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Prince’s strategy on Target BY GEORGE LANG
Published: April 7, 2009 Prince jettisoned the record industry long before it became stylish to jump overboard, and he did it before the Internet and digital downloads offered a life raft. Now, after a brief reconciliation with major labels, Prince is hoping his new exclusive deal with Target for his new three-disc set, "Lotusflow3r,” will score a bull’s-eye with consumers. Exclusivity deals recently have paid off huge returns, with Garth Brooks, the Eagles and AC/DC racking up massive sales by selling only through the world’s largest music retailer, Walmart. Prince’s deal with Target makes sense on the surface because it’s a Minneapolis-based company; you can see First Avenue, the club made famous by "Purple Rain,” from the steps of the Target Center. Target advantages By going with Target, Prince is at a slight numerical disadvantage compared to Walmart’s deals; Target operates about 1,700 stores in the U.S., compared to its competitor’s 2,500-plus. But in its stock and image, Target is the boutique alternative to Walmart’s mass-market approach, and the chain also is giving "Lotusflow3r” prime real estate: a huge display near checkout lines is hard to miss, and $11.99 for a three-disc set is hard to refuse. What Target customers get for that low price is three distinct sides of the artist currently known as Prince. The "Lotusflow3r” disc features him in rocking mode — this full-band effort showcases his magnificent and mellifluous guitar work on metallic workouts such as "Boom” and the funkier "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful.” Less satisfying but pleasant enough is "Elixer,” a disc of solid "quiet storm” soul by his latest protege, Bria Valente. The big surprise is "MPLSound,” a disc-long return to Prince’s "Controversy/Dirty Mind” synth-based style that could pass as an artifact of his golden age. Retail gimmick? Prince has spent most of his career devising new ways to get his music to fans. (By including 2004’s "Musicology” in the price of concert tickets, he racked up his biggest sales figures in more than a decade.) If his new retail gamble pays off, Prince might never return to major label. With his days of calling himself by a symbol long gone, he might now find happiness with a new one by figuratively painting Target’s red icon a pleasant shade of purple. http://newsok.com/princes...le/3359451 Change it one more time.. | |
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lezama said: BY GEORGE LANG
Published: April 7, 2009 Prince jettisoned the record industry long before it became stylish to jump overboard, and he did it before the Internet and digital downloads offered a life raft. Now, after a brief reconciliation with major labels, Prince is hoping his new exclusive deal with Target for his new three-disc set, "Lotusflow3r,” will score a bull’s-eye with consumers. Exclusivity deals recently have paid off huge returns, with Garth Brooks, the Eagles and AC/DC racking up massive sales by selling only through the world’s largest music retailer, Walmart. Prince’s deal with Target makes sense on the surface because it’s a Minneapolis-based company; you can see First Avenue, the club made famous by "Purple Rain,” from the steps of the Target Center. Target advantages By going with Target, Prince is at a slight numerical disadvantage compared to Walmart’s deals; Target operates about 1,700 stores in the U.S., compared to its competitor’s 2,500-plus. But in its stock and image, Target is the boutique alternative to Walmart’s mass-market approach, and the chain also is giving "Lotusflow3r” prime real estate: a huge display near checkout lines is hard to miss, and $11.99 for a three-disc set is hard to refuse. What Target customers get for that low price is three distinct sides of the artist currently known as Prince. The "Lotusflow3r” disc features him in rocking mode — this full-band effort showcases his magnificent and mellifluous guitar work on metallic workouts such as "Boom” and the funkier "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful.” Less satisfying but pleasant enough is "Elixer,” a disc of solid "quiet storm” soul by his latest protege, Bria Valente. The big surprise is "MPLSound,” a disc-long return to Prince’s "Controversy/Dirty Mind” synth-based style that could pass as an artifact of his golden age. Retail gimmick? Prince has spent most of his career devising new ways to get his music to fans. (By including 2004’s "Musicology” in the price of concert tickets, he racked up his biggest sales figures in more than a decade.) If his new retail gamble pays off, Prince might never return to major label. With his days of calling himself by a symbol long gone, he might now find happiness with a new one by figuratively painting Target’s red icon a pleasant shade of purple. http://newsok.com/princes...le/3359451 Leave it to Prince to take an idea that already exists (exclusive retail store deals) and make it even smarter and more innovative. | |
