I guess us americans will have to pay for it

Robert3rd said:

robinhood said:

um no, its not possible for 'artists' to release this way, its only possible for Prince, because he's Prince, or for Elton John, because he's Elton John, or for ALREADY WELL-KNOWN ARTISTS across the board, but new artists? no.

this may be an exercise in innovation, but its not relevant to 'artists' unless they are well-known.

imo, newspaper give-aways cheapen Prince and his music. dont know bout you all, but newspaper is what some folk use to clean up vomit, then chuck it in the trash.

the whole concept is inconsistent with anything even remotely musical and even though it's innovative, its not necessarily smart.

sorry people's i just get irked by 'representatives' who talk in a manner which shows they have no real connection to the true value of Prince's work, but hey, if they wanna throw it out there with raped rainforests and call it a brilliant idea they can be my guest lol

Co-Sign. Record labels, have the potential (let me repeat that: HAVE THE POTENTIAL) to put artists out there so the public knows who they are. People know who Prince is because he was (once) signed to a music label, and they (Warner Bros) in turn had the marketing and promotional muscle to get his name out there (but this was also helped by his music which stands on its own two feet). An indie artist can definitely work in an independent and innovative capacity, but what good is that if only your friends and family know who you are and you've had a plateau in terms of trying to reach a larger audience?

exactly, so i dont understand why his representative would be touting this as a way to show 'artists' innovative ways of being independent.

it only applies to artists like Prince who are well-known enough that an idea like this would actually work.

but i still maintain that associating himself with trashy newspapers makes him look not only cheap, but obsolete.

in my simple mind, Prince's music is more than just a commodity to be pimped through whatever willing media channel comes next, no matter how environmentally unfriendly, outdated and inane.

i'd have thought he'd learnt something from Michael and the types of people around him who only perceived him as an opportunity to make some fast cash.

apparently not.

also notice the regular advertisements that keep popping up in this thread about this newspaper deal.

if people actually tuned right in to whats happening here, it'd become very obvious very quickly how cheap and tacky the whole thing really is, just like the ads in this thread.

i suspect Prince has no idea of his real value, which is why he fails to see when he's jeopardizing his legacy.

and lets not mention all the yes-people salivating at the chance to ignorantly grasp at prestige by contributing to these kinds of decisions with words like "oh yeah that sounds fantastic! wow you really are the bomb Prince. i'm so glad we're really good friends. don't listen to what other people say. they're just haters anyway. but you boy, you make my day!"

barf.

laurarichardson said:

robinhood said:

i suspect he will soon be giving his music away for free on the internet to show artists exactly how much freedom they really have, if indeed that is his primary concern ?

oh thats right. the internet is over, and therefore artists no longer have true freedom, so a newspaper deal is the next best bet?

hail freedom. hail artists rights. i'm uber charmed

I understand that a lot of people are irritated by P’s comments concerning the internet but let’s be real. He does not have the foggiest clue on how to run an e-commerence business. He has to be willing to spend money and put up content and if he cannot get some sort of guranteed cash out of the project immediately he is not going to put up a site. I think it all comes down to money and how much he wants to spend on these projects. It should be obvious to everyone that he is not interested in spending a lot of money so the newspapers work for him and could very well work for other artist who do not have the funds to run a website. Besides P did such a bad job with Lotusflower I cannot understand why any of you want him to get back on the internet.

my comment to dreamer2 was in response to them saying this whole newspaper deal is about Prince showing us innovative ways of distribution and supporting artists rights.

i dont see how it relates to either of those things, considering the number of other ways an artist can do whatever they want with their music, and for free, the internet being one of them, with no strings attached to anyone, least of all some trashy papers.

if he genuinely cared about artists independence and artists rights, he'd never have said 'the internet is over'.

his representative obviously has no clue either, but they probably figure they dont have to invest too much time into really connecting with the true meaning of artistic freedom.

as long as they can make that cash, that's all they really care about.

pity they're probably getting paid way more than their words are worth.

