Hmm, I'll sit this one out a bit longer until it gets to be a bit more substantial content-wise. Unless it's live-matreial, these new releases don't get me all that excited anymore.But of course I will buy it in the end when we return to simply placing an order (europe) or walking to a shop.

blacktrump said:

Being an ass fan, I take issue with this! I'm quite grateful for ass!

I can't understand why I can't remember my password or my username and the site won't even provide that information!! You have to know one or the other to get a *hint* of what your information maybe.

Dang, and I am trying to give this man my $77 dollars. Well he can laugh and I won't give him any money. I'm too aggravated to deal with him playing like this with us.

2Serenity said:

Oops nevermind. I should have read the thread on lotusflow3r.com

LMAO - I figured it out. I'm too old for these mind games! Ugh

sassybritches said:

Oh man! I love this dude, and support him in his ventures, but man to hell with this riddle shit! Why would you complicate the process of customers attempting to patronize your (online) place of buseniss? I ready to support the site, but I think I'll wait 'til all the riddles and jokes have been figred o out before I attempt to log into the site again. I'm just not interested in havig to be the lucky guesser; I guess.

SKB.

LOL! $77 for membership! Fuck that!

Genesia said:

I said the exact same thing.

Someone should point out that it's a recurring $77 membership - so in a year, you will be charged again... take that into consideration when March 2010 rolls around...

harveya said:

Oh snap!

All together now, let me hear it...MOOOOO!!!

I cant open the zip file because it says corrupted. Any help on how to get around this! I pay my money to get good seats for the shows, but I'd still like to listen to this album be4 every one else on Sunday. HELP!!!!!

Comments after the article:

CommentsDolphin | 3/25/2009, 3:00 pm EST

NPGMusicClub tempt me to pay x amount of $ (Too far back to remember what I paid) for a lifetime membership. I thought it was reffering to my lifetime. Great live performances were up purchased; that now can’t be played because the site is gone. It just doesn’t make any sense to pay $77. big ones, knowing that prince can be so fickle when it comes to his online ventures. I guess he wants to have as many website as he has albums. This is site number 4 and counting. Nope not me, not this time. Love the music, so it’s a trip to Target on Sunday for me.
Schirm | 3/25/2009, 2:33 pm EST

Prince was my idol growing up. I loved everything he did. His records were solid all the way through. Batman being the last real Prince record, Prince has done nothing but disappoint in the recording side of his career. It’s quite sad. He’s great live, but only when he plays full songs and doesn’t give you an annoying 2 hours of flipping through radio stations style of playing his hits. His website is an egotistical nightmare. No fan should have to pay $77 just to check out an artists website, pictures and videos. If he want’s to charge people he should release a compilation DVD. In this day and age people want to have choices on the internet and freedom. Prince takes that away and he alienates himself from the rest of the world. He made his site exclusively for fans only. So that means there’s no room to grow for him. Which means his music is going to continue to sound dated and cheesy if all he has to impress are his die hards because that’s the only people who are going to pay the price. I think it was a marketing failure on all levels. People should have been allowed to preview snippets of the songs and have the freedom of choice to purchase what they like and leave the rest. Prince is the only artist I know who thinks his fart is a marketable item and will stop and no length to make sure we pay to listen. It’s really really sad and pathetic. Shame on you Prince. You disgust me.
Jon G. | 3/25/2009, 2:07 pm EST

I used to love Prince… although I don’t find his music to be “timeless.” For me, the vast majority of his stuff has a very short shelf life. I never consudered him to be a genius; I leave that title for people liike Jimi, Stevie Wonder & Sly - people who REALLY changed music, and whose music sounds relevant even today. No coincidence that those three (along with James Brown) are ther most transparent influences on Prince’s music. Also, the man never learned that an artist doesn’t need (and shouldn’t) release EVERYTHING they’ve recorded - there is a LOT of badf Prince music out there…

That being said, he IS a terrific performer… and that doesn’t make him a genius.
Hole | 3/25/2009, 2:04 pm EST

Does like one person update this site? It is horrible at how slow the news rolls in here.
Sexydancer | 3/25/2009, 1:49 pm EST

I think everyone needs to quit bein so darn negative.Technical difficulties…big whoop!Like it was planned!!!PLEEEAASSEEE!Ya’ll quit your whining and stop acting like 2 yr olds!
Schultz | 3/25/2009, 1:05 pm EST

I am not saying the guy doesn’t still kick major ass, cuz he does…Like Cleveland said - $77 bucks to get $12 worth of CDs is whack!

