i was wondering if the planet earth cd giveaway in the uk...2,500,000 copies ....has had any effect on sales of his back catalogue or in bringing new fans to recognise his huge talents or to bring back people who had lost interest in him...the 21 concerts in london last summer brought him some long needed media attention and were a huge success for him.....i guess we will find out when his next album is released and see how well it sells in the uk....

I heard those copies were being counted?

i didn't appreciate pe album until after o2.
my other half very keen 2 get his hands on the free copy, but hadn't followed prince career since lovesexy..

as much as i love the album, i'm not convinced it persuaded peeps 2 get themselves along 2 the gigs...but it did serve as a promotional tool & after seeing prince perform i guess ur converted!
however, despite my renewed interest in prince, the only cash i forked out is on his next concert but have bought used cds & dvds, so no impact on sales there...
sales 4 the the dublin show will b interesting & might b an measure of his recent successs.

blackbob said:

Hello you sweet man,

I have no idea what effect it had, been a little busy, but at a glance I'd say he stirred the pot just nicely.

Cheers

It gave me the chance to get it for free without having to chip in one dime to Prince's greedy hands

I bought it from Target.

The latest issue of Wired features a brief analysis of the Planet Earth giveaway. They point out how much Prince made in the concerts vs. what he lost by giving the CD away (he made money, the newspaper lost money). I disagreed with some of their numbers and their logic, but the larger point is that the only effect it needed to have was to help spur ticket sales and reinforce Prince's status as both a musician and a businessman. In that regard, I think it was a success.

i think the giveaway hurt since it was a crap album given away and it might make those that didn't know his music not want 2 delve in2 his cataloge, but then since he hardly played anything new at the 02 arena it may have helped

Efan said:

I think the move was successful primarily in getting attention.

The decision attracted much press in the UK which I'm sure drew some to the concerts.

Not only did it probably help build interest in O2 ticket sales, WB also saw this is an opportunity to re-release 12" singles and stores went to town on offering the available back catalogue at much reduced prices to capitalise on the interest (and add a cent or two of royalties to Prince's bank balance).
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