Not trying to be too negative here, but i think most casual readers of the Mail on sunday, are not exactly 'waiting in anticipation' for a new Prince CD.

Judging on what i have read about The Mail on sunday, its kind of a conservative, 'right-wing' paper, mostly read by middle aged people.

I am allready imagining some 55 yo guy looking at the cover of the CD, frowning and thinking: a man in a corset, and make-up on, what a weird creep...

I expect quite a lot of readers to throw the CD into the bin, without even listening to it. Others might listen to the first couple of songs, and will probably think: naah, what happened to the days of Cliff Richard and Paul Anka?... A certain part of the readers will maybe give the CD to one of their kids...

I am not necesarilly disagreeing with the way Prince is promoting his CD, but why didnt he decide to offer it for free with a musicmagazine like Mojo or Q?
I mean, those magazine are more aimed at musiclovers (album-orientated people especially) between 20 and 50.

"The Daily Mail, Arguably the best British newspaper"

I most certainly will be getting a copy! Parents always buy it anyway, so no doubt will get the cd off them!

Either way, good on Prince for doing something such as this!

We'll never know how many actually listen to it , the important thing is giving
people the opportunity to listen to it for free . Its not the first free CD given away by the MOS , I bet lots of the other CD giveaways werent enthusiastically awaited beforehand by the readers , but a percentage will listen to the album and like it and explore his back catalogue for sure , and that makes it a great idea , good on Prince for focussing on a market other than the USA for a change .

the fact that's it's free overrides almost everything. if i seriously was never a visitor here/new nothing about this album and saw it appear with my paper, i'd take it as some crazy prophecy...or stock up on corsets. same thing.

Where I work people are always bringing in free CD from papers to listen to. There normally stuff like Legends of Rock, Or Dad's Anthems, full of some seriously crap music.

I think the choice of The Mail is bad, I agree with going with a proper Music Mag or maybe The Observer they do a really good music monthly supplement.

I still wish I could just go to the record shop and buy the album.

I hate not knowing when its coming out, I booked the 17th off especially to enjoy the album. The Wife will be at work and Son at nursery, I was really looking forward to having the house to myself with a new Prince album that I could play as lound as I like without being told to turn it down or being asked to be Daddy Doggy and havin' to listen to the Cbbeebies CD instead of Daddy's silly music.

The daily mail is an absolutly shit paper, it's tabloid fodder.
I really wish he wasn't releasing the album with this dreg.

Tho' of corse i'll buy ot for the album, then put the paper; unread, in the bin.

Every time The Mail On Sunday has a CD freebie, for the days before, they advertise it to death on just about all the UK commercial TV channels, especially during peak viewing time.

So it's not just going to be a case of those who normally buy the paper getting the CD and possibly/possibly not listening to it.

Those who normally buy a Prince album pretty much won't be able to avoid knowing that it's going to be given away with the paper and will rush out to buy it and those who are curious will probably do the same for £1.40.

Already, my brother and two of my friends who have a casual interest in Prince's music but don't normally buy his stuff have said that they'll be getting a copy. So that's three people that I know who'll be getting it who normally wouldn't bother.

Oh, and there's nothing to say that he won't be giving it away with other papers, magazines etc. in the near future. Maybe if there's a demand for the album even after the Mail On Sunday thing, he'll be offering other publications the chance to take advantage of that demand. I can definitely imagine Q magazine taking him up on his offer. But this is just my speculation.

Usually the Mail gives away cheap best of collections or worse, live best of collections. The difference here is, this is NEW music. Their readership would be much more receptive to a best of or a live CD, seriously.... This is a right-wing tabloid -- they put forth a very low opinion of minorities, immigrants, etc. This is clearly not a meeting of minds here, but a business move pure and simple.

Prince probably should've gone with the more left-wing, Guardian, the little Guide magazine that comes with it on a Saturday is maybe more in keeping with what he's doing here -- they give away DVDs from time to time don't they?

