http://espyrock.com/2009/11/todd-rundgren-%E2%80%9Cthe-internet-works-yes-it%E2%80%99s-having-an-effect%E2%80%9D-3218/

Dreamer2 said:

NouveauDance said:

This is just a quote from the current batch of interviews.

Basically, he can't get an advance with their business model, so it's sour grapes.

Not really he's just pushing them to change.....and they will!

Bullcrap. iTunes ain't changing for the Beatles, and most certainly not for Prince.

Dreamer2 said:

Cool it, he's talking about his current project and he's not the only artist out there pissed of with itunes policy alot of them are ....

Itunes will change, artist will go for the next best offer and an up front fee is the next step, other business models are already in play..

Nonsense. Ain't gonna happen.

skywalker said:

Tom Cruise gets paid his fee for a movie (which is millions) as soon as he signs on.

Not anymore. Not only are advances going down, also the percentage points on the profits are going down.

Oh, and Cruise OPENS movies. Prince albums don't sell.

Before the camera rolls, before Tom Cruise puts in a days work, he gets paid. Plus, he gets more money if the movie does well. Tom Cruise is not as "bankable" as he once was, but he is still Tom Cruise and makes his millions before he works a minute.

But part of that contract is also that he has to promote the shit out of that movie, and that he's doing a gazillion interviews and flying all over the world and attending premieres. Again: Prince doesn't do that.

From Little Richard to Lady Gaga, too many musicians over the years have not made the money they should have. Prince is, like most big named music acts with any clout, changing up how they get paid.

And most of the time it's petulant whining by crybabies. This ridiculous "I deserve millions" bullcrap is a recent thing.

Lastly, from this fans perspective, I am satisfied. If you add up the total hours of music Prince has released since he has gone it alone, the amount of music he has put out since 1996 is much more than when he was with WB.

I'd rather have 1 CD of great tunes than 10 CDs of rubbish ones. QUALITY CONTROL -- great artists have it.

BartVanHemelen said:

I'd rather have 1 CD of great tunes than 10 CDs of rubbish ones. QUALITY CONTROL -- great artists have it.

"Prince, if you have a hundred great songs or a thousand, how about picking a few and putting them on your record, because your last several have sucked."

- Trent Reznor, 2009

BartVanHemelen said:

Oh, and Cruise OPENS movies. Prince albums don't sell.

1. Prince's sales could be ragged on even in the 80's. Check out the US totals for Parade in 1986, or Lovesexy in '88. I've said it before, people remember it like Prince was always moving blockbuster numbers in the 80's, but it wasn't the case...except for Purple Rain and Batman.

2. Tom Cruise OPENS movies? Check again.

http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2833

And most of the time it's petulant whining by crybabies. This ridiculous "I deserve millions" bullcrap is a recent thing.

Not accurate...unless by "recent" you mean 20 to 30 years ago. Check how much Brando got paid for Superman: The Movie in 1978. Check how much Stallone got paid for his films in the 80's. Check how much Jack Nicholson go paid for Batman in 1989.

I'd rather have 1 CD of great tunes than 10 CDs of rubbish ones. QUALITY CONTROL -- great artists have it.

1. Every one has a different idea of "great tunes" and QUALITY CONTROL.

2. You can always make your own best of/favorite compilation CD's. What is stopping you?

3. If you want an album once every 3 to 4 years, Prince probably isn't your guy.

skywalker said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Oh, and Cruise OPENS movies. Prince albums don't sell.

1. Prince's sales could be ragged on even in the 80's. Check out the US totals for Parade in 1986, or Lovesexy in '88. I've said it before, people remember it like Prince was always moving blockbuster numbers in the 80's, but it wasn't the case...except for Purple Rain and Batman.

2. Tom Cruise OPENS movies? Check again.

http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2833

Not accurate...unless by "recent" you mean 20 to 30 years ago. Check how much Brando got paid for Superman: The Movie in 1978. Check how much Stallone got paid for his films in the 80's. Check how much Jack Nicholson go paid for Batman in 1989.

I'd rather have 1 CD of great tunes than 10 CDs of rubbish ones. QUALITY CONTROL -- great artists have it.