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

This is just genius & smart. Prince is changing the record industry. He is cutting out the internet & The wreka stows

Genius & smart? By signing a contract with players in a dying industry (news and print) to distribute an album on a dying format (CD)? It's a money grab is what it is. He doesn't / can't market the album on merits alone so he signs on the dotted line for some $$$ up front.

He's not changing the industry... he short changing the "art".

[Edited 6/29/10 20:30pm]

BlackAdder7 said:

I guess us americans will have to pay for it

Although you're copy of planet earth was pretty funky...even though I had about 20 copies of PE from people who had bought the Daily Mail, I still HAD to get the American one with hologram cover in New York

Llanishenlad said:

BlackAdder7 said:

I guess us americans will have to pay for it

Although you're copy of planet earth was pretty funky...even though I had about 20 copies of PE from people who had bought the Daily Mail, I still HAD to get the American one with hologram cover in New York

I did too. Had to have the proper case.

this news makes me love prince's freedom, his innovation,

his inspiration to upcoming and younger artists and most of

all his determination to do things his own way

jtfolden said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

This is just genius & smart. Prince is changing the record industry. He is cutting out the internet & The wreka stows

Genius & smart? By signing a contract with players in a dying industry (news and print) to distribute an album on a dying format (CD)? It's a money grab is what it is. He doesn't / can't market the album on merits alone so he signs on the dotted line for some $$$ up front.

He's not changing the industry... he short changing the "art".

yep. oh well. wonder what the new album will be like?

TheEnglishGent said:

Llanishenlad said:

Although you're copy of planet earth was pretty funky...even though I had about 20 copies of PE from people who had bought the Daily Mail, I still HAD to get the American one with hologram cover in New York

I did too. Had to have the proper case.

I really like the album cover artwork:

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/ecnirp2004/Prince/Prince20Ten.jpg[/img:$uid]

^ Anyone notice the 7 dots in the red jizz drop and the 7 "stars" next to the flower?

Oh... and can I mention his big ol' titty again?

BlackAdder7 said:

I guess us americans will have to pay for it

Well, you got 'Lotusflow3r' very cheaply.

It retails at £40 at my local store here in the UK. I got it through the site. We all know about that.

My only issue with the giveaway is:

a) The cardboard slipcase

b) The Album will only be available for one day. People literally have 12 hours or less to get a copy. And I think Prince's music deserves more than a 12 hour shelf-life.

Hopefully, there will be a download version or different retail edition to extend its longevity. Otherwise, a different project altogether. Prince did meet with Warners but that could be for an American distribution deal.

[Edited 6/30/10 2:38am]

Llanishenlad said:

BlackAdder7 said:

I guess us americans will have to pay for it

Although you're copy of planet earth was pretty funky...even though I had about 20 copies of PE from people who had bought the Daily Mail, I still HAD to get the American one with hologram cover in New York

As far as I'm aware, you can't buy 'Planet Earth' here in the UK anymore. Which is sad, because it has some quality tracks on it. Thus my concern about the shelf-life of giveaways.

I want that HOLOGRAM cover though! And a decent case!

thedance said:

I really like the album cover artwork:

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/ecnirp2004/Prince/Prince20Ten.jpg[/img:$uid]

Don't want to sound negative bit I can just imagine the average Daily Mirror reader's reaction to this. Don't think I'll go to the pub that day!

OperatingThetan said:

Llanishenlad said:

Although you're copy of planet earth was pretty funky...even though I had about 20 copies of PE from people who had bought the Daily Mail, I still HAD to get the American one with hologram cover in New York

As far as I'm aware, you can't buy 'Planet Earth' here in the UK anymore. Which is sad, because it has some quality tracks on it. Thus my concern about the shelf-life of giveaways.

I want that HOLOGRAM cover though! And a decent case!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s...xmj8si06_b

I say get it while it's free, people still buying the album and paying full price......