I know you can get other member privileges for the money, but really, access to $200 presale concert tickets is not what I call a deal.
Anonymous | 3/25/2009, 12:37 pm EST

i feel like Prince wasted a huge opportunity, following his successful Musicology album/tour, in 2004.

After that tour, which temporarily revived him as a relevant contemporary artist, he went right back to the weirdness that plagued him from around 1989-2003.
Jere | 3/25/2009, 12:05 pm EST

@Schultz:

NOW he’s hit that time when all musical geniuses lose their minds? To that, I have 1 non-word for you:

Anyway, $77 is too steep for me; I’ll be shopping at Target on Sunday.
Matthew | 3/25/2009, 12:01 pm EST

I don’t understand why everyone is having such a difficult time with the Prince’s new website. Just use the HTML version of the site instead of the Flash version.
stacy | 3/25/2009, 11:52 am EST

oh–whatever…Prince is a genuis. either subscribe to it or quit yer whinin…
JeseeJescoElvis | 3/25/2009, 10:56 am EST

Good thing the new music is so good. It’s truly the most inspired and creative stuff he’s recorded in at least 15 years. During that time, he’s had some pretty incredible songs, and I could definitely put together a good 5 albums worth of great stuff that covers the last decade-and-a-half (so that ain’t too shabby). But these albums are on another level for him. Great guitar work, trippy, experimental moments, great vocals in all his registers (low, high, Camille), just right production that for once doesn’t drown out the guitar, thoughtful arrangements, great melodies, and did I mention the otherworldly guitar?
Cleveland Steamer | 3/25/2009, 10:43 am EST

Just Prince being Prince. Does this really shock anyone? What is shocking is that people probably struggled with the “riddle” or whatever, and THEN gladly shelled out 77 beans to get three cd’s that will be available at Target for about 12 bucks.
Schultz | 3/25/2009, 10:20 am EST

Sounds like he has hit that time when all musical geniuses lose their minds…

*****

Hmm, whatever! one answer interested me, what's the "Html version" of the site mean?

I have a real slow internet connection, so don't hold up much hope of accessing the site, it just won't load.

Oh well!

I think the new website looks fantastic and i was surprised about the many videos. Live clips that i have never seen like Creep make me very happy. I think it is typical that the story mentions the bad stuff but nothing about the good stuff. Sure the start had its troubles but did they even see the website or just this website?

I live in Holland and became a member on the first try (after reading the answer to the riddle here). Getting the albums out of the zipfile was tough (thanks again prince.org). Still i love the site but that is just my opinion.

If it wasn't for the org I still be trying to work out how to get past the first ticket.

Once I was past that I had no problems and I'm in the UK, until I tried to open and play my downloads, again once I read on the org I had to rename the files .zip I was ok

I've heard Elixer twice and I think it's pretty good, I really like Elixer the title track and there are a few others that are pretty good on the whole .enjoyable.

Also when I play the videos in full screen there play fine, just disappointed with the content so far and do feel.

I'm off now to listen to Lotus Flower for the first time.

If I have to pay to be a member, when the NPGMC was free before, I think I will have to just wait until I have the money and feel like joining - I will buy the albums at Target, and be content with the video content that is already out there in the meantime.

I subscribed first thing this morning (Amsterdam time) and all works fine, so far I'm a happy member

dreamshaman32 said:

well put.

