.
[Edited 4/9/10 17:32pm]

Spanky said:

incredibly big shoes to fill if your expecting a "dirty mind" based on a small number of tracks.. being the first track is possibly the worst prince song out of 00's.


however, I hope the rest turns out to be something great, since we really haven't heard much from the MPLS album as of yet

love2thenines2003 said:

www.lotusflow3r.com

purplecam said:

To expect a discount on a bargain declared cd-set, yes...

You can't pre-order it any more, neither at target.com nor at amazon.com

Amazon.com has taken it away entirely!

And you couldn't get it outside the U.S.A. anyway!

Amazon.com wrote:
*** We're sorry. This item can't be shipped to your selected destination. You may either change the shipping address or delete the item from your order by changing its quantity to 0 and clicking the update button below. ( See geographical restrictions.) ***

Target.com wrote:
Sorry, Target.com cannot ship items internationally. Please choose a U.S. shipping address.

LasVegas3121 said:

They don't sell physical product, but that's what we want. I don't pay for downloads.

incredibleD said:

So much for entrepreneurialism of the bigger USA companies, mr Prince, etc.
(at least he hasn't publicly shown he thought this one over for the non-USA inhabitants of this planet)
What do we think?
Will he come forward with an acceptable solution?
Or will the market find a way by itself?

there's going to have to be a way for people outside the U.S. to order the physical CD, even if it's as an import. and if so, i won't feel at all bad - it'll make up for all those $30 saint etienne imports i've had to hunt down over the years. feel my pain!

Anxiety said:

Anxiety said:

Yes, OK, but then TELL us so.
Or organise a proper distribution.
This so unprofessional from mr P's side...

udo said:

His PR Team keep making these mistake and making him look bad .... i guess Prince likes to work with these people but they are not very good with planning..

udo said:

Blummin eck. That's a bit harsh. It's still nearly a month away, maybe Target have an exclusivity deal for a short time, maybe Amazon or play or HMV or someone will post a pre-order item anyday now. We really don't know what is going on behind the scenes but why should we? It's a new kind of retail deal and this is Prince. In the old days sure we got a release date from WB but we didn't know the finer details of the distribution deal or get told what stores to buy it from. Times have changed I am afraid and we all need to accept it.

KeithyT said:

Yes, harsh..
But that is me. I can add nuance to it later.
Currently I cannot look into his skull, nor have I spoken to his (NON-existent?) marketing department.
It could be that he doesn't care about markets outside the USA. Maybe he doesn't realise (yet?) that there's a GD2[0] going on. Maybe he has forgotten about foreign fans.
Whatever.

It is just about what it looks like from the outside:
We could expect a tiny bit more from him, an ex-superstar. Something like:
'We will release through Target for the USA and will have worked out deals for Europe, Japan, etc before the release date. We will keep you updated.'.
Just that would have avoided all this speculation, nervousness, discontent,etc.
Just some proper communications.
Don't you agree?


[0] Great Depression #2

And especially now, with just a bit over 3 weeks to go, the radio should have at least a single to play?

udo said:

the public radio in st louis has been playing old stuff and stuff from his recent albums along with covers of his music by other band in 15 min blocks.

Over here I haven't heard anything about 'new' Prince yet on 3FM (A Dutch popular public radio channel).

udo said:

okay i think ur taking this way 2 the extreme level considering that the uk had him playing live 21 nights..free album in a damn newspaper, not 2 mention that distribution of exodus was in europe only (didn't know what US fans had 2 get the imported version now did u?), countless tours that NEVER came stateside in the prime of his career and u want 2 go bitching about a album that is surely 2 reach ur side of the shores in due time?

L4OATheOriginal said:

So yes, we both agree that his distribution deals are uneven, not always globally oriented and thus in need of upgrades?

udo said:

im uncertain of the quest for the upgrade


i dont know of anyone who wants the music who has been unable to access it by one means or another.

sometimes i think people are talking out of their asses not realizing the cost of advertising distribution manufacturing and all the mess of laws and lawyers in all that mess.

doing this would just up the cost of the product

udo said:

i don't think he's interested in being a well-oiled machine with distribution. i think he's trying to find new ways to distribute his music, which is going to mean a lot of trial and error, hit-and-miss, and burning of bridges.

it's frustrating for fans, but he has the clout to try some crazy new plan and know that he's going to move a respectable number of albums no matter what he tries.

as for him not announcing distribution plans ahead of time, well...how long have you been a prince fan?

Cuddles said:

I know. And I am willing to pay a tad more (maybe something like the double of $13?) to get the CD's in normal jewel cases, some booklets in a store in my country. Maybe even in a virtual store.

udo said:

but in the end it could cost him money instead of making anything.

and like i said before, these last few endeavors he likely broke even, intentionally.
it paid for itself, the distribution recording and manufacturing. all as a promo for something much bigger, a tour.
i think that is smart

Cuddles said:

I won't comment negatively (yet) on his business deals, I just would guess that $13 would cover shipping jewel cases around the globe?
A decent product might just help him sell it.

purplecam said:

lol true

udo said:

Dude, chill out. Prince probably told them to pull the info until it gets closer, especially since there's been conflicting tracklists, etc..

udo said:

not really given that it's VERY possible that the album will b available on his website ..ur gonna have 2 download the lyrics anyway

incredibleD said:

Nooooo.

obsessed said:

what is really gonna happen??

L4OATheOriginal said:

And that's shit. Just like with the lyrics for planet earth. All the people who are buying the PE album now don't get any lyrics at all. And if somebody here would provide a link to the file that was posted at 3121.com we would get problems with prince's lawywers because of "copyright infringement". I promise that the lyrics for the new albums won't be online for a long time also.

ludwig said:

"Crystal Ball" lyrics r still online

http://www.bieker.de/crystalball/

thaCONcept