The problem with P is that he's 2 free 2 do what he likes...

Most great works of art are born from things such as..struggle, oppression, finding ingenius ways around restrictions etc

Thats how we got ingenius innuendos like Lil red corvette and lets go crazy..Lucy in the Sky with diamonds esque

If theres no restrictions then musicians will just start doing randomly stupid things like, oh i don't know...releasing 3 albums at once


.
[Edited 1/7/09 7:09am]

In theory, yes.
But truthfully since he left Warners, he kind of sucked.
He was better off with Warners musically and artistically.
Sure, there may not be any correlation, and hopefully 2009 will prove that.
But so far, it looks like there's a strong positive correlation.


The only thing we can be certain of before LotusFartBlossom is released is that he'd be better off without his wig.

sexyAuntyFuka said:

That's the reason when he was having his dispute with WB that he wrote "slave" on his face so he could have that freedom.

I agree with the OP. I think that being able to do whatever he wants to do (time will tell), will result in lackluster quality music. Hopefully the 3 albums will be the great music that I know that Prince is capable of doing, but I'm skeptical after 3121 and Planet Earth. Out of suffering comes great things, but unrestricted freedom (plus being surrounded by yes-men all day long) may result in another boring album.
Prince, I hope you prove me wrong.

luv4u said:

Yes but he should have done a deal whereby he got copyrights for his music but remained in the WB family instead of this inconsistent loose cannon he is now in the JW family.

Prince was wrong 2 leave WB.
Most people either serious or novice P admirers want a return 2 the magic of the WB years when his music was vetted more 4 weak ass tracks.

Everyone has a plan 4 the man..but it appears that he cannot have one 4 himself. Interesting.....

kenlacam said:

Agreed.

Prince needs 2 have some restrictions on what he's able 2 release because the man has music tourettes and just can't stop spewing out songs no matter what the quality.
What WB and P's old managers did was strategise Prince from more than a musical genius who is respected 2 a musical showman that is adored.

The Prince we have 2day is much like a Prince of old. Not in touch with his fans or his music.

sexyAuntyFuka said:

What if he phisicaly releases LOTUSFLOW3R and MPLS Cd's as a double album package
Some kind of box set like Crystal Ball

I'm sure Warners have no regrets about letting Prince go considering the quality of his releases since then.

scififilmnerd said:

Are u sure about that?

On the flipside, remember WB at first wanted Prince to rework "When Doves Cry" claiming it sounded unfinished. They were also reluctant to release Dirty Mind and refused to release Crystal Ball in its original three disc form.

-
[Edited 1/7/09 7:37am]

sexyAuntyFuka said:

What about the question of ownership. Are you saying that Prince should have just let that go and not care, since WB was not willing to grant him the rights?

scififilmnerd said:

No record label is glad to get rid of a successful artist. I'm sure Warner wished they could have released Musicology.

Prince does not need a record label, they don't know how to handle established artists. They put money into some new or hyped up act who get replaced by the next one in a few years and the previous one is forgotten. Of course there are artists who can't force themselves to make new music if there's no pressure from a recording contract (MJ) but Prince is not one of them.

wonder505 said:

I said in my previous post "he should have done a deal whereby he got copyrights for his music but remained in the WB family"

Prince as a musician is a genius but as a music strategist/producer he sucks. Thats why:
a: No exceptional ground-breaking albums that people will remember him 4 since leaving WB, just scattered random sparks of greatness
b. This is also the reason none of his acts have ever gone on 2 be huge for any period of time. sure he had the odd hit here or there but mostly he doesnt do game plans 2 well and needs a record co./manager.
He must be still pissed that Terry lewis & Jimmy Jam made the superstar Janet Jackson whilst the best he could do was...well, carmen Electra

duplicate post edit
[Edited 1/7/09 8:00am]

Graycap23 said:

yes, sigh. many fans believe that if it was up to them prince would have a greater career. Backseat drivers surpreme. let prince be prince and create your own career. That prince was at his peak when he was with WB is probably more to do with timing then anything else. Its not like the music industry is churning out classic music so I don't know why anyone would think they should be the gatekeeers.

I don't understand why people can't be content to watch his story unfold as
he sees fit. If u don't like the music simply tune out.

tricky99 said:

It happens with a lot of artists. Fans tend to think they own their favourite and they want him/her to please their taste instead of just taking or leaving what s/he gives them. They either get lucky and the artist releases something they like, or they completely lose interest and will say "I used to love him/her when s/he was great"...

LiveToTell86 said:

And it happens all the time here on the org. These next 2 or 3 CD's are going to be more of the same. You watch and observe. It's going to be a spectacle, I tell you.

sexyAuntyFuka said:

But how do you know he didn't try? From what I understand record companies don't grant those type of rights.

I think being with a label has advantages and disadvantages, although I no longer see the advantages today, especially with the state of the music industry.

This is a case of "coulda, shoulda, woulda". We don't know how much better or worse the music would have been if P was still on a label. I would only like P being with WB or whoever only cause it would mean that P would still be on the radio but that's not real anymore. Nowadays, artists seem to be running away from labels. Even WB's biggest cash cow, Madonna, is getting far away from them. If they can't keep her, who can they keep? My hope is the same hope I've had with Prince since I was a child, I hope that the music is good and that I will like the CD. Simple as that.

purplecam said:

We do know.....look at how many acts have been signed 2 labels since Prince began his career. Have any of them put out material that can be compared 2 Prince? I'd say no.....

purplecam said:

yes its happened with every album since the I've been coming to this site, why would it change? Maybe that is where i differ with alot of fans. I have never been looking for prince to give me a certain type of song\sound. For me Prince's genuis lies in his creative abiliites and not the genre or production technique he chooses to vent his creation from.

Most artist now a day have their own record labels because what Prince went through with Warner. Now artists have more control over their music, so record label is only good to promote or distribute the record.

tricky99 said:

Me too.

purplecam said:

Madonna signed a new contract with Live Nation in 2007 and as a result, Warner did no promo for her last album released under them. They fucked up her latest single and postponed her upcoming greatest hits collection instead of releasing it during the holiday season. There's nothing left in Warner that would benefit any artist.

hard to believe since Prince has become free "fans" still continue to blemish
his decisions with their ignorance.

it's so refreshing Prince is weeding out, slowly but surely, the brain drains

luvsexy4all said:

.....agreed.

LiveToTell86 said:

Look at that! There it is right there. Hell, I didn't even know that another single was released. What was the song? Prince is doing the right thing being where he is right now.

purplecam said:

"Miles Away" was the last single. Warner didn't even send it to US radio stations even though "4 Minutes" was her biggest airplay hit in 6 years and the album track "Beat Goes On" was played by some stations, demanding it to be a single. Of course Warner dropped the ball. The song didn't have a video and as a 3rd single of an album with zero promo, it broke her string of UK Top 20 hits. That's Warner for ya.

sexyAuntyFuka said:

how about leaving out ur religious views in this discussion?

and ur speaking from someone that obviously has never been in the record business nor had any meetings with record execs when discussing what is ur's and what is theirs.

WB has lost it's way when the likes of Mo Ostin and Larry Warnoker left WB. And if WB is sooooo great, then y did the likes of Linkin Park have problems with them? Y did Madonna leave them?