Why you say because they missed the give away, someone played it to them and they like it, it's been selling in small steady numbers on Amazon for 2 years now....

3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (52 customer reviews)

[Edited 6/30/10 2:48am]

thedance said:

I really like the album cover artwork:

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/ecnirp2004/Prince/Prince20Ten.jpg[/img:$uid]

Horrible, horrible dated & cheesy imho.

And I did not mind the Planet Earth artwork!

This looks laughably uncool.

I like the logo, thats it.

Do you think this gives weight to the Jonathan Ross appearance

jcurley said:

Do you think this gives weight to the Jonathan Ross appearance

looks like it, the mirror broke the story in the UK and i found this so, looks like they have a purple connection.....

http://tickets.mirror.co....e-tickets/

How can we get them here in the US?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/h...459020.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment_and_arts/10459020.stm

Other artists have since copied the Prince newspaper giveaway

[Edited 6/30/10 3:52am]

sincebirth said:

How can we get them here in the US?

The Deal with WB, or Ebay !

Prince to release next album via Mirror

by cmumusicnews 30. June 2010 11:06

Prince will once again release his new album in the UK via a newspaper giveaway. As you may remember, back in 2007 the purple one broke with convention and gave away his then brand new long player 'Planet Earth' via the Mail On Sunday. It was a controversial arrangement at the time, because while newspapers had been giving away cover-mount CDs for years, and artist-specific CDs for a while too, it was the first time a new album had been distributed this way.

Three years on, with other artists having followed Prince's lead in the interim, it is unlikely his decision to release new record '20Ten' via the Daily Mirror, and its Scottish sister title the Daily Record, will ruffle so many feathers.

The Mirror say they will distribute 2.5 million copies of '20Ten' on 10 Jul, which will involve the tabloid increasing its circulation that day considerably - the combined Mirror and Daily Record circulation is normally closer to 1.6 million. Presumably the newspaper publisher believes the giveaway will seriously boost interest in its two titles that day.

It's not known what fee Prince will receive from the Mirror deal. The Mail On Sunday were reported to have paid up to half a million to secure the rights to 'Planet Earth', and that would be in addition to the 7p MCPS royalty that is paid on every single cover-mount CD.

It's unlikely the Mirror could afford anything like that figure - they have just laid off 200 editorial staff across their various national titles - but this time Prince will release his new album via similar media deals across Europe, so he was possibly less demanding fee wise in the UK.

In Belgium the album will be released via the Het Nieuwblad newspaper, in France by the Courrier International magazine, and in Germany via that country's edition of Rolling Stone. It is thought in the US the album will get a more traditional release via a distribution deal with Warner.

http://newsblog.thecmuweb...um=twitter

OperatingThetan said:

b) The Album will only be available for one day. People literally have 12 hours or less to get a copy. And I think Prince's music deserves more than a 12 hour shelf-life.

In germany it'll will be available for one whole month as part of the Rolling Stone magazine. I don't know why he didn't chose a monthly magazine in the UK. It has probably something to do with the circulation. But then he could have chosen a shitty newspaper like BILD in germany as well. Many more people buy that crap than a music magazine. But maybe BILD will do some promotion for the giveaway because the Rolling Stone magazine belongs to the same company..... We'll see soon.

[Edited 6/30/10 5:04am]

ludwig said:

OperatingThetan said:

b) The Album will only be available for one day. People literally have 12 hours or less to get a copy. And I think Prince's music deserves more than a 12 hour shelf-life.

In germany it'll will be available for one whole month as part of the Rolling Stone magazine. I don't know why he didn't chose a monthly magazine in the UK. It has probably something to do with the circulation. But then he could have chosen a shitty newspaper like BILD in germany as well. Many more people buy that crap than a music magazine. But maybe BILD will do some promotion for the giveaway because the Rolling Stone magazine belongs to the same company..... We'll see soon.