1. Every one has a different idea of "great tunes" and QUALITY CONTROL.

2. You can always make your own best of/favorite compilation CD's. What is stopping you?

3. If you want an album once every 3 to 4 years, Prince probably isn't your guy.

Well that depends on what your take is on blockbuster numbers.. 1999 did great, SOTT did great..ATWIAD did great.. it is very easy to say Prince albums dont sell because of lack of promotion.

Timing is very important when choosing a release date for movies. Tom Cruise went up against a GREAT movie in Toy Story heading into its second week at the box office.. That weekend I believe Knight & Day did 20 million? Sure its not Mission Impossible or War of the Worlds but Tom Cruise is a HUGE box office draw..

as far as everything else I agree

Mephiles said:

Timing is very important when choosing a release date for movies. Tom Cruise went up against a GREAT movie in Toy Story heading into its second week at the box office.. That weekend I believe Knight & Day did 20 million? Sure its not Mission Impossible or War of the Worlds but Tom Cruise is a HUGE box office draw..

And there's also the International take too...

skywalker said:

ernestsewell said:

Prince is being WAY hypocritical here. Artists make music. They don't get paid, by default, for that. It's supposed to be their bread and butter, just like anyone else's job/task/occupation/whatever. No one goes into Walmart for a job and says "I want a year's pay up front, or I'm not doing it." Prince thinks he's at the point where he's PRINCE and people should be grateful to smell his tennis shoes walk into their office, when in fact, he's not bankable. He's not a guaranteed hit, whether in sales or a #1 song. (Yes yes, "charts don't matter", but the fact is Prince has tried again and again to play to the charts since day one, and continues to do so.) While I'm not endorsing the way Soundscan runs things, because we all know its shifty ways, the fact is that Prince knows they aren't friendly to him for whatever reason, and vice versa. So why not get his pay up front, and side-step all that lack of whatever? NO band, present, past, or future, as the clout to say "I want to be paid, in full, up front, or else." NO ONE. Sure, maybe an artist gets an advance to secure and guarantee, and downright motivate, them to finish a project and make it friendly enough for fans and the general public to be attracted to; and even a bonus at the end. But who on earth thinks they can just throw out rules like this and get away with it? Prince does, but look where it's gotten him. He's now pooping on anyone who doesn't play by his rules. I've no doubt Prince knows the business. He's been in it for eons, and has been through a lot with it. He's been near broke a few times, and recovered. Whatever happened to Prince actually working for his paycheck? He tried resting on his laurels, and that didin't work. So why not poo poo the lack of interest, opposed to looking in the mirror and self-critiquing what another common denominator might be in the equation of "being over".

A few thoughts on this:

The Walmart analogy doesn't hold water because Prince is an artist. Like you said, Prince is trying to get paid by a model that no one in the music business gets paid by. However, most other art forms operate in a way similar to how Prince is going about it:

Tom Cruise gets paid his fee for a movie (which is millions) as soon as he signs on. Before the camera rolls, before Tom Cruise puts in a days work, he gets paid. Plus, he gets more money if the movie does well. Tom Cruise is not as "bankable" as he once was, but he is still Tom Cruise and makes his millions before he works a minute.

In the art world, the artist creates a painting/sculpture/etc and puts a price on it. They show it, shop it around, someone pays for the work, or they don't. This is more similar to how Prince is operating, I think. He already has made the album, he is just shopping it around. How he gets it out to the world is similar to an artist finding a gallery to display their work. I suppose, many artists can do work for hire/are commissioned but I think that only relates to Prince's live performances in some cases.

Basically, the music business is dying and they need a new model. I disagree with Prince's assessment of the internet...and I imagine that in a year or so, his tune will have changed. You know how he is. That said, I think if he can do things his way, more power to him. From Little Richard to Lady Gaga, too many musicians over the years have not made the money they should have. Prince is, like most big named music acts with any clout, changing up how they get paid.

Lastly, from this fans perspective, I am satisfied. If you add up the total hours of music Prince has released since he has gone it alone, the amount of music he has put out since 1996 is much more than when he was with WB. Whether that's a good thing is another debate....

