http://media.guardian.co....rss&feed=4

What will be the outcome I wonder, the law is on his side in relation to copyright. Thing is I understand his view point(as originally he paid for on his own label and with his Warner contract* vids and music to be produced and hows anyone going to make money in music if its always free...) but some artists don't mind even concert vids by fans being on there. I guess only authorised stuff will be on there, but wont people end up just creating more and more sites constantly... I wouldn't want to take on the internet...

* when an artist has a contract the record co. gives them money to produce an album or vid, a big star sometimes a couple of million. This then acts like an overdraft they have to pay off against their accounts, when they make the money back its only then the artist gets a percentage of their taking from the co. I used to work in music accounting... can you tell! lol!
[Edited 9/13/07 8:22am]

Prince seeks to 'reclaim the net'


Jemima Kiss
Thursday September 13, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk


Prince: his representatives have asked for around 2,000 illegally uploaded videos to be removed from YouTube. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

Prince is threatening to sue a raft of major websites, including YouTube, eBay and Pirate Bay, as part of a legal initiative to "reclaim the internet" from rampant piracy.
Lawsuits relating to Prince's material will be launched in the US and UK as part of a campaign led by anti-piracy firm Web Sheriff, which is representing the star.

The Web Sheriff managing director, John Giacobbi, said the extent of piracy online has become "ridiculous", spanning videos, music downloads, bootleg merchandise and unlicenced ringtones.

"99% of the stuff online is totally unauthorised," he told MediaGuardian.co.uk.

"Someone has to start somewhere and we know this will make a serious impact - a hell of a lot of artists are going to follow suit.

"We have to build a 21st century model for the entertainment industry."

Mr Giacobbi described YouTube, eBay and Pirate Bay as being in "the vanguard" of online piracy and said he hoped that once cases against those companies had been won, smaller sites would be more respectful.

In the past two weeks, Prince's legal representatives have requested the removal of around 2,000 illegally uploaded videos from YouTube.

Mr Giacobbi said the action was not intended to place blame on web users, but said artists should have the right to control their own work, where it is experienced and how their image is portrayed.

He questioned why YouTube was able to filter porn from the site, but not copyrighted material.

A spokeswoman for YouTube said the site "had no way of knowing" whether content had been uploaded legitimately or not.

Many artists upload their own material to YouTube, and on some occasions, she added, one part of a company had requested the takedown of material uploaded by another division.

The spokeswoman said the company will be introducing video fingerprinting technology that will scan videos for copyrighted material as they are uploaded, and will work with rights owners to build a database of such footage.

Prince joins a queue of media entities planning to sue YouTube. In March, MTV owner Viacom announced a $1bn copyright infringement suit against the site, and in May the English Premier League said it would also sue.

Mr Giacobbi described Prince as being a "radical and pioneering" artist, citing his spat with Warner in the early 90s when he changed his name to The Artist Formerly Known as Prince in order to regain control of his own rights.

Prince "wants to create a template for other artists", he added. "Prince doesn't really want to go around suing people - he'd much rather people just respected his rights. He will be victorious."

A spokeswoman for Anschutz Entertainment Group, Prince's tour management company, said the performer is ready to challenge the system. "Very few artists have ever taken this kind of action over their rights," she added.



I forgot to add this bit edit


Good on Prince for taking these people on.








but I think it will hurt him in the long run, as there will be no where to see his videos of songs unless he releases the lot on dvd/bluray/ vhs or betamax, and never let them go out of print, just look at Elvis hes still selling stuff by the van load and thats released stuff.
[Edited 9/13/07 8:32am]

Wow

but this is what happens when ur site doesn't offer that type of access. those that weren't around when a lot of these videos were 1st done looked 2 the net 2 get that access. it's not like fans haven't publicy asked prince 2 add videos dvd etc 2 hiw own website. alienation will just hurt him in the end.

this is the digital age, where as soon as something gets dropped, it will pop up somewhere else

L4OATheOriginal said:

hmmm ok how do we ask him as we cant post on 3121 and a lot of people have said ' wish i could see so and so video but where' and with the poparity of the video vault of HQ now gone there is no wheer left to see them unless Prince releases them.




PRINCE PLEASE PLEASE LET THE FANS (YOUR FANS) SEE ALL OF YOUR VIDEOS PLEASE

aymiderham said:

-----

I would think that this suit was being headed up by Universal as they control the publishing and are also losing money.

I think Chuck D said it best, "tryin' to stop illegal downloads is like tryin' to stop the rain!", or something to that effect. One way or another ppl will get what the want from the net. All you have to do is a little searching and boom, you got what you want. There are so many less known P2P programs out there to choose from and not to mention a lot of websites that offer direct DL's. I understand P's view point but c'mon, it's to his benefit. I mean how many newcomers to the Org post a comment about a video they have just seen of Prince and are totally amazed? Only to find out it has been out for years. In my opinion P has gained a new fan cuz of that video or has made that fan more interested in his material which translates into more money for him.