Still, it means I get the album for next to nowt and very soon! -- I couldn't give a shit about how this will impact sales or anything else
[Edited 6/29/07 14:55pm]

None of them got what it takes...

After reading the article I'm under the impression that only the ticket buyers will be getting the CD in the mail. It says people that have purchased tickets to his london shows. It doesn't seem right that he would send a copy to everyone. Just my thought.

It's a free CD. I'm sure many will listen to it. "How many will like it" is the question...

Riverpoet31 said:

happyhappy said:

Could you explain what u mean by this..."i'd take it as some crazy prophecy"...

Because maybe thats what it is!

My parents buy the Mail (don't hit me).

They are casual Prince fans. My Dad went to Wembley in '93 and my Mum is going to one of the 02 gigs.

They will most certainly listen to the Album. In fact, they are looking forward to it.

Also, not to spoil peoples conception of Mail buyers; they are not racist, xenophobic or homophobic. It is just that the Mail sits comfortably between a tabloid and a broadsheet.

But I digress, if my 50 + year old parents are going to listen to it, others certainly will.

This would have been, as has been said before, more comfortable sitting as a freebie with the Observer.

Can ppl please tell me:

If i buy 10 of the paper, do i get 10 free CD's?

Is that correct 10 albums for just 10 pounds?

OzlemUcucu said:

If it's actually physically included in the newspaper, then yes, you get one with EVERY copy that you buy.

Needless to say I'll be buying as many as possible, so I'll have to be up nice and early on the Sunday it comes out.

Prince is very popular in the UK... i bet almost everyone that buys the paper will listen to it.... but yeah as someone previously stated, the amount of people that will like it is another story.

I have a friend who is Near london right now..>So I hit him up...but i unno...I was supposed to do somthing for him and didn't get to it...so I'm crossing my fingers....

If you do receive the Mail on Sunday and you don't happen to be a Prince fan or have no intention to listen to his CD, please org-note me and I will give you my mailing address. S+H is on me!

By the way, english readers, is it true that Peter Gabriel also gave away a CD for free with the Mail on Sunday?

I mean, i see him as a kind of left-wing person, open to persons from different cultures (his Real world Studios).

It seems strange to me that even Gabriel has used that paper to distribute his music.

the man really should have done his research on this one, if he had any idea the kind of racist idiots who read that awful paper were i'm sure he would have thought twice about it. this really is terrible news. this is truly the worst thing he has ever done. if he really meant to set the music free from the money machine and what not he should have made it available free to download. shame on you prince.

and no, mail on sunday readers will not listen to it. there the kind of assholes who still think he removed a rib or whatever.

You're right... The Mail on Sunday (and any other day) is a right wing Nazi rag. Doesn't really follow Prince's loveforoneanother beliefs... "They come over here... Steal our jobs..."


The answer to this is simple. DO buy the paper to get Princes new album for a little over a pound. Buy as many copies as you want.
BUT... Don't read the paper or the shoddy mag that comes with it.
Put it straight in a recycling bin. That way you have balanced out your Karma from buying the evil crap in the first place...!

gravelface said:

Judging by your blatant stereotyping, its your who are is the asshole rather than the Mail readers.

Looking at the messages above, its made out like right wing is a dirty word. Judging by his actions, there is a very good chance prince is right wing himself.

I don't buy the Mail On Sunday myself, I don't like it, but I have read it and it spewns no more garbage than something like the Mirror and the Guardian. It just depends on your political stance.

I know plenty of Mail on Sunday readers, they aren't assholes, rascist etc etc. They are normal people, and they are the type of people who may well go out and seek alternative Prince albums if they like what they hear on the freebie.

Who gives a SHIT!!!
Who'll actually Listen 2 it!!!
Let Prince worry about that, its his music and besides he's already been paid, so who cares...more music circulating around the streets of london, more bums get a copy of planet earth!!!

Garbage picking will be so much fun!!!!

And on the plus side I would imagine
the used cd stores will be flooded
with copies on Monday so everyone
can pick up a copy on the cheap.