wasitgood4u said:

squirrelgrease said:

After the Ebony snafu and the relatively luke warm response to the re-tooled European cover-mounts, an educated guess would be that Prince has moved on and no US release will happen. Any interested US distributor would have been watching the events here and across the pond unfold (and in some cases unravel), and realize how fickle Prince is. The music may be good, but strong-arm negotiations in the US are now out the window as the release is a genuine commercial dud after being heavily promoted yet failing to find the projected audience.

Can you please elaborate (this is not a sarcastic challenge but a genuine question)? I've seen no press reviews (I've clicked on about half of the pages on that interminable 20ten thread but none had press reviews) and have no real idea what the response has been other than the hype of the publications themselves and the raves of the people at the gigs.

So has the release been overwhelmingly ignored? dissed? hammered? Where?

I also wonder whether there isn't a built-in risk to this kind of release that other print media are going to snub it as a reaction (that doesn't explain electronic media tho - did they ignore it too?)

Considering that one newspaper was reported to have printed (to my recollection) 2.5 million copies, yet sold a little over half a million - a number which does include the normal circulation run, expectations were extremely high prior to release.

There are threads floating around here that give the actual numbers, but there are so many places to look, I wouldn't know where to begin.

I'm not happy with the fact that this album dropped with a thud, but it will partially explain why we may not see a US release of 20TEN. I do expect something to hit stores this year, but I doubt it will be the configuration that Europe got. If something was inked for retail distribution in the US prior to the EU mags, I think we would have heard about it by now. Target's probably weary after Lotusflow3r and Best Buy still has plenty of NOS of Planet Earth and The Rainbow Children, but Wal-Mart hasn't been stung by a Prince deal yet. If nothing is announced by month's end, I wouldn't bet on a retail disc in the US.

I do owe a couple of fellow orgers US copies, so I hope it does happen.

squirrelgrease said:

wasitgood4u said:

Can you please elaborate (this is not a sarcastic challenge but a genuine question)? I've seen no press reviews (I've clicked on about half of the pages on that interminable 20ten thread but none had press reviews) and have no real idea what the response has been other than the hype of the publications themselves and the raves of the people at the gigs.

So has the release been overwhelmingly ignored? dissed? hammered? Where?

I also wonder whether there isn't a built-in risk to this kind of release that other print media are going to snub it as a reaction (that doesn't explain electronic media tho - did they ignore it too?)

Considering that one newspaper was reported to have printed (to my recollection) 2.5 million copies, yet sold a little over half a million - a number which does include the normal circulation run, expectations were extremely high prior to release.

There are threads floating around here that give the actual numbers, but there are so many places to look, I wouldn't know where to begin.

I'm not happy with the fact that this album dropped with a thud, but it will partially explain why we may not see a US release of 20TEN. I do expect something to hit stores this year, but I doubt it will be the configuration that Europe got. If something was inked for retail distribution in the US prior to the EU mags, I think we would have heard about it by now. Target's probably weary after Lotusflow3r and Best Buy still has plenty of NOS of Planet Earth and The Rainbow Children, but Wal-Mart hasn't been stung by a Prince deal yet. If nothing is announced by month's end, I wouldn't bet on a retail disc in the US.

I do owe a couple of fellow orgers US copies, so I hope it does happen.

what, Dr. Funkenberry doesn't count as an announcement? after all, he just re-prints press releases from Paisley Park, so surely that's got to be official, right?

squirrelgrease said:

wasitgood4u said:

Can you please elaborate (this is not a sarcastic challenge but a genuine question)? I've seen no press reviews (I've clicked on about half of the pages on that interminable 20ten thread but none had press reviews) and have no real idea what the response has been other than the hype of the publications themselves and the raves of the people at the gigs.

So has the release been overwhelmingly ignored? dissed? hammered? Where?

I also wonder whether there isn't a built-in risk to this kind of release that other print media are going to snub it as a reaction (that doesn't explain electronic media tho - did they ignore it too?)

