teacherlady88 said:

So you think if Prince released this stuff, the folks who buy it would purchase the SAME music from bootleggers? I don't think so.

And I'm an artist, so I know this must hurt his heart. The bottom line is that it's so out of control at this point, the only thing he can do is jump into the game & play it himself. B/c this problem is not gonna go away by ignoring it...

teacherlady88 said:

i agree. i do appreciate the points raised in this thread, but prince and prince alone should ultimately decide how and when his product is distributed

check this out: Prince, this is how easily and cheaply you could press your discs for us: http://www.copycatsmedia.com/index.html

that is so right on. i remember my first terrible quality bootleg of the black album, and the x records version of small club. These were like hidden treasures. thus they started me trying to hunt down everything i could from p. he needs to wake up. I wouldn't even mind buying cdr's from the npgmc. that is basically what the DOW single i got from them is. take a look at the back of the disc. you can see that he had these pressed at a cd duplication joint


http://www.copycatsmedia.com/index.html

bfunk

Ok, people...you want to see things change? Are you tired of complaining about this, and you want to take a stand and take action, and SHOW PRINCE that you're serious about changing this bootleg situation?...I believe that EVERY SINGLE PERSON on the Org who read this post (including me) ...should COPY and email this thread to NPGMC...THAT way he'll know we're serious, and even though that's a small step, I believe its important.

LadyCabDriver said:

co-sign.

But we all have everything anyway.

2freaky4church1 said:

So not true if you think for a moment about how many shows/aftershows/rehearsals are lying around the Park that we'd all pay $$ for...via download, CDR, or some other means.

I feel every word U said 27!!!

I have every album, but nothing compares to what you get when you have bootlegs. When I found out about the bootlegs in early 1988, I almost lost my mind to how much material Prince really had. I have collected many boots such as:

Cosmos
Dreams
Deposition
H20
The Work vol 1-5
Funky Party 2 Night
Camille
Dream Factory
Crystal Ball (original 1987 version)

Without these boots, I think I would get really frustrated at Prince, because I know what he can really put out if he set his heart and mind to it. I also said the same thing as 27 and release the vault and his fans will be so happy and Prince will be too. I would hate to think that he would try to hold back his best material away from the people who truly love him and his music.

AS indicated previously...

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL!!!

HOW hard are those four words...better YET...TWO WORDS
DONT STEAL

BEST YET "DONT"

GODBLISS YA GOD KISS YA AND all that amazing something or other...

*o) "until eternity smiles"

With love Honor and Respect SINGMIA~ARJUNA

Prince can complain about bootlegs all he wants and he can sue some of his fans here and there to try and make a point. But "the genie is out of the bottle" with bootlegs and he'll never really have much of an impact on stopping the flow of unreleased/live material out there.

He just has a bit of a "blind spot" where his fans and bootlegs are concerned. He just doesn't seem to get it.

There were times in the past when he suggested that everyone bring their tape recorders to the concert, but somehow he has moved away from this point of view. Oh well, he's still a great artist, but just misguided on this issue. In the meantime, we will still be trading his live CDs/mp3s among ourselves and enriching our lives with his unreleased music. And he'll continue to benefit from it financially and artistically, as his fanbase will remain loyal and into his stuff.

I haven't bought a bootleg in 10 years, but I'm glad that someone is buying them, so they continue to be produced and uploaded to the newsgroup and traded among fans. In my estimation, bootleggers are saints...they are doing the right thing for the wrong reason, but they are still doing far more good than harm in the world.
[This message was edited Tue Oct 1 20:16:20 PDT 2002 by TonyC]
[This message was edited Tue Oct 1 20:17:06 PDT 2002 by TonyC]

Music is Music. I think all of it should be shared. That is what keeps the world going. That is what binds us to everyone. I respect people like Phish and Dave, for letting people tape their concerts. Think about it. Not everyone can go to a ( every concert) and they are missing something from that. And artists like Prince ( Tori Amos ect...) do different versions of their songs too. What if one certain way - or song that is not on any album or recording that is released- really inspires someone, in some way, shape, or form in life. That's my thoughts.

Off topic

the27thletter said:

wtf? That's senseless

Doozer said:

Oh, I totally agree that he should get the material out there himself. The sooner the better. But think like a business person. He still has overhead to consider. And then there is the problem of glutting the market. Imagine the amount of material he could put out if he really wanted to fight back. And the bootlegs will be sold dirt cheap. Young guys come into the place where I get my hair braid all the time selling knock-offs of everything. Here is one example. Why would people buy pirated movies! You know - some jerk with a camera tapes the movie in the theater. These women snap up these tapes like crazy. I just shake my head. This is the mentality out there. Why wait a few months for the real thing when you can buy a peice of crap now.

CalhounSq said:

You mean you haven't encountered these "sheep" who have to have a copy of everything they can find by Prince? I have. And which do you think will make it to the "market" first? Prince's CD or the bootleggers? Which do you think will be cheaper? And again, I agree. He should fight them where they live. But, I feel strongly about accountability. A bootlegger is opportunist of the worst kind, making money for being a high tech thief. These people should be shunned, not applauded. And like most vermin, they will always be around.

Misha said:

Misha, I understand what you are saying. But think. Well, maybe this will help. I missed the pre-show when he came to DC. I heard that he played Beautiful Strange. Love that song. (I still haven't gotten over it.) I would have loved to hear it live. I wanted it to be included on the box set he's about to release and it isn't. But, I would NOT purchase a bootleg of that performance under any circumstances. People used to have brilliant moments, once-in-a-lifetime moments. Well, sometimes those moments lose something when they are on Memorex and you can replay them a million times. Next time I'll make sure that I'm in the audience when he does something brilliant and I will be forever grateful for whatever he decides to offer us from the things I miss. If a song was meant to inspire me, I will hear it - by legal means only! How can I be inspired by a song obtained in an immoral manner?

Addendum: CalhounSq - check out Joyinrepetition's post.