[Edited 6/30/10 5:04am]

I think i've found the answer in a blog about this:

I must admit that I did not initially see the brand alignment between Prince and the Daily Mirror / Daily Record commercial venture. With a little bit of digging I found out however that Prince was 52 on the 7th of June of this year and has been voted the 8th best guitarist of the previous 30 years by BBC 6Music listeners in April 2010.

I also was not convinced of the mechanic. Giving away free CD's / DVD's have been expensive in terms of the cost of the promotion and have only spiked the circulation momentarily with no significant increase to a monthly ABC figure.

With the popular market place being rocked by Northern & Shell due to the immanent Daily Star cover price cut to 10p from the 1st of July, this move by the Mirror pangs just of panic unfortunately reaffirming the papers position not only as having the oldest demographic but the one that is struggling most in a three horse race.

The Mirror has the oldest demographic of all the tabloid media in the UK and it looks like its demographic is matched to Prince music & BBC 6Music

This must be the same for the publications in Germany, France, etc...

Or all the publications are struggling and need a marketing boost ?

http://new.uk.music.yahoo...evolution/

RodeoSchro said:

LMAO, this thread is cracking me up. Although Bart can make a good point from time to time, I take issue with most of his positions. To wit:

I know some of you have written songs before. You know it's not easy, and it's certainly impossible to decide, "Today, I shall write the next Purple Rain". It just doesn't work like that. If it did, every album would be the next Purple Rain.

So? Is that an excuse to release songs PRINCE HIMSELF doersn't give a shit about? Read the interviews he's doing: already he's talking about how this music is "old" and he's already on the next level. Which he shows by playing 25+ year old songs in concert.

You write what you come up with. And history is replete with the next point I will make - as artists grow older and wealthier, they start writing from another place. It is impossible to stop this transition. Try as one might, one cannot keep the anger and hunger from their disadvantaged youth evident in songs that are written 20 years after they've attained success.

Or you can rise above that and go back to the core, like Johnny Cash did.

Same thing with "hits". Prince's new stuff isn't played on the radio, that's a fact. It's pretty obvious Prince doesn't care, either.

Oh? He was bitching about not being played on the radio in 2009. Listen to the Cigale aftershow.

He does not appear to need radio play to: (1) satisfy his ego; or (2) drive sales of his music. By the way, his music is nevertheless generally nominated for (and sometimes wins) Grammies and other awards.

So? He proclaims those awards are worthless (and they are), yet look who's turning up?

That brings us to the vault. Yeah, we all want it. Yeah, most of us have it anyway. Why he doesn't release stuff from the vault on a regular basis is a mystery to me. My best guess is that Prince just absolutely refuses to ever look backwards,

The average age of the songs he played in monaco in 2009 was 25+ years. Is that "refusing to look backwards"?

Finally, we have his website or lack thereof. For all the criticism Lotu$flower.com rightfully took, at least I got to see his performance of "Guitar" on Leno. Best performance of a song I've ever seen anyone do.

In audio/picture quality from 10 years ago.

aarontj said:

NouveauDance said:

I think some people think it "cheapens" the music because it can give the appearance that if the album was any good, it would be worth the effort of promoting it and getting it out there through conventional channels - not just in terms of having it on a shelf in the record store, but all the guff that comes with that like mainstream radio play, TV, singles, promo etc, etc.

Honestly, I think this is how the wider audience often see it - especially since Prince has been known since the days as shitting out triple CDs and vanity projects full of filler whenever he feels like it.

The CD is promoting the tour, much like Planet Earth did - Again, it's seen as a freebie, it has no value.

Th people who think that it "cheapens" the music must be the audience of all the mainstream radio play and TV stuff, like Jay Z and friends.

But there are many big artists that are going the free/indie road, like Beck, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails etc.

The charts, radio and Tv don't mean shit anymore.

Please point out the CDs those artists released that came free when you bougth some lame newspaper/magazine.