I think the issue here is that Prince's demand for "up front" payment eliminates any incentive on his part to create quality music that a broad swath of people will enjoy. Under his "new model" he is able to put out music that most people find to be crap and disposable (yes, I understand "quality" is relative but good music tends to at least be acclaimed in some circles - prince'snew music is acclaimed only in his fan sites) -- and so what for Prince, he got paid - he doesn't even have to try to promote his own crap music once he churns it out. He was already paid. Then he can just balk about how the "charts" are so biased and people don't like his new stuff just cause we've all been indoctrinated by commercialism.

I get the argument - but I think it'd serve Prince's musical output better if he felt some incentive to make a good product. That incentive doesn't have to be financial - but w/ Prince simulataneously feeling like he has no contemporary competition (another topic to debate), he has nothing incentivizing him into making a quality record- he feels he's ahead of everyone else in the bizz and gets paid before listeners tell him if he's right. It's a great tactic for delusion of grandeur - but that's mental illness, not a new business model.

carlcranshaw said:

A quote coming from a guy who said "Number One At The Bank" and "Do The Math"

"They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."

man it fukin destroys ma heed the way americans say do the math..its fukin maths man..n another thing nite is fukin night, color is fukin colour..fukin yanks man..they wreck ma bunnet.

Jatrig said:

I think the issue here is that Prince's demand for "up front" payment eliminates any incentive on his part to create quality music that a broad swath of people will enjoy. Under his "new model" he is able to put out music that most people find to be crap and disposable (yes, I understand "quality" is relative but good music tends to at least be acclaimed in some circles - prince'snew music is acclaimed only in his fan sites) -- and so what for Prince, he got paid - he doesn't even have to try to promote his own crap music once he churns it out. He was already paid. Then he can just balk about how the "charts" are so biased and people don't like his new stuff just cause we've all been indoctrinated by commercialism.

I get the argument - but I think it'd serve Prince's musical output better if he felt some incentive to make a good product. That incentive doesn't have to be financial - but w/ Prince simulataneously feeling like he has no contemporary competition (another topic to debate), he has nothing incentivizing him into making a quality record- he feels he's ahead of everyone else in the bizz and gets paid before listeners tell him if he's right. It's a great tactic for delusion of grandeur - but that's mental illness, not a new business model.

1. I don't think Prince completely views his music as a product. Meaning, when he creates it, I think he sees his music as a snapshot of where he is at a place and time and he puts it out mostly as such. Compared to other artists of his caliber/fame/etc, he puts out music at an astonishing rate. I mentioned this in another thread, but Prince really has never spent a lot of time like Michael Jackson, or U2, going over his music with a fine tooth comb to ready it for mass consumption. I know many fans around here wish he would.

Example: Look at Batman, which is probably still Prince's most "sell out" Hollywood tie in moment ever....it was nearly a pure financial move on his part. His music was a product. Still the songs he chose to put on the album were not a ready batch made of easily consumed pop music. It was weird and off beat. "Batdance" is a weird song by mainstream standards.

2. Go back and look at the reviews for Prince's albums from 1996 to now. They are mixed. They are not universally panned, or praised. Major publications, like USA Today, gave praise to albums like Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic. I would say the mainstream media became more positive since 2004 in terms of his music.

Also, I can easily find a few reviews that pan such classics as Controversy, and Parade.

After Purple Rain I don't remember a lot of folks in the USA being in love with Prince's albums. They liked the singles that got played on the radio, but I don't remember people who weren't already Prince fans embracing the Under the Cherry Moon era. It is somewhat forgotten, but Prince had many commercial (not necessarily artistic) missteps in the 80's.

Lastly, albums that are widely acclaimed are usually widely or wisely marketed. Prince doesn't always promote his stuff the best way possible.

3. It could easily be argued that Prince has always tried to make music that is somewhat commercial at various points throughout his career. His first two albums, "Little Red Corvette", Purple Rain, Diamonds and Pearls, Rave, and everything post 2003 has had a commercial appeal.

Other than his instrumental albums, The Rainbow Children, One Nite Alone, and The Truth most Prince albums have various levels pop/mass appeal. Again, I don't think it is always as calculated or as planned as MJ, U2, or Madonna...but Prince always has one foot in the pop/commercial side of things.