Considering that one newspaper was reported to have printed (to my recollection) 2.5 million copies, yet sold a little over half a million - a number which does include the normal circulation run, expectations were extremely high prior to release.

There are threads floating around here that give the actual numbers, but there are so many places to look, I wouldn't know where to begin.

Ah, okay. I guess I'm just confused by the figures - over at Moquake there's a thread that links to an article questining whether Prince should be considered to having the biggest-selling UK disk this year, since the paper sold 394,000 over usual sales or something...

But I think the Planet earth one had a higher boost of sales, so maybe this paper had bigger expectations? Who knows.

Timmy84 said:

But wouldn't that be cheapening the selected European countries that got the album for free as a covermount? Twenty tracks for us but just ten for the selected European fans wouldn't be quite fair. I know that old saying "can't please everyone" and it's probably no more true than that suggestion should Prince go along with it.

You can't cheapen something that was free to begin with.

So long as Prince can get his money on I fully expect 20ten to be released in the exact same configuration in the U.S.

Xibalba said:

Timmy84 said:

But wouldn't that be cheapening the selected European countries that got the album for free as a covermount? Twenty tracks for us but just ten for the selected European fans wouldn't be quite fair. I know that old saying "can't please everyone" and it's probably no more true than that suggestion should Prince go along with it.

You can't cheapen something that was free to begin with.

A free CD with a newspaper that charges you 65p, I don't know how much is that in the states in translation, what, like $2.95 here? I guess what I was trying to say that it would rip the selected European fans off if they got the ten-track CD but then Americans get 20, you think Europeans would want a similar track listing.

Cerebus said:

So long as Prince can get his money on I fully expect 20ten to be released in the exact same configuration in the U.S.

Then why hasn't no announcement been made yet? It's almost August.

Be nice if there were a longer US version. I live in the UK, but would like a full cover, maybe a few more songs.

But I doubt that will happen. If there is a US release I guess it will be identical in content the Euro copy.

squirrelgrease said:

After the Ebony snafu and the relatively luke warm response to the re-tooled European cover-mounts, an educated guess would be that Prince has moved on and no US release will happen. Any interested US distributor would have been watching the events here and across the pond unfold (and in some cases unravel), and realize how fickle Prince is. The music may be good, but strong-arm negotiations in the US are now out the window as the release is a genuine commercial dud after being heavily promoted yet failing to find the projected audience.

No commercial dud.

The 'Daily Mirror' sold over 300,000 copies more in the UK due to '20TEN'. And a daily newspaper is only on sale for about 12 hours. '20TEN' garnered a great deal of press attention.

Reviews are nothing to go by, regardless. And how a free newspaper album can be a 'commercial' success is beyond me. It falls into a different category.

Plus, the European market and reviewers are very different in taste from those in the USA. The acceptance and respect of funk and soul here tends to be much less, funk particularly; and these are the predominant sounds on '20TEN'.

I don't buy any tabloids but bought four copies of the Mirror that day. I think quite a few of us did that. 300,000 does not unfortunately equate to 300,000 unique listeners.

OperatingThetan said:

The 'Daily Mirror' sold over 300,000 copies more in the UK due to '20TEN'.

iloveannie said:

I don't buy any tabloids but bought four copies of the Mirror that day. I think quite a few of us did that. 300,000 does not unfortunately equate to 300,000 unique listeners.

OperatingThetan said:

The 'Daily Mirror' sold over 300,000 copies more in the UK due to '20TEN'.

ACTUALLY IT WAS NEARER 400,00 EXTRA COPIES SOLD WITH THE ALBUM....SO IF THE FIGURE OF 250,000 UK POUNDS THAT THE NEWSPAPER PAID PRINCE FOR RIGHTS TO RELEASE THE ALBUM ARE TRUE THEN THEY WOULD PROBABLY MAKE A PROFIT ON THE DEAL ONCE ADVERTISING AND MAIL ORDERS ARE ADDED TO THESE ONE DAY SALES INCREASE....

