Yes, he split with his record company and chartered his own path, but his music should've continued to be in the media's spotlight. I don't believe the explanation that it was all because the songs themselves weren't good enough. Perhaps ditching major labels wasn't a good idea in terms of commercial success? That raises the question: Even though charting your own path is admirable, was it worth it, given all the downsides? Yes, commercial success is not everything, but come on, artistic quality and success can go hand in hand, and there are many examples of it.

Bottom line: he should've stayed on top, why didn't he?

Because starting with Diamonds and Pearls he became a trend follower rather than a trend setter. Prince made that album after the Graffiti Bridge boondoggle to recapture his marketability, it worked as it was a good album and sold 6 million copies and gave us Cream as a #1 and Diamonds and Pearls at #3 as hit singles, but it was hardly original. The next album (symbol) was quirky and too hard for the average pop fan to comprehend, plus the music was self indulgent and slipshod like a lot of his post Lovesexy output. The rapping especially Tony M sounded clunky and contrived.
Then there was the name changing and Warners fiasco along with mediocre albums like Chaos and Disorder (although many critics couldnt get Come). I would also blame music changing in the mid 90s, it was the rise of talentless fad acts and artists that could produce overnight smashes and fade away like Big Mountain, Soup Dragons, Shaggy, EMF, Ini Kamoze, Alanis Morisette, Sean Colvin and the like. By 1995 the CD, techno, and boy band girl band were becoming common, album artists and real musicians were no longer dug by the average teenage music buyer.
Prince had some hits, Seven got to #5, The Most Beautiful girl got to #3 in the US and gave him his first and only UK #1 and first singles from the Gold Experience and Emancipation charted in the Top30, but 1998 Prince was relegated to a cult artist.
The best explanation of his 90s decline is in Possessed by Alex Hahn

Because he didn't have a record company paying stations to play his stuff.

oh my god, i used to hear "call my name" ALL THE TIME on the chicago r&b station.

Anxiety said:

It's still in regular rotation on XM, too.

Anxiety said:

I love that! But I was thinking on a bigger scale than that.

I don't even think it was Prince's lack of a Record Company. I heard his songs on the Radio. I Clearly think it's the fact that RAP BLEW UP ALL OVER THE PLACE and PRINCE STILL KEPT HIS FANS,but HE DIDN'T CAPTURE THE NEW AUDIENCE of TEENAGERS WHO LOVE RAP AND BUY CDS TODAY. I for one DON'T CARE IF HE DOESN'T HAVE YOUNGER FANS AT HIS SHOWS. I also DON'T CARE IF the kids from HOT TOPIC say their Parents like him Cause I'll always Love MR P...His ROYAL BADNESS...

MRGee said:

OK. Now I know you're Zelaira.

peter430044 said:

Maybe he prefers doggie style.....

he's on the radio all the time where i live.
makes driving back from uni for hour alittle more enjoyable

Genesia said:

Oh thats a lame excuse imho

I definitely believe it's "red-tape Politic's," in the music business.
Plenty of Prince's material has been worth long term repetitive longevity in a Program Dirctor's line-up.

It's called being an older artist.

I think I've made a lot of great songs after the mid 90s, but they aren't played on the radio.

His last hit song was 1994 - The most Beautiful Girl In The World. Sure he's had a few minor hits since then, but that was his last HIT song. While i dont doubt his fall out with WB harmed him - it has to be said his music post 1995 was not that hit-worthy, and even less so after a number of criminal single choices.

It didnt help really that his initial period of freedom from WB coincided with a career low point creatively. Emancipation whilst full of good songs (and some shocking ones) - was bogged down with embarrasingly out of touch production. Then he releases Betcha By Golly Wow as the lead single single?!?!?!

In fact this whole period between 1996-2001 was a probably Prince at his worst. Some songs from this period (The Holy River, Come On, So Far So Pleased) had hit potential, and had he still been part of the "machine" they probably would have made more of an impact, but when you chose lead singles like Betcha By Golly Wow, The One, The Greatest Romance Ever Sold - what do you expect.

Only when he started to rely on his own creativity (ie The Rainbow Children) and stop following trends or recreate former glories, did he find his feet again - and i think his output since then has been solid.

In answer to the question i believe it was a combination of sub-par material and his isolation from big marketing machines. I believe Emancipation messed up a lot of things for him. Had Emancipation been a record like The Gold Experience it would have been big as the anticipation was high - unfortunately it wasn't.

because since about 1993 or so all his music sounds the same.

Genesia said:

DING DING DING There it is. It's not about how good his music is or not. Look at what's on the radio. What's good on there now? You need money and support. His deals seem to have limited resources compared to when he was on WB. The quality of his music doesn't mean anything. If this were 10-15 years ago, then yeah that statement would hold water cause the radio was different. Not anymore.

Bad promotion.

Lack of quality control.

Inconsequential decisions.

AKA Mr. P's stubborness and arrogance to think he could 'do it all by himself'

Along with the stuff mentioned above, he didn't fit in with everything else on the radio, and wasn't a hot young artist anymore.

Prince tried his hardest to point out that he was different from all the other artists on the radio and bound by contracts, and the system responded in kind by saying "you're right"