Prince is such a rip off artist.

Trickology said:

Those lucite canes with the liquid and sparkles inside leaked....maybe they weren't paid because the canes were faulty. I saw one firsthand and it leaked.

PEJ said:

Exactly... people will sue if they think they can suck a penny out of a stone..

According to a lawsuit filed yesterday in L.A. County Superior Court, a literary agency claims Prince chose them as their "exclusive agent with respect to the negotiations of a publishing deal" for a book called "21 Nights" and a special limited edition version.

In the documents, the agency claims in the final stages of the deal, Prince stopped calling them back -- and then went behind their back to finish the negotiations -- thus screwing the company out of it's 15% commission.

the lotus flow3r web designer person springs 2 mind. can't help feeling it'll end in tears..

lottielooloo1968 said:

the lotus flow3r web designer person springs 2 mind. can't help feeling it'll end in tears..

People auto jump to assume "Prince did it!"
And I am not saying he did or did not.
All I am saying is...WHY do people automatically assume Prince is the one in the wrong.

In October 1998, Seacer (along with Tony M.) filed a lawsuit against Prince, claiming that Prince hadn't shared royalties that Levi and Tony were owed for songs they had co-written for Prince's NPG Publishing, including "Sexy M.F." and "My Name Is Prince". In the end Mosely and Seacer settled for approximately $40,000 each (apparently, not even enough to pay their legal expenses), having sued Prince for $800,000. (source: http://groups.google.com/...47323b648)

wasn't Tekadence the people who developed the first incarnation of the NPGMC which literally could not be navigated?

The man can make millions and has done these last few weeks, yet will screw folks over for a couple of hundred grand, if i or you were in this publishers employ, you'd be pissed.

Why is he such a greedy selfish ass? he appears to be. Damn sad.

Where is the humanitarian Prince that used to do food drives at his concerts? where'd he go?

npggirl77 said:

Because there's a TON of stories just like this.

Ask Tony M & Levi Seacer: http://en.wikipedia.org/w...eacer,_Jr.

npggirl77 said:

Because there's a TON of stories just like this.

Ask Tony M & Levi Seacer: http://en.wikipedia.org/w...eacer,_Jr.

BartVanHemelen said:

Tony M didn't deserve payment. Imagine how good Diamonds & Pearls and the symbol album would have been without him!

TheEnglishGent said:

prince made a shitload of money from 'diamonds & pearls.'

stanleylieber said:

What's that got to do with Tony M being shit on it?

TheEnglishGent said:

being shit doesn't mean you shouldn't get paid.

prince thought he did well enough to keep him for the 'o(+>' album, so charges of him being shit are irrelevant when it comes to the prince not paying people for their work.

Is anyone shocked at this?

stanleylieber said:

So Tony was daft enough to do a 2nd album, when he didn't get paid properly for the first. Hmmm, does being stupid and shit mean you really shouldn't get paid?

TheEnglishGent said:

better yet don't you think Tony and Levi signed contracts?

i don't see enough details.

kimrachell said:

i agree. we don't know what happened. it's just that so many former associates tell such similar stories.

remember: we've never seen details about prince's contractual problems, either.

or details of most musicians' contracts.

but we've gleaned, over time, that the music industry has perpetuated a pattern of behavior towards musicians.

stanleylieber said:

I am sure the music business is a dog eat dog world and everyone wants a piece of the pie even if they are technically not owed the piece of pie. They will do anything to bad mouth Prince hoping his fans will listen to them.
Remember the computer guy who was demanding (1 million?) from Prince and sued him in court only to be awarded $15K, how many people will try to sue Prince hoping they can get millions out of him. Lawsuits are very expensive.
I don't blame Prince for being a shrewd businessman, this world is full of leeches.

How can Prince be getting over on so many people, he's only one man. I'm not believing this shit.

So Tony was daft enough to do a 2nd album, when he didn't get paid properly for the first. Hmmm, does being stupid and shit mean you really shouldn't get paid?

Dayclear said:

Because it's Prince. Duh.

TheEnglishGent said:

Doesn't seem to bother some people here that have been shortchanged and yet they'll still jump to his defense regarding anything - EVEN when it turns out that their idol is wrong. Guess it's a matter of perception.

pplrain said:

but we know more about this situation. we know that tony m and levi both contributed to prince's compositions. they are credited with ASCAP registrations for many, many songs. while it is true that prince steers the ship, these guys contributed enough that prince agreed to share the copyright. that means they are owed a percentage of the proceeds from those songs.

there are several aspects to this:

- moral
- legal
- public perception

yes, prince gave these guys a chance. in tony's case, he put him in the spotlight. in levi's case, he moved him into a brighter spotlight. i'm sure these guys are both grateful for what prince gave them. but is prince grateful for what they gave him? levi contributed a modern r&b flavor to prince's music at a time when he was struggling with how to fit himself into the emerging 'new jack' world. tony m gave prince (in prince's mind, anyway ) hip-hop credibility and helped him figure out how to integrate rap into his music.

prince may feel morally justified in stiffing them. legally, he's probably in the wrong. financially, there's probably no way tony or levi will be able to sqeeze very much out of him. prince can afford good lawyers. they probably can't.

what we're dealing with here in this thread is public opinion.
[Edited 4/23/09 20:32pm]