Over past few years, Prince has disappointed his fans time after time, applying his characteristic control urges to the brave new online world. Although, back in 2001, NPGOnlineLtd.com carried the hidden message "Trying 2 stop filesharing is like trying 2 stop the rain", Prince seemed to lose interest in that philosophy and step up efforts to control not only the unauthorized distribution of his music but also the use - anywhere and in any way - of his image. When it seemed things couldn't get worse, Prince even tried to remove any unauthorized uses of any part of his music, even in instances where such use couldn't possibly be commercially detrimental to the artist. Fans, non-fans, and website operators alike have had to contend with cease and desist notices and legal threats.

Although Prince fansites have banded together and provided an effective resistance to Prince's strangulation attempts, there have been losses. On Housequake.com, for instance, all Prince videos, mainstream and rare, have disappeared.

But imagine a Piratebay of the Prince fansite world, a rebellious website that could do anything it wanted, immune from Prince's control. What would that look like? Here are some ideas...

+ Rare photos, including ones taken at recent concerts.
+ Absolute free speech where any criticism of Prince could be made.
+ Links on where to obtain downloadable bootlegs.
+ File-hosting of all official and unofficial studio works, concerts, TV appearences, etc.
+ Fan-made music remixes and compilations.

Prince was right back in 2001. The internet circumvents any attempt to strangehold mass activity. In spite of all attempts, it's still easy to download any released and unreleased studio and live work. If Prince only embraced the internet and understood that the control he enjoyed in his pre-internet career is no longer possible, a new world of cultural impact would begin. More people would enjoy Prince's talents in new ways unimagined by even the artist.

Prince.org, Housequake, and the other Prince fansites have done incredible work in continuing to foster the worldwide Prince fanbase. We all owe much to their efforts, often made in the face of threats from the artist himself. I would personally like to thank the operators and moderators of those sites for everything they have done.

What kind of Prince fansite would you like to see in a 100% liberated world? Or do you think that Prince's strategies thus far are in fact the way to go? Over to you...
[Edited 10/29/08 15:52pm]

Jeez, give it up, let the man earn a living or do as he pleases with his work

You can do all the above as it is now, why try and make something to rub his nose in.
[Edited 10/29/08 17:08pm]

other artists i enjoy have more liberal standards concerning their image and recordings. when i'm on their virtual playgrounds, i enjoy the wide, rolling expanses and appreciate the space these artists give their fans.

prince's playground is a bit more cramped and there are cameras installed everywhere and hall monitors walking around carrying baseball bats, but the swing sets and slides are cooler here, so i stay and follow the rules as they're understood.

Anxiety said:

What the hell are you talking about?

Personally I think Prince could have easily PWNED the shit out of this decade with a proper fansite, a distrubtion deal with iTunes as well as his own IPod, and unveiling of all the live videos/etc. etc. from the vault as well as unreleased songs.

There's so much material in his vault, I'm convinced, that it would keep critics, fans, and other musicians years to go through and digest even a fraction of it.

Prince's problem is he's allowing HIM to be the business man, and he's not very good at it. Hell, he's pretty much proven he's not very good at anything but music and performing.

Imago said:

i'm sorry. i'll try to misspell more words next time.

Now thats what I'm talkin about!-Cue Sex Pistols "Anarchy in the UK"

Imago said:

If he was truly interested in purging himself of his past and focus on creating new music, that would have been the perfect way 2 do it.

did u forget last year?
Prince Sues YouTube, eBay, and Pirate Bay
By BetaNews Staff, BetaNews
September 13, 2007, 5:28 PM
Pop star Prince said Thursday that he plans to sue social video site YouTube, online auction site eBay, and file trading site Pirate Bay in an attempt to reign in piracy of his work on the Internet. On a statement on his Web site, Prince said that while YouTube was already filtering out pornography, it was not filtering music and film content because it "is core to their business success." The move is somewhat surprising, considering Prince has had a history of challenging the music industry and its business practices.

Prince is working with British company Web Sheriff to assist in having the offending material removed. So far, it has successfully had about 2,000 unauthorized videos of Prince removed, however it said that new content is constantly appearing on the site. It had also removed about 300 items from eBay. "Prince strongly believes artists as the creators and owners of their music need to reclaim their art," the statement read.
source:
http://www.betanews.com/a...1189718935