Bottom line: quality of music = people buying it. You can promote any old shit that passes for art/music and the masses will buy it if promoted properly. Don't believe me? Turn on your radio/watch tv/or go to the movies.....

[Edited 7/5/10 16:39pm]

Alamine said:

The Internet is played out for everyone cept the Porn Industry which is what has kept the internet alive, it is what made Youtube so popular when it first started, it's what has kept facebook going: Porn

Again Prince is ahead of his time on the thought that the internet is over, over as in it has hit the ceiling

Agreed. And even the porn is boring.

weejimmy said:

carlcranshaw said:

A quote coming from a guy who said "Number One At The Bank" and "Do The Math"

"They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."

man it fukin destroys ma heed the way americans say do the math..its fukin maths man..n another thing nite is fukin night, color is fukin colour..fukin yanks man..they wreck ma bunnet.

On ye go weejimmy.

Mephiles said:

that depends on what your take is on blockbuster numbers.. 1999 did great, SOTT did great..ATWIAD did great.. it is very easy to say Prince albums dont sell because of lack of promotion.

ATWIAD did great because it was riding on the coat tails of PR.

1999 pulled in a hell of a lot of the sales it has today AFTER PR was released... and SOTT wasn't in any way a blockbuster. Despite loads of promotion including multiple singles, videos and a concert movie, it was little more than a sleeper hit and I think it actually sold less than Parade in the US, according to numbers I saw.

ernestsewell said:

I am willing to support the artist, 100%, but in this day and age where music is obviously not worth more than 99 cents a song, I won't be robbed on something.

I can't even fathom where a song is only worth 99 cents. That's the price of a double cheeseburger. To me, songs are priceless. The only reason they can even get away with a 99 cent pricetag is because it will be pirated otherwise.

Alamine said:

The Internet is played out for everyone cept the Porn Industry which is what has kept the internet alive, it is what made Youtube so popular when it first started, it's what has kept facebook going: Porn

Again Prince is ahead of his time on the thought that the internet is over, over as in it has hit the ceiling

Wishful thinking on your part, my friend. The internet only gets more pervasive by the day.

Spinlight said:

Alamine said:

The Internet is played out for everyone cept the Porn Industry which is what has kept the internet alive, it is what made Youtube so popular when it first started, it's what has kept facebook going: Porn

Again Prince is ahead of his time on the thought that the internet is over, over as in it has hit the ceiling

Wishful thinking on your part, my friend. The internet only gets more pervasive by the day.

yup. we've started to take it for granted. but its impact is only getting more entrenched in the world.

Spinlight said:

Alamine said:

The Internet is played out for everyone cept the Porn Industry which is what has kept the internet alive, it is what made Youtube so popular when it first started, it's what has kept facebook going: Porn

Again Prince is ahead of his time on the thought that the internet is over, over as in it has hit the ceiling

Wishful thinking on your part, my friend. The internet only gets more pervasive by the day.

i agree.

and LOL @ the notion that porn kept the internet alive

if the internet ever died, it'd be the porn that kills it.

maybe thats why its over for Prince

skywalker said:

Jatrig said:

I think the issue here is that Prince's demand for "up front" payment eliminates any incentive on his part to create quality music that a broad swath of people will enjoy. Under his "new model" he is able to put out music that most people find to be crap and disposable (yes, I understand "quality" is relative but good music tends to at least be acclaimed in some circles - prince'snew music is acclaimed only in his fan sites) -- and so what for Prince, he got paid - he doesn't even have to try to promote his own crap music once he churns it out. He was already paid. Then he can just balk about how the "charts" are so biased and people don't like his new stuff just cause we've all been indoctrinated by commercialism.

I get the argument - but I think it'd serve Prince's musical output better if he felt some incentive to make a good product. That incentive doesn't have to be financial - but w/ Prince simulataneously feeling like he has no contemporary competition (another topic to debate), he has nothing incentivizing him into making a quality record- he feels he's ahead of everyone else in the bizz and gets paid before listeners tell him if he's right. It's a great tactic for delusion of grandeur - but that's mental illness, not a new business model.

