Normally interested only in what's going in the singles charts, James Masterton's commentary last week started with a long sumary of the Planet Earth giveaway:

CHART COMMENTARY from JAMES MASTERTON
17/07/07

It's funny really. The one musical act making all the headlines in the UK this week is actually nowhere near the charts. The man of course is Prince. Last original Top 40 hit - 1997. Last time he released an album to widespread critical acclaim - 1995. Yet he is currently the most talked about man in the country thanks to the deal he signed to give away his brand new album with copies of a national newspaper. No vouchers, no forms to fill in. You buy the Mail On Sunday (price - £1.40), you get a shrink wrapped copy of 'Planet Earth'. As a musician, Prince hasn't been a genius for a decade. As a marketer he is a master. Just as he arrives in the UK for an extended series of dates, taking up residence for three weeks at one of the biggest concert arenas in the south of England, with one deal he's ensured that a copy of his new work is in the homes of three million people with all promotion and distribution being paid for by the newspaper. When asked what was wrong with a man who doesn't need the money giving away his music and so leaving people with the spare cash to spend on music by new and up coming artists instead, a representative for the music retailers association claimed that people only have so much time in a week to listen to music and that they wouldn't buy another album if they were busy listening to Prince. To think people wonder why I think the music industry is run by idiots.

leecaldon said:

I was just reading this earlier, and I couldn't agree with JM more. Let's face it! The music industry (especially in the UK) is in doldrums now and something close to a lightning bolt is needed to revive it. Say of you will of P, but at least he's making things interesting by initiating a new paradigm. Just my 2 cents.
[Edited 7/22/07 18:41pm]