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Brofie said: lezama said: BY GEORGE LANG
Published: April 7, 2009 Prince jettisoned the record industry long before it became stylish to jump overboard, and he did it before the Internet and digital downloads offered a life raft. Now, after a brief reconciliation with major labels, Prince is hoping his new exclusive deal with Target for his new three-disc set, "Lotusflow3r,” will score a bull’s-eye with consumers. Exclusivity deals recently have paid off huge returns, with Garth Brooks, the Eagles and AC/DC racking up massive sales by selling only through the world’s largest music retailer, Walmart. Prince’s deal with Target makes sense on the surface because it’s a Minneapolis-based company; you can see First Avenue, the club made famous by "Purple Rain,” from the steps of the Target Center. Target advantages By going with Target, Prince is at a slight numerical disadvantage compared to Walmart’s deals; Target operates about 1,700 stores in the U.S., compared to its competitor’s 2,500-plus. But in its stock and image, Target is the boutique alternative to Walmart’s mass-market approach, and the chain also is giving "Lotusflow3r” prime real estate: a huge display near checkout lines is hard to miss, and $11.99 for a three-disc set is hard to refuse. What Target customers get for that low price is three distinct sides of the artist currently known as Prince. The "Lotusflow3r” disc features him in rocking mode — this full-band effort showcases his magnificent and mellifluous guitar work on metallic workouts such as "Boom” and the funkier "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful.” Less satisfying but pleasant enough is "Elixer,” a disc of solid "quiet storm” soul by his latest protege, Bria Valente. The big surprise is "MPLSound,” a disc-long return to Prince’s "Controversy/Dirty Mind” synth-based style that could pass as an artifact of his golden age. Retail gimmick? Prince has spent most of his career devising new ways to get his music to fans. (By including 2004’s "Musicology” in the price of concert tickets, he racked up his biggest sales figures in more than a decade.) If his new retail gamble pays off, Prince might never return to major label. With his days of calling himself by a symbol long gone, he might now find happiness with a new one by figuratively painting Target’s red icon a pleasant shade of purple. http://newsok.com/princes...le/3359451 Leave it to Prince to take an idea that already exists (exclusive retail store deals) and make it even smarter and more innovative.  | |
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I wonder if this concept was pitched to Walmart and they turned it down. Maybe they too thought he was a HasBeen. Sorry to say but someone is going to be in the unemployment line. It would be interesting if their sales of other items have gone upas well because of purchases of the CDs. Prince's Sarah | |
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mzsadii said: I wonder if this concept was pitched to Walmart and they turned it down. Maybe they too thought he was a HasBeen. Sorry to say but someone is going to be in the unemployment line. It would be interesting if their sales of other items have gone up as well because of purchases of the CDs.
I was wondering the same thing, especially because Walmart is non-union and Target isn't. I would like to hear any behind-the-scenes negotiating Prince went through, if he did, before he went to Target Corp. "Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion" -- Martha Graham | |
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mzsadii said: I wonder if this concept was pitched to Walmart and they turned it down. Maybe they too thought he was a HasBeen. Sorry to say but someone is going to be in the unemployment line. It would be interesting if their sales of other items have gone upas well because of purchases of the CDs.
Target made sense when I found out it was minneapolis-based. My Legacy
http://prince.org/msg/8/192731 | |
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Best Buy is a MPLS based retail chain as well.
