... "The danger is that it becomes a trend for artists who can get a large sum upfront with no marketing costs."

who pays for the manfacturing?

So W&L and all the other musicians dont get any royalties because its "free goods?" or do they get a cut of the 500k PS?

Good going Prince, recorded music is truly a worthless commodity now, a true loss leader.
[Edited 6/30/07 16:40pm]

asg said:

It's only a danger to the already-dying record industry!! Oh dear, gawd forbid artists don't have to pay a record company to market their record!!

This is so much fun, what a great move by Prince. I can't wait to see what follows on from all this!!

more people might hear it this way

ufoclub said:

in that case, he might just as well release it to soulseek or emule or limewire.

ufoclub said:

in that case, he might just as well release it to soulseek or emule or limewire.

Raze said:

That's it, I want to call my new cd Nail The Nozzle!

so wait- he still has a deal w/ Columbia right? just not the London leg of it?

CandaceS said:

This sort of strategy is fine if you are an established artist with a devoted following but new acts need someone to front the $$$. Sure the current incarnation of the music biz is in terrible shape but there will always be a need for upfront cash. Pepsi, Verizon, your local newspaper are not going to pay a new artist no one has ever hear of money just because. The labels serve a function that cant really be replaced. Perhaps other players will emerge (Apple, Microsoft etc) but the deal will be basically the same: I give you money up front, help market you and you give me a cut of your sales. ITs not rocket science.

One of the main things that went wrong in the music biz was that the big artists demanded more and more upfront (and they had every right to do so) but this has destroyed the ability for these companies to help develop new acts.

Prince and other will have you believe that they dont get paid enough but in reality its the Princes, Madonna, Dave Mathews etc...are the only ones who get paid anymore. Labels dont make money and new artist get more and more screwed.

$1 million?



wow. that backfired. he would've made more than $1 mil on the number that would have been sold through retail.

Raze said:

Personally I would have preferred to walk into a record store and buy my new Prince CD with proper packaging instead of a cheap cardboard sleeve inserted into "The Nazi on Sunday" but me aside...

actually I don't think Prince would have made more money from the UK market from the sales of the CD for these reasons:

1. Hardcore fans cannot account for more than 40-50k sales in the UK
2. Casual fans know they are getting it free with the concert ticket so they will wait for then

So even if Prince was making £5 per CD (which I doubt) then that would only earn him £250,000 without the chance of a casual listener picking it up. At least there is a chance some people will be curious and play the free CD and MAYBE then think about looking at some of his back catalogue?

I cannot believe that Prince has become so 'safe' as to be deemed appropriate for the Mail on Sunday/Daily Mail readership. This is disgraceful. It would make Tipper smile from ear to ear.

Forget the money, forget the 'innovation' in getting music to the fans; look at the medium. Prince associated with a right wing, nasty tabloid.

$1 million?



wow. that backfired. he would've made more than $1 mil on the number that would have been sold through retail.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/06/30/cnprince130.xml

Paper pays £500k to give Prince's new album away

Last Updated: 2:15am BST 30/06/2007


The Mail on Sunday has paid a reported £500,000 to distribute Prince’s Planet Earth CD
The Mail has paid a reported £500,000 to distribute Prince’s Planet Earth CD

A Sunday newspaper is understood to have paid the Princely sum of $1m (£500,000) to give away the pint-sized popstar's new album, in an unprecedented move that has infuriated music retailers.

HMV chief executive Simon Fox has said it would be "absolutely nuts" for the music industry to give away new CDs through papers amid fears that other artists will follow suit.

The Mail on Sunday is hoping that its costs will be justified by increased sales when it releases the Planet Earth album before any other distributor in the world.

Newspapers have used CD and DVD cover mounts for several years but never before has an artist released a new album as a giveaway.

The music industry, which is battling fierce competition from online piracy, fears the move will further devalue its product.

Martin Talbot, editor of Music Week, said: "The danger is that it becomes a trend for artists who can get a large sum upfront with no marketing costs."

The UK arm of Sony BMG's Columbia records has withdrawn from its global deal to distribute the 10-track Planet Earth album.

Peter Wright, editor of The Mail on Sunday, said: "Prince is running a campaign to give music back to the fans and we are delighted to be involved.

The day he fronts the costs of pressing, marketing and distributing his own music without ANY label or advertising help (permanently like he tried with NPGMC) is the day I take his "war" on the music industry seriously.
[Edited 7/1/07 9:12am]

One of the main things that went wrong in the music biz was that the big artists demanded more and more upfront (and they had every right to do so) but this has destroyed the ability for these companies to help develop new acts.