1. I don't think Prince completely views his music as a product. Meaning, when he creates it, I think he sees his music as a snapshot of where he is at a place and time and he puts it out mostly as such. Compared to other artists of his caliber/fame/etc, he puts out music at an astonishing rate. I mentioned this in another thread, but Prince really has never spent a lot of time like Michael Jackson, or U2, going over his music with a fine tooth comb to ready it for mass consumption. I know many fans around here wish he would.

Example: Look at Batman, which is probably still Prince's most "sell out" Hollywood tie in moment ever....it was nearly a pure financial move on his part. His music was a product. Still the songs he chose to put on the album were not a ready batch made of easily consumed pop music. It was weird and off beat. "Batdance" is a weird song by mainstream standards.

2. Go back and look at the reviews for Prince's albums from 1996 to now. They are mixed. They are not universally panned, or praised. Major publications, like USA Today, gave praise to albums like Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic. I would say the mainstream media became more positive since 2004 in terms of his music.

Also, I can easily find a few reviews that pan such classics as Controversy, and Parade.

After Purple Rain I don't remember a lot of folks in the USA being in love with Prince's albums. They liked the singles that got played on the radio, but I don't remember people who weren't already Prince fans embracing the Under the Cherry Moon era. It is somewhat forgotten, but Prince had many commercial (not necessarily artistic) missteps in the 80's.

Lastly, albums that are widely acclaimed are usually widely or wisely marketed. Prince doesn't always promote his stuff the best way possible.

3. It could easily be argued that Prince has always tried to make music that is somewhat commercial at various points throughout his career. His first two albums, "Little Red Corvette", Purple Rain, Diamonds and Pearls, Rave, and everything post 2003 has had a commercial appeal.

Other than his instrumental albums, The Rainbow Children, One Nite Alone, and The Truth most Prince albums have various levels pop/mass appeal. Again, I don't think it is always as calculated or as planned as MJ, U2, or Madonna...but Prince always has one foot in the pop/commercial side of things.

Bottom line: quality of music = people buying it. You can promote any old shit that passes for art/music and the masses will buy it if promoted properly. Don't believe me? Turn on your radio/watch tv/or go to the movies.....

[Edited 7/5/10 16:39pm]

I always like batting around topics with you - and reading your posts because you offer a thoughful, alternative perspective. Thanks

Mephiles said:

Well that depends on what your take is on blockbuster numbers.. 1999 did great, SOTT did great..ATWIAD did great.. it is very easy to say Prince albums dont sell because of lack of promotion.

Compare 1999, ATWIAD, and SOTT's sales totals against the biggest selling albums of the same years. Were Prince's albums in the top 10 in terms of sales? They are good numbers for Prince...just not compared to Purple Rain. That's my whole point...I love these albums, but people seem to think that Prince sold more albums in the 80's than he actually did.

Timing is very important when choosing a release date for movies. Tom Cruise went up against a GREAT movie in Toy Story heading into its second week at the box office.. That weekend I believe Knight & Day did 20 million? Sure its not Mission Impossible or War of the Worlds but Tom Cruise is a HUGE box office draw..

Tom Cruise will always be Tom Cruise...regardless of what business his movies do (or don't do). Knight and Day was expected to be a summer blockbuster and has not been. That doesn't mean Tom Cruise didn't get paid. The original point is that Tom Cruise is a HUGE name and gets paid millions upfront because of it. The same goes for Prince.

Jatrig said:

skywalker said:

1. I don't think Prince completely views his music as a product. Meaning, when he creates it, I think he sees his music as a snapshot of where he is at a place and time and he puts it out mostly as such. Compared to other artists of his caliber/fame/etc, he puts out music at an astonishing rate. I mentioned this in another thread, but Prince really has never spent a lot of time like Michael Jackson, or U2, going over his music with a fine tooth comb to ready it for mass consumption. I know many fans around here wish he would.

Example: Look at Batman, which is probably still Prince's most "sell out" Hollywood tie in moment ever....it was nearly a pure financial move on his part. His music was a product. Still the songs he chose to put on the album were not a ready batch made of easily consumed pop music. It was weird and off beat. "Batdance" is a weird song by mainstream standards.