Klick

(In an old southern slave voice)

OOOOOHHHH!!!! Somebody said Prince...shh shh shh you don't do, say, or bring up da masta's name...shhh shh shhh awwww lllaaawwrrdd ...da masta's gon sue....run, hide, he gon get your hide, you gone get whipped!!!!!

Aparently money dont matter tonight!

I don't think that his site will offer anything along the line of videos/downloads/store until this is settled! I think 3121.com's current "dullness" is very much intentional and not laziness, neglect, or lack of interest on their part like many believe!

The man is just living his life and doing his job in the manner which he believes it should be done!
[Edited 9/13/07 11:09am]
[Edited 9/13/07 11:10am]

How is he going to be able to sue eBay? It's not automatically apparent that you've bought a fake until you have it in your hands.

Even when the NPG Music Club was online, it didn't offer any other payment method than Credit Cards - which I don't (and won't) own. Why not just accept PayPal - or even Debit Cards like Maestro? In fact, why can't NPG Records sell through iTunes like every other record company?

Will 'The Gold Experience' or "The Black Album" ever be in print again? What about all the associated artists' albums?

I really don't see the problem with YouTube either. The audio and video quality is evidently below-par.

Well, there you have it.

If this is true, then Prince really can't go more than a couple of years without some type of P&R blunder, whether or not the law is on his side.



The idea that your video is being played on youtube, to me, is like free advertising.

Now .mp3s being passed around is a different thing altogether. But sueing youtube? It's a hundred times the advertising conduit that shitty 3121 site or npgmc ever was.

Ain't gonna work that way, Prince. Don't smack all the new fans who wanna love you. People aren't gonna visit 3121.com every day just hoping that they can download the 'Automatic' video for $3.99.

Ain't you the guy who said "music should be free, like air"? Let the minions watch crappy little videos on YouTube, and they'll be the first in line to buy tickets to your shows. But take all their fun away now, and I guarantee they won't have the time of day for you when you come to town.

Do people pay to make videos so they can keep them locked up in a vault until the day they die and/or their estate goes up in flames? Come now, videos are for marketing -- you want people to watch them so that they come back for more. Hey, you might make a lifelong fan. But not this way.



exodus, free the music

If that's what he's going to do, it would be nice if he put some of those videos up on 3121.com so members would have a place to see them, at least.

Suing Ebay is stupid, nothing will come of it.

Suing The Pirate Bay is worthless, it'll never work.

The only case is against Youtube.

But all three lawsuits are stupid. Let your new fans have fun sharing videos. People want to see your videos and when they do, they're converted fans and have more of a respect for you as an artist. The Super Bowl video was so popular, so many comments and views, but every time you shut it down. Why? Aren't you rich and successful enough? Don't you want new fans?

You make me laugh, you're so ridiculous.

oldpurple said:

One should not need to ask. The mere fact that youtube/ebay etc have these out there is because of the need.

Prince's withholding of this material is only going to mean boots and unauthorizations. He likes makin the money...I don't see why he has not tapped into some of these things his fans want.

maybe he's planning to come out w/ a video collection?

Imago said:

Precisely.

And someone else made a good point about music videos being promotional tools to begin with.

It's silly to get all Johnny Law over low quality, grainy clips that do more to help than harm Prince's public profile.

He was getting all that free publicity through Youtube, and now he went and junked it all up. Prince really has a knack for sabotaging his own interests.

oldpurple said:

this was asked many a times on npgmc. 4 someone so concerned about his image and how it's used, it seems he would rather not have it shown at all.
[Edited 9/13/07 18:11pm]

R.I.P videos


it's 500% his right, but i wish he'd focus more on the music then lawsuits.


unfortunately on his part, these things are a cycle. he could erase every video today, and find some creeping their way back on the net with time. this is also a sad example of how much power an artist can have over their fans. not one person has even contemplated the idea of petitioning this stuff (not that we should, i'm just saying )
[Edited 9/13/07 13:30pm]

Here's a quote from former Paisley Park engineer, Michael Koppelman...



http://www.lolife.com/blo...00062.html

lol this is stupid! why does he keep obsessing over these things?

princey,

wtf!

bye.

Mr Giacobbi said the action was not intended to place blame on web users, but said artists should have the right to control their own work, where it is experienced



certainly not on 3121.com yeah, sell us another bottle of perfume princey
instead of putting up some live clips from london or whatevs on your own site..

What is he doing?
The way he is acting people will think he has changed his name again!

Next album-Sign of the Past Times by "You Tube"

Christopher said:

Prince doesn't allow the unauthorized use of his name and/or nicknames. You have been warned.

This seems so stupid to me. The guy, for all his genius has a huge blind spot where exposure to more people is concerned and keeping his fan base excited. It's not about anybody ripping him off, it's about being able to stay connected with what turns us on about him. Ultimately that's going to mean more sales for him. Why doesn't he realize this?

Who said 'free advertising'? Word.

I completely and totally agree that videos are a promotional device for music as radio play is to touring which ultimately brings in the dollars for artists.

I think Prince is totally missing the point.