.

PRINCE PROMOTION SUCCESS FOR DAILY MIRROR AND DAILY RECORD
2010-07-13

Pop superstar Prince boosted the sales of the Daily Mirror and Daily Record by 334,000 and 45,000 respectively when his eagerly-awaited new album 20TEN was given away free with the titles on Saturday.

^

It seems to me 20Ten was mostly a success. I don't see how it was a failure at all.

My only question is do I need to find a hard copy on Ebay or from a friendly orger overseas?

I.e, will their be an actual U.S. release? I can't remember how long after Planet Earth was given way in the UK before it was sold in the U.S.

I just know I want an actual hard copy with artwork of 20Ten.

The more I think about it the more I think 20ten will not get a U.S. release. I mean he's not touring over here nor has he announced any shows. This album was really a one day type release to hype/promote shows overseas. We know how fast Prince moves on to other things. I dunno. I just think we would've heard something by now. I guess I better hop on ebay. Unless one of my brethren and fellow orgers across the atlantic could hook me up. And btw, I would prefer that. I just don't really know who to ask.

[Edited 7/23/10 7:46am]

Timmy84 said:

Xibalba said:

You can't cheapen something that was free to begin with.

A free CD with a newspaper that charges you 65p, I don't know how much is that in the states in translation, what, like $2.95 here? I guess what I was trying to say that it would rip the selected European fans off if they got the ten-track CD but then Americans get 20, you think Europeans would want a similar track listing.

A free CD with a newspaper that charges you 65p is still a free CD, no matter how you slice or dice it.

If the American release were a 20-track affair, then it's simply down to the individual to decide if they want to buy it or not, it still doesn't change the fact that they've not been ripped off.

Timmy84 said:

Xibalba said:

You can't cheapen something that was free to begin with.

A free CD with a newspaper that charges you 65p, I don't know how much is that in the states in translation, what, like $2.95 here? I guess what I was trying to say that it would rip the selected European fans off if they got the ten-track CD but then Americans get 20, you think Europeans would want a similar track listing.

Wow, i wish, 65p = $1.

I still pray that it is released here in the U.S. soon... if they wait too long, it will have to be called 20Eleven, and that would kind of suck.

Perhaps there is something cooking up with WB, but we won't know until it happens. That is the "fun" thing about being a Prince fan... you never know what to expect or when to expect it!

20Ten is still shakin' my big fat fanny!

Purpracer2 said:

I still pray that it is released here in the U.S. soon... if they wait too long, it will have to be called 20Eleven, and that would kind of suck.

Perhaps there is something cooking up with WB, but we won't know until it happens. That is the "fun" thing about being a Prince fan... you never know what to expect or when to expect it!

20Ten is still shakin' my big fat fanny!

I think that he probably wont release in the US. The 2.5 million should be enough to cover the demand around the world. (How many independent artists sale 2.5 million these days)

If he did do a release-It could be a cd/dvd combo-perhaps from the current tour.

[Edited 7/23/10 23:59pm]

[Edited 7/24/10 10:03am]

OperatingThetan said:

squirrelgrease said:

After the Ebony snafu and the relatively luke warm response to the re-tooled European cover-mounts, an educated guess would be that Prince has moved on and no US release will happen. Any interested US distributor would have been watching the events here and across the pond unfold (and in some cases unravel), and realize how fickle Prince is. The music may be good, but strong-arm negotiations in the US are now out the window as the release is a genuine commercial dud after being heavily promoted yet failing to find the projected audience.

No commercial dud.

The 'Daily Mirror' sold over 300,000 copies more in the UK due to '20TEN'. And a daily newspaper is only on sale for about 12 hours. '20TEN' garnered a great deal of press attention.

Reviews are nothing to go by, regardless. And how a free newspaper album can be a 'commercial' success is beyond me. It falls into a different category.

Plus, the European market and reviewers are very different in taste from those in the USA. The acceptance and respect of funk and soul here tends to be much less, funk particularly; and these are the predominant sounds on '20TEN'.

