anymore.

unkleg said:

[/b]
$0...Gore made nothing from the sales of his DVD..go look it up.In regards to Prince... "You do You, I do Me...Whatever!" song of the heart Prince.
[Edited 6/29/07 6:31am]

[b]Well what next, Great idea..But shame its the daily mail, I dont think any1 under 30 reads it and he stil needs radio play..I have only heard Guitar on radio erm 2 twice. Whitch is a catchy litle diddy however i miss the powerful songs such as sign o the times, America and P.Rain, Mr Man was close but but did'nt queit make it...

SquirrelMeat said:

IMO, a free dowloadable album will happen soon with the way things are changing in the music industry. It's all about # of hits when it comes to websites..and if Prince puts up a store with more downloadables for $$$$ and merch. Putting up an album to get the hits would make sense and cents.

SquirrelMeat said:

Exactly. His new material is as disposable as a newspaper.

tintin said:

My feelings exactly. The Daily Mail is a horrendous paper aimed at the right wing middle classes of england. It prints sensationalist stories designed to perpetuate stereotypes of bourgois morality. Sorry if that sounds a little wanky, but they go against so much of what prince has stood for throughout his career. I really think ill probably buy the import.

Anyho - regarding this covermount stuff. Its likely Prince has done some quick calculations and estimated that he can make more money signing a deal like this (probably for a fixed amount so he bears no risk), than he would make straight profit for allowing it to be sold via record shops. Anyone got any idea of his sales for 3121 in the UK? If its under 100k, you can bet he'll make more money doing a covermount. Im not being negative but i dont think this is a straight gesture to fans. I think its P playing with the system, and thinking of his own $ (or £ in this case).

Its publicity to coincide with the tour, and its something he'll hardly have to promote at all - the paper will do all that for him. Still - he's hitting completely the wrong market cosying up with the Daily Mail.

realm said:

Why do u think he shut down the NPGMC site?
It'll b back, with a vengeance, just as soon as his final world tour is outta the way I think. That's when direct marketing will truly take over.
Then all we'll have 2 worry about is whether someone flicks off the switch 2 the internet.

ladycat said:

oh, nvm
[Edited 6/29/07 7:25am]

SquirrelMeat said:

Too right. Should have been The Observer Music Monthly!

mrsquirrel said:

I think he comes up with some great ideas but has the wrong people executing them!

Okay but regardless of whether Prince should:

1) Do any tie up with the likes of the Mail on Sunday

2) Devalue his work by giving it away with a newspaper

and regardless of whether this deal will net him more money...

For those of us who still like to buy CDs with decent packaging, we are now going to be unlucky in the UK because Planet Earth will very likely be packaged in a cardboard sleeve for the newspaper giveaway...

ie, not lenticular (holographic) cover, no jewel case or digi pack. Just a crappy cardboard sleeve! Well that will look just wonderful amongst my Prince collection...NOT!

I will probably be one of those idiots who still buys it somewhere in Europe to get the packaging and will therefore end up with multiple copies (counting in the 10 or so I will get from the O2 concerts).

n
[Edited 6/29/07 8:41am]

popgodazipa said:

Ok I admit, I didn't know that about Gore, but you get my drift. There are a million and one artists who jump on the bandwagon of a good cause just to line their pockets. I think it IS refreshing (if true) that Prince might give away an album which might educate people about global chaos, not just it's warming.

By the way, no I haven't heard it!

If he wants to give it away, why not just 'leak' it to the internet?

unkleg said:

I think Prince's albums have always educated about global chaos to some extent. One of the reasons why I have been a fan for so long is his political awareness and the fact that he's never been afraid to state his opinion - no matter how unpopular - about world issues.

tintin said:

buy the rag, remove the CD and toss the paper back to the newsagent. Get what u came 4 and throw the rest back....

I will be getting my copy but then using the newspaper as kitty litter It also means i'll be getting up early on Sunday to get my copy.

Is there a date for when this is going to happen?

I'm just grateful he didn't a free copy of PE in The Watchtower.

This is just one more indication Prince isn't counting on record sales much. He's been living off live performances for a long time now.

So...would Prince be willing to give the CD away in the Seattle times as well?