Remember that Target's core guest is women, age 18-40. I'm sure that played a part in it. From what I was told, the meetings between Target and Prince went very well from the beginning, although it did take quite awhile for Prince to officially sign his name on the dotted line, as he put quite a bit of thought into this before signing off on it. And one other note. The red coat that he wore in the Target commercial? He actually wore that to the shoot without even being asked (for those that don't know, Target's main color is red. If it breaks when it bends, you better not put it in. | |
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XNY said: mzsadii said: I wonder if this concept was pitched to Walmart and they turned it down. Maybe they too thought he was a HasBeen. Sorry to say but someone is going to be in the unemployment line. It would be interesting if their sales of other items have gone up as well because of purchases of the CDs.
I was wondering the same thing, especially because Walmart is non-union and Target isn't. I would like to hear any behind-the-scenes negotiating Prince went through, if he did, before he went to Target Corp. Target is also non union. | |
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BigAudio said: XNY said: I was wondering the same thing, especially because Walmart is non-union and Target isn't. I would like to hear any behind-the-scenes negotiating Prince went through, if he did, before he went to Target Corp. Target is also non union. From what i have read, their produce dept in Super Targets IS unionized, whereas Walmart is not. "Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion" -- Martha Graham | |
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Brofie said: lezama said: BY GEORGE LANG
Published: April 7, 2009 Prince jettisoned the record industry long before it became stylish to jump overboard, and he did it before the Internet and digital downloads offered a life raft. Now, after a brief reconciliation with major labels, Prince is hoping his new exclusive deal with Target for his new three-disc set, "Lotusflow3r,” will score a bull’s-eye with consumers. Exclusivity deals recently have paid off huge returns, with Garth Brooks, the Eagles and AC/DC racking up massive sales by selling only through the world’s largest music retailer, Walmart. Prince’s deal with Target makes sense on the surface because it’s a Minneapolis-based company; you can see First Avenue, the club made famous by "Purple Rain,” from the steps of the Target Center. Target advantages By going with Target, Prince is at a slight numerical disadvantage compared to Walmart’s deals; Target operates about 1,700 stores in the U.S., compared to its competitor’s 2,500-plus. But in its stock and image, Target is the boutique alternative to Walmart’s mass-market approach, and the chain also is giving "Lotusflow3r” prime real estate: a huge display near checkout lines is hard to miss, and $11.99 for a three-disc set is hard to refuse. What Target customers get for that low price is three distinct sides of the artist currently known as Prince. The "Lotusflow3r” disc features him in rocking mode — this full-band effort showcases his magnificent and mellifluous guitar work on metallic workouts such as "Boom” and the funkier "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful.” Less satisfying but pleasant enough is "Elixer,” a disc of solid "quiet storm” soul by his latest protege, Bria Valente. The big surprise is "MPLSound,” a disc-long return to Prince’s "Controversy/Dirty Mind” synth-based style that could pass as an artifact of his golden age. Retail gimmick? Prince has spent most of his career devising new ways to get his music to fans. (By including 2004’s "Musicology” in the price of concert tickets, he racked up his biggest sales figures in more than a decade.) If his new retail gamble pays off, Prince might never return to major label. With his days of calling himself by a symbol long gone, he might now find happiness with a new one by figuratively painting Target’s red icon a pleasant shade of purple. http://newsok.com/princes...le/3359451 Leave it to Prince to take an idea that already exists (exclusive retail store deals) and make it even smarter and more innovative. Meanwhile there are no Target stores in Europe where there is high demand.... 2010: Healing the Wounds of the Past.... http://prince.org/msg/8/325740 | |
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XNY said: BigAudio said: Target is also non union. From what i have read, their produce dept in Super Targets IS unionized, whereas Walmart is not. I stand corrected...Target is NON-union. Wow, they have quite the marketing machine, making them out to be the 'Anti-Walmart' but are really just like them, in many cases worse pay and worse benefits. ouch. "Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion" -- Martha Graham | |
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