Prince Launches “Lotusflow3r” Website With New Albums, Riddle
March 25
http://www.rollingstone.c...ms-riddle/


Prince’s new Lotusflow3r Website launched last night, March 24th, giving fans access to his new albums, concert tickets, live performances, music videos, photographs and pretty much everything else the Purple One has been keeping off the Internet until now with the help of the Web Sheriff.

Those who purchased the $77 Website membership were immediately granted access to all three new Prince albums, Lotusflow3r, MPLSoUND and protégé Bria Valente’s Elixir. As Rock Daily reported, those three albums will also be sold together for the low price of $11.99 starting Sunday, March 29th at Target retailers.

On message boards like Prince.org, many fans have already started complaining about the site’s bandwidth problems, its inability to recognize underscores in user name and passwords, downloading issues, choppy videos, its inaccessibility to Europe and more. Even figuring out how to enter Lotusflow3r proved difficult: Fans encountered a riddle of sorts just to access the site in order to pay $77. A purple ticket stub on the lunar ground of the Flash-heavy site was the gateway to purchasing the membership. The stub read “Mar. 07 _____, followed by _____, California,” and only by correctly filling in the blanks could you acquire a membership. Turns out, the answer (”1986″, “Los Angeles”) lay in the prelude to the “Kiss” music video that was being teased on the flickering television screen also on the Lotusflow3r lunar surface. We’re just as confused writing this as you are reading this, so check it out for at the site yourself.

Still, the fans who made it through got first dibs on both the new albums and tickets to the many Prince performances scheduled for the coming week, including Prince’s three-night stand on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and all three of the Los Angeles club shows going down three-and-a-half hours apart on March 28th.

im not gonna complain, i anticipate good things from my membership wished i lived near LA this is true but nonetheless its nice he has come ith SOMETHING and i look forward to new developments

PS.. i also must give thanks to the org'ers here who were amazing help. i wish i could have helped make the processes simpler for others

Shame they're not shouting about how great the albums are.

danzakairos said:

Right...I would think that everyone would have expected some slow movement due to high volume...That's a successful beginning.

Hasn't even been live for 24 hours yet, and people are saying it's doomed. Keep in mind thousands of people are trying to download WAV versions of 3 albums . . . while still thousands more are trying to watch streaming video at the same time

YAY PRINCE.ORG
WE ARE FAMOUS

blacksweat said:

Human nature always focuses on what's bad and wrong 1st. Real talk. With that said, I understand the complaining, I dare say it's justifiable.
[Edited 3/25/09 14:02pm]

purplecam said:

True, especially after the wait.

I had trouble with the site all night. I finally got on at 10pm PST but all the tickets were gone. Damn. Did anyone get good tix??

coming fron europe i cannot access the downloads. the rest doesn´t work either or is very slow. ilike the grafic and the ideas behind this project,
but we paid 4 the downloads!!!
i downloaded many videos from npgonline and paid 4 them. mow icannot play them because i have a new pc and the drm protects the videofiles. (lifetime membership, hahaha.....why didn´t he find a new name and continue with this project, many people paid for it!)
prince , of u read this: u want your fans 2 be fair and not share music, pictures or even opinions (www.housequake.com)! You sue fans for using vids on youtube....
please be fair to your fan and give them the content, they pay for and maybe a "sorry"!

I just don't understand why Prince can't manage to have a normal website of his own where we can preview tracks and download/pay for what we like.

I feel like I've wasted $77 ($99 AUSTRALIAN!!!!!) on a shite site that has nothing to offer yet.

I'm glad I didn't join right away. I signed up for NPGMC and without the concert tix/soundcheck thing i would have been PISSED at what I got out of it.

I'm gonna' wait. Right now it seems like a $77 sucker's bet for folks who just can't wait until Sunday.

I heard there's exclusive trax though from each record that are only available through the downloads and not on the CD's (and vice versa).

Which song(s)?

my zip file sayz corrupted. Somebody help me!!!!!