i'm sorry but you ARE retarded....or perhaps slow...to even dare..let alone think... that prince is not successful....this man has never left our hearts...mind...body..and wallets...i rather spend my money on prince-anything then buy underwear...commando all-the-way...hey prince can do it...so can i...mzsexybaby
[Edited 10/15/08 9:00am]

If the measure of success u mention is record sales..then it's the same reason most artists overall i imagine r less successful nowadays... DIGITAL DOWNLOADS P2P etc.. Video killed the radio star, now digital kills the video star..and the whole mass marketing machine eventually..

In terms of direct marketing and innovations on the net, he's been ahead by leaps n bounds and in some respects very successful, but even he himself doesnt quite know how 2 handle it..yet. Spoilt lil' brat doesn't like sharing.

Preaches about love of God and people etc but places greater value on a $ amount and legalities rather than the happinass and pride of mother and her child enjoying 'his' music which theyd more than likely paid 4...4 eggsample I don't get it.

Just cuz he doesnt get around in surgical masks and own a theme park doesnt mean the guy aint a crackpot...

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

What the hell are u talking about?

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

i'll agree with u except when ur saying things r catchier since the last crap of planet earth is hard 2 swallow ..but many tracks from 3121 were more catchier than what's out there now.

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

Well Madonna is a 50 year old who still makes songs for the kids and her shit is still on the radio. Why is there this double standard if Prince wants to do the same thing and yet he can't get airplay even if he paid someone? People also want to say, "it's because Prince's music sucks." Well explain to me why songs like "My Humps" or "Laffy Taffy" make it to the top 5 of Billboard's pop charts a few years ago or any of the shit that's on the top 10 like The Jonas Brothers now? Quality means NOTHING in what's played on the radio today, so even if Prince's music is god-awful, which I don't think it is, it should still be played reguarly on the radio. Why do radio programmers decide what's good and bad for the listeners? They may not have the same taste as me, so I should suffer hearing the Pussycat Dolls for the millionth time because he or she loves that dog shit? Fuck that shit yo! For all we know, "Black Sweat" would have been a smash hit if given a chance but them pussies who run the radio love to eat the musical vomit they eat. I just think that there are too many discrepancies with shit like this. I don't see why Prince doesn't get a chance to still be played regularly on the radio.
[Edited 9/9/08 13:02pm]

purplecam said:

Good point and we are all Prince biased here, but Madonna's latest albums are way more polished, she is far more aggressive and focused as a singles artist than Prince.
I would bet she out spends Prince ten fold to get an album out, and she means business, hiring top producers, writers, and guest appearances (JT) She has a top notch marketing machine, expensive videos, she pulls all stops and goes all out. Plus she is far savvier in doing what it takes to get a hit record.
Does that mean she's is a better artist or more successful? No like someone pointed out, successes mean something different to different people.

alandail said:

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis became successful music producers and went beyond the Prince sound and imprinted their own creativity after the Time with many artists. With the recent time reunion, I would be the first in line to buy a prince produced album with all of those MPLS artists included. History has proven when Prince surrounds himself by musicians that go beyond being session players but musicians that have the creativity to produce their own music that it inspires him..they all have a rich history of experience during the last 25 years to draw upon that it would be FUNKY.

dolorespark said:

Do you realize that when Jimmy and Terry were a part of The Time they didn't even have to show up in the studio? They were hired to play Prince's music and at their concerts. That's the reason they were fired because they were expendable. How the fuck can you classify Jimmy and Terry being used as producers of Prince's music going back to where it all started?

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

Yep, as much as I love Madonna, her last few albums have really proved that she'd rather desperately search for the latest, hippest producers in order to give herself top ten status rather than letting the music speak for itself and creating something genuinely Madonna. Her more recent albums have come across as 'Producer du Jour featuring Madonna' albums rather than solely Madonna albums.

No matter how few albums Prince may sell these days, his legend will live on as a truly creative genius. Madonna will live on as 'the female Elvis'.

Success is relative, most definitely.




_____
[Edited 9/12/08 14:47pm]

To each his (or her) own, but I believe that he's had exactly the type of success he needed to have this decade to keep things fresh. When you have the immense library of hits that Prince does, you no longer need top 10 pop smashes to let people know that you are around, which seems to be his goal. Instead, he only need to have "decent" radio airplay or a hit video to let the older listeners know that he's still around and to convert a smaller portion of new fans. To that end he has been very successful. Case in point:

2004:
a. Wildly popular Grammy performance.
b. Inducted into the R&R hall of fame with an equally acclaimed performance.
c. Musicology becomes one of the biggest tours of all time.
d. The Musicology album goes double platinum. How it got there doesn't matter, as the certification brought more attention to the artist, his tour, and album.
e. The Musicology video was a hit, with regular airplay on VH1, MTV, and BET.
f. The Musicology song had good airplay on traditional R&B radio, going Top 10 on the Urban Adult Contemporary chart; and goes Top 40 in a bunch of other countries.
g. The Musicology song wins a Grammy.
h. Call My Name is a R&B smash. It goes #1 on the Urban AC chart, and stays there for 4 weeks. Call My Name then stays on the Billboard Hot 100 for 18 weeks.
i. Call My Name wins a Grammy.

2005:
Wins Vanguard Award from the NAACP and gives another acclaimed performance. I can recall the famous DJ, Donnie Simpson, saying that he thought that it was the best performance he has ever seen.