2. Go back and look at the reviews for Prince's albums from 1996 to now. They are mixed. They are not universally panned, or praised. Major publications, like USA Today, gave praise to albums like Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic. I would say the mainstream media became more positive since 2004 in terms of his music.

Also, I can easily find a few reviews that pan such classics as Controversy, and Parade.

After Purple Rain I don't remember a lot of folks in the USA being in love with Prince's albums. They liked the singles that got played on the radio, but I don't remember people who weren't already Prince fans embracing the Under the Cherry Moon era. It is somewhat forgotten, but Prince had many commercial (not necessarily artistic) missteps in the 80's.

Lastly, albums that are widely acclaimed are usually widely or wisely marketed. Prince doesn't always promote his stuff the best way possible.

3. It could easily be argued that Prince has always tried to make music that is somewhat commercial at various points throughout his career. His first two albums, "Little Red Corvette", Purple Rain, Diamonds and Pearls, Rave, and everything post 2003 has had a commercial appeal.

Other than his instrumental albums, The Rainbow Children, One Nite Alone, and The Truth most Prince albums have various levels pop/mass appeal. Again, I don't think it is always as calculated or as planned as MJ, U2, or Madonna...but Prince always has one foot in the pop/commercial side of things.

Bottom line: quality of music = people buying it. You can promote any old shit that passes for art/music and the masses will buy it if promoted properly. Don't believe me? Turn on your radio/watch tv/or go to the movies.....

[Edited 7/5/10 16:39pm]

I always like batting around topics with you - and reading your posts because you offer a thoughful, alternative perspective. Thanks

Thank you. I appreciate the conversation as well.

Prince says "the internet is dead", but Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails did well with their model offering music for free, for a donation, for a set price, and high end versions for the die hard fan.

Also, if he's giving the CD away for "free" in magazines, surely he can set up a website and create an experience similar to what Radiohead and NIN did and many, many more people would potentially have access to it.

Sigh...

1. batman has some fucking great songs on it .. stop dissin

2. internet is over just like electricity is over .. ever heard of tesla .. the pyramids?

3. when are u "fans" gonna realize that prince is more right than wrong about these sorts of things .. u were all probably part of the people who thought he was nuts for changing his name and railing against the record companies and selling music on the internet .. now every fuckin musician out there has followed in his steps ..

4 and finally .. the internet is a fucking disgrace to music, musicians and everything related .. mp3 u gotta be kidding me .. the most bullshit medium ever invented .. who cares what the teeny boppers buy really .. if u are a prince fan it is likely because u appreciate real music so how bout appreciating music NOT sounding like it was recorded in an alluminum can like EVERYTHING ON THE INTERNET DOES .. as for the cd pricing scam .. whatever .. its a con ... it costs about 75 cents to print up a cd .. always has and will likely get cheaper .. the cd worked because it was round .. not square .. cds are always used or used to beable to get 12 for a dollar .. and u can rip perfect quality from ur friend .. u got no right complaining .. and prince has worked his ass off for u fuckin ungrateful fans his whole life .. so just shut up and appreciate what u get or dont but quit raggin like hes just gonna take yer money and run .. tha purple yoda prolly fucked up his body real bad doin those splits to whet ur pants and he certainly has put a lot more hours into his craft than most people on this planet .. so i say

GOOD dont sell ur music thru those terds at itunes or u terd fans who arent awake enuf to even understand what he is talking about most of the time.

the internet only exists to profile you and track u in a data base .. sell u products .. make shure ur still stupid and take ur money .. the internet is the shiney new car that u have to get out and push .. more work than its worth and a complete waste of time and energy

oh yeah and trent reznors last 5 records sucked so he should shut up too .. who fuckin cares what he thinks ..

Prince cant make money offline? yeah right.

yet he chose to infect the net with draconian charges he didnt even need.

musicians like prince should know better than to USE the internet to line their wallets.

he does fine makin money offline, why infect the net with GREED ?

he said "money and music dont mix" - "music should be free" - then charges MEMBERSHIP FEES for his online sites?

whats the rationale? he has to pay his web designers?

doesnt he have enough money in the bank already to do that?

of course he does.

his ego got the better of him with lotusflow3r.

if the site was free it'd still be open - and he'd still be DOING JUST FINE FINANCIALLY without having to rip the ass out of people's wallets in a fuckin recession

get independent Prince and stop relying on instant gratification via $ to justify your participation as a musician and member of the human race.

the world owes you nothin son - it was here before you were.

