A good way to estimate the number of hardcore fans is to count the Lotusflow3r members. Since these numbers are not public, I did a webmetrics analysis of the Lotusflow3r website and came to the following conclusion :

In the month of March 2009 there were 45,635 unique visitors
Then the figure drops dramatically to:
April: 32,324
May: 13,394
June: 12,620
July: 19,110
August: 12,124

We can assume that each member visits at least once per month,to check if there is new content. The highest figure that we get after the first months following the launch is 19,110. If you take into account that that figure includes a number of members who visit more than once a month ,searching for new content, I estimate the number of members to be 15,000.

To make an optimistic estimate, one could also include about 5000 hardcore fans that refused to become a member or have hesitated to become one out of prudence.

It seems realistic to assume that Prince has 20,000 hardcore fans worldwide.

ernestsewell said:

Are not fans ..... a lot ...

Do you mean all around the world? Because that's where his fans are. All around the WORLD

LittleSister said:

So Prince made $1540000 from Lotusfow3r website .... so online hardcore fan's is about right...

But fan that buy the CD is much larger, that's why he does not focus so much on online music website's the reach is limited ...Sorry LotusFlow3r members...

Prince uses the website just a marketing tool!, Hence the Shellby video's on Youtube the French TV stuff.

As Prince has said all along it's just one form of media ... not the only one...

Most of real, original, hardcore fans don't even use the internet and are more in his age group.

Dayclear said:

Well they do use the internet but they use it just as a tool to get information, they know they like Prince already no blog or website is gonna change that..... hence the whole Housequake thing is just history ....

SPOOKYGAS said:

Even I went twice

Were lucky to have him, he's lucky to have us, together were all lucky!

I...don't think we'll actually know that number

Great analysis Little Sister.

Bohemian67 said:

I think one of the reasons there are no interesting content at Lotusflow3r is because Prince was disappointed at the number of fans who joined - not enough for him.

More importantly, can we get a show of hands as to how many are Fams™? I would like to add those to my Douche Database.

What's the population of Planet Earth?

squirrelgrease said:

Maybe U have a different definition of what a Fam is than I do. I thought it was someone who was in the Prince extended Family of Fans. I consider myself both because before the term ever arrived I was hypnotized by his music and knew that there was no comparison out there.

Innit someone who's in Prince's musical Family and also a fan? I enjoy the music and that's all there's to it.

not sure if I want to b in Ur Database tho

colorblu said:

How does that even make sense? Extended family of fans? Does he have a closer set of fans, other than the women he fucks/marries/divorces/writes songs about? Does he have a little gaggle of fans that he keeps in his entourage or posse when he travels? He doesn't exactly have a bunch of Kato Kaelins running around with him, or living in a guest house. Fams are people who ass kiss him enough to stay out of legal wranglings with him, as well as having cease and desist orders served to them, or the threat thereof, and buy anything and everything he drops in their lap, including but not limited to subpar material, broken promises about promised services and product, racist/anti-semetic/homophobic material, all while those "fams" consider it gold.

And if you consider yourself some sort of family to Prince, no thanks. He's not treated half of his siblings well, rumored to not have even gone to his father's funeral (although I've never heard definite either way), and treats his fans like piles of crap.

I'll stick to being a fan.

ernestsewell said:

Ernest U are entitled to do whatever U like, I'm not trying to judge U or Prince. In the world I live we are all One Big Family anyway.

I never heard the term 'fam' until it was mentioned awhile back on one of Prince's music clubs. I took it to mean that he felt that his fans were part of his family. Families consist of many different members and individuals. Brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, etc. That's the kind of family I thought he was talking about.

The goal for me isn't to pick apart the life of my favorite musician. What he does is between his Creator and him. Prince is someone who was given a great gift. And that gift must also carry a heavy burden. What he's given us through his music is priceless and when I remember that.....
all negativity fades.

colorblu said:

Thank's was a beautiful gesture

colorblu said:

"fam" is just a word Prince made up because he didn't like that "fan" was short for "fanatic" ... but ultimately, and ironically, "fam" describes the wacked-out lunatic fanatic even better than "fan" does.

colorblu said:

Yeah, I get the cultic "fam" reference. I've been around. I am aware of Prince trying to diss his fans by stating that "fan" is short for "fanatic", but I would bet Prince doesn't say he's a "fam" of Sly Stone, or George Clinton, or Miles Davis.

Prince doesn't consider us family. He doesn't treat either fans or family that well. Fan is the lesser of the two evils, because I, at least, don't have to tolerate his foolishness at a family reunion.

errant said:

LOL That is SO very true.

ernestsewell said:

Confessions Of A Prince Realist. You might want to sit down for this.
"An ass hanging out on stage is an ass hanging out on stage. Period.
What that mean ernestsewell?

errant said:

I can't argue with that.

I remember Prince concocted the term Fam about the same time he started obsessively finding the insidious hidden agenda behind words with the prefix "con".

We just love our little nut-job Prince when he does some of that fancy book readin', don't we? He's not Phil Spector crazy, but he's close. Underwater guitar sound, indeed.

fantasticjoy said:

we'll be counting till the year 2030!

cinnamongal said:

Oh please, we can count them before the weekend gets here.

squirrelgrease said:

yeah, : the semantics years

Prince is a legend-even folks who claim not to be fans secretly are his fans

ernestsewell said:

Too true!!! LOL

nurseV said:

True, but I think of fans in terms of, who is going to buy his stuff?
I stick to my estimate that he has about 100,000 hardcore fans.

Anyone can buy a ticket to a concert thinking they're going to hear Purple Rain and Little Red Corvette, but are they really going to buy his latest?

Nope.

Has anyone been able to count that high yet?

I think he has a lot of fans, most don't come to the org or even go to his concerts.