2006:
a. 3131 debuts at #1 on the U.S. album chart on its way to going Gold, then it goes to #1 on the European album chart the next week. Just his going #1 is enough to generate more publicity.
b. Te Amo Corazon does well on the charts in about seven or eight countries.
c. The Black Sweat video is a hit in the U.S., receiving heavy airplay on MTV, VH1 and BET. The video also goes to #1 on the VH1.com video chart.

2007:
a. Gives what many consider the best Super Bowl performance ever.
b. Performs a unique and historic run of shows in London.
c. Future Baby Mama gets strong play on Urban AC radio, going top 10 on the chart.
d. Future Baby Mama wins a Grammy.

Does most of this outdo what he did twenty years ago? Of course not. However, at this point of his career, this type of output keeps him fresh in the minds of many listeners of all ages. For instance, many R&B listeners are familiar with his new songs and have heard them often. Also, those that regularly watch music videos have often seen/heard at least two of his songs. Add the historic performances and he is exactly where he needs to be. Everybody knows that he's still around and can attract new fans. It’s all about good attention and recognition, and he’s got that again. Just my lengthy opinion. Thanks.

audience1 said:

I agree, he has done more for the for his good name this decade so far than the privous one, He almost ruined his good name in the 90's and he's done a good job of reminding people of his greatness this decade, not with inovation or artistry, but just by reminding people of his greatness in his live shows..the Superbowl, Musicology, 21 nights, Coachella, The Vegas Shows" etc. etc.
[Edited 9/10/08 20:09pm]

viewaskew said:

recent drivel?i admit future babys mama is drivel but musicology and definately call my name are not

??? Whay? Bad fans?

dseann said:

Of course Jimmy and Terry didn't produce Prince. Everyone makes mistakes. Their all talented in their careers and would be great for a collaborative effort cd with all of the MPLS family somehow involved. It could even be something thats given away online for free. Doesn't have to be a major release, just something for the fans to enjoy....a la nine inch nails.....dig if u will brother maurice will be around in a minute....

dolorespark said:

dseann said:

Maybe he'll bring back Dale Bozio to produce. That will really get you fallin off you chair..hehehhehehehhhehe.....its all good.....lol

dolorespark said:

What I'm laughing at is that line "could be given away on-line for free". Prince will sue the shit out of your ass for the unauthorized use of his image on-line, do you really think he'll give away anything free? Come on.

tricky99 said:[quote]

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

purplecam said:

tell em' purple tell em'lol... I always said Prince is being blacklisted in the industry.. cause his music is 3x better than the mess on the radio ..

L4OATheOriginal said:

maybe so, but you wouldnt be even listening to last december if prince didnt release doves cry,kiss and raspberry - those hits allowed him to continued to get record contracts, and gave him media exposure eventually leading to indulgences like the rainbow children. last december might be quality to you, but to me it is boredom. fuck man if prince released TRC in 1984 his career would have ended then.

rusty1 said:

i think some element of success is to speak to a general music lover, a non-prince fan and see what they think. If you asked someone off the street if they liked (or even heard of) 3121, they probably would know it or any songs off it. But if you asked someone about Diamonds and pearls, most likely they have heard of it and cream. money dont matter, etc.

my point is that 3121 may have been number 1, but publicly no one cared for it. So I agree with this post, that with prince spending a few months on the chart would be a great indicator of success musically, because this means that non-fans are listening. yeah, all the hardcore fans on this site might like 3121, but its what the average jo out there thinks which will be a real show of his legacy in years to come.

alandail said:

these numbers ar exactly my point, prince is only really interested in making money. so he probably thinks he has been successful over the last 15 years. I personally think the fact that 3121, musicology and the other mediocre albums he has made recently are shifting units is success in itself!

can you imagine what sort of success he would have if he made a decent album! Come on Prince, I know you still have another good one with you!

it's weird, because i found the ability to sell-out the 21 nights highly successful

bottom line is Prince cannot satisfy every one, including those who percieve themselves as fans

then again, there's also his own measure of what it means to be successful. PR was released a long time ago, and though he likes playing the song...

he's into other ventures now, like sharing a book and cd with us

success is subjective/personal

purplecam said:

either you wernt around in the 80s when there was so much terrible music released or you are in denial. in the 80s, 70s any era really.. there has always been a lot of shit in the chart, just think of rock me amadaues, IOU, pass the hoochie, shiny shiny, the nolans, bananarama, it was all lame silly shite, the equivalent today is my hump and pusscat dolls (anyone ever heard of Appolonia 6) come on, its not just music now -there has always been a market for crap and this stuff makes the top 10 regularly. However as you know, many quality artists make the top 10 as well there is room for all sorts of stuff in there. the one thing that has put prince off the top 10 in the last 20 years is the fact that his tunes are not that catchy (or interesting) any more. Sales of recent albums, 3121, musicology, etc are really mostly his fans buying (people like me) thats why any of his new albums will fall off the charts after a couple of weeks because all the fans have parted with their cash and no one else cares.

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

i agree completely with this. madonna cant sing or write music, but she still sells and is still a very relevant artist outside her hardcore fan base. unfortunately prince uses the same producer time and time again (himself), so his music is always going to be pretty much the same.

Flowers2 said:

conspiracy theorists!! black sweat didnt make it because it was a sh1t song, no one liked it, it was trying to sound cutting edge and cool, but it backfired and sounds weak and tired. it was on TV all the time, is was played on the radio, people out there just didnt like it.