TrevorAyer said:

1. batman has some fucking great songs on it .. stop dissin

I wasn't. It's the album that made me a Prince fan. I am just saying that for as "sell out" as it was, it wasn't very commercial/pop/radio friendly/easily digested by the masses in terms of songs on it.

NouveauDance said:

This is just a quote from the current batch of interviews.

Basically, he can't get an advance with their business model, so it's sour grapes.

BINGO....its all about the advance.

Prince is "cursing the darkness" instead of lighting a candle. And his music is ALREADY being sold on the internet. Just web search a prince song, and you get the opportunity to listen to the song once for free, and then you must purchase for additional listens.

Think Prince is very insecure with the whole technology thing. He's saying that computers are not good for you huh? CD's are a thing are going to be a thing of the past in this digital age. I mean doesn't he have computers in his studio?

In one instance he's going to say computers are a thing of the past, and in the next...he's going to start 2 or more failed websites. This man needs to get it together.

I think the internet threatened his retirment. He's only seeing dollar signs.

Mephiles said:

Dreamer2 said:

Cool it, he's talking about his current project and he's not the only artist out there pissed of with itunes policy alot of them are ....

Itunes will change, artist will go for the next best offer and an up front fee is the next step, other business models are already in play..

Sure there are a lot of artist who don't like the guidelines Apple & their iTunes team set forth, but I highly doubt it will change. New, indie artist will never be able to demand an upfront payment when dealing with digital distributors. Too much of a risk. Prince just wants to throw out material and he expects to just let his name sell the product. I wouldn't (and I'm sure iTunes wouldn't) want to take a risk. I'd be thinking like, "wait, he wants me to pay him up front, then pay for marketing too..while he does nothing"? Too much of a gamble. Especially with the publics opinion on Prince and his music these days.

Personally speaking, in a situation like this as an established musician looking to distribute my music... I would ask for an upfront payment for marketing only. Then a slice of the pie after release. I'd provide them with the music. They just have to give me the resources to market that music. Exclusive videos, exclusive tracks, brand promotion..appearances..whatever it takes.

Prince could use that upfront money he's getting now for promotion, but why? He's paid. Whatever happens, happens in his book.

Prince thinks I-Tunes is "Warner". Umph. It is he who is missing out on the loot. He could have been raking in cash all this while that he's been pressuring I-Tunes. I really hope they do not buckle. There are other artists out there with great music to listen to on I-Tunes. Prince does not have a monolopy on good music.

Prince has:

"Beaten" illegal downloading of music. How? He took guaranteed money from a 3rd Party who bundled it with their own product. He did with this Napster, and the Newpapers. Arguably, he did this with Target as he was able to put a CD on the shelves for $10. Whether you bought the CD or newspaper or downloaded from oink, Prince got paid.

"Beaten" ticket scalpers. Hit and Run concerts were one tactic. Selling Purple/Gold/etc circle tix at VERY reasonable prices was another. But it's the adding cities to a tour and adding dates to a larger city like his Vegas and O2 stints that kept prices low for the fans. By increasing the supply side, he was able to satisfy the demand side instead of charging more until demand went down. And not only did he provide the shows in quantity, but he performed with great quality. Thus, preserving that precious demand for his product.

Now, are these Prince's Avant Garde tactics? Of course not. Other artists and businesspeople have been doing this. But we're talking about what Prince is doing. And honestly, it's tactics that many in the industry need to consider.

And he's dead right about Youtube and eBay. Obviously, I feel there is a greater cultural value they have provided that justifies their indiscretions. However, they DO police Porn and Gore, etc. Why can't they do the same for other illegal activity such as copyright infringement? If I post a webcam of a woman getting her tits out on Youtube, it's down in like 2 minutes even if I flag it as 18+ Only. If I post a recording of Nasty Girl from VH-1 Classics, it stays up until Prince/WEA/ or whomever reports it as copyright infringement.