I understand the points you're making, but if we can believe the numbers given out by a tabloid magazine, we should also believe all of the articles therein.

Inflated numbers or not, pressing 2.5 million copies and selling far less than a million constitutes a flop any way you look at it. Unless someone accidentally left the presses running overnight, perception of public interest in Prince's music did not equal reality.

Listen, I like the Purple Yoda as much as the next hardcore fan, but he's a retro act now. Non-fans are going to view his releases with raised eyebrows and the remark "He's still making CDs?" This is due in large part because his releases have been small-scale and promoted within a very small window, if at all since leaving WB. Plus... those releases are all out of print and most are not available for download purchase. Independent artists can and do thrive, but they still have to play the game by being accessible and fan-friendly. That ain't our guy.

squirrelgrease said:

OperatingThetan said:

No commercial dud.

The 'Daily Mirror' sold over 300,000 copies more in the UK due to '20TEN'. And a daily newspaper is only on sale for about 12 hours. '20TEN' garnered a great deal of press attention.

Reviews are nothing to go by, regardless. And how a free newspaper album can be a 'commercial' success is beyond me. It falls into a different category.

Plus, the European market and reviewers are very different in taste from those in the USA. The acceptance and respect of funk and soul here tends to be much less, funk particularly; and these are the predominant sounds on '20TEN'.

I understand the points you're making, but if we can believe the numbers given out by a tabloid magazine, we should also believe all of the articles therein.

Inflated numbers or not, pressing 2.5 million copies and selling far less than a million constitutes a flop any way you look at it. Unless someone accidentally left the presses running overnight, perception of public interest in Prince's music did not equal reality.

Listen, I like the Purple Yoda as much as the next hardcore fan, but he's a retro act now. Non-fans are going to view his releases with raised eyebrows and the remark "He's still making CDs?" This is due in large part because his releases have been small-scale and promoted within a very small window, if at all since leaving WB. Plus... those releases are all out of print and most are not available for download purchase. Independent artists can and do thrive, but they still have to play the game by being accessible and fan-friendly. That ain't our guy.

OperatingThetan said:

squirrelgrease said:

After the Ebony snafu and the relatively luke warm response to the re-tooled European cover-mounts, an educated guess would be that Prince has moved on and no US release will happen. Any interested US distributor would have been watching the events here and across the pond unfold (and in some cases unravel), and realize how fickle Prince is. The music may be good, but strong-arm negotiations in the US are now out the window as the release is a genuine commercial dud after being heavily promoted yet failing to find the projected audience.

No commercial dud.

The 'Daily Mirror' sold over 300,000 copies more in the UK due to '20TEN'. And a daily newspaper is only on sale for about 12 hours. '20TEN' garnered a great deal of press attention.

hmmm. where and since when? I've been seeing this since before the album is released and wondered where anyone got that idea. daily newspapers are usually available until they run out or until the next edition is delivered, and in this day an age there aren't many papers that print more than one edition per day. considering how many extra copies of the Daily Mirror were printed, i doubt that any vendor ran low before Sunday morning when the next edition was delivered.

I like the idea of it being only released in Europe.

I bought a copy thru the Daily Mirror so it was no big

deal to get a copy.

Planet Earth wasnt released here in Brasil. Lotus Flow3r wasnt too. I am fortunate to have some contacts in Europe and USA who sent the CD to me (and I sent brazilian music in return), but I wonder how many fans didnt get these CDs. Ironically, fans were treated a lot better in the WB days...

I'm not against any of you getting Prince albums as close to possible as we NORMALLY do in the States. It's good business sense and I think Prince is an artist of a high enough caliber to make worldwide releases happen.

However, Prince IS an American artist. I believe most of his greatest successes (album sales, tour grosses, even movie box office numbers - as laughable as that may be) has happened in American. The reason for this is his extremely loyal American audience. I don't think it's too much of a stretch, even now, to say that he's one of our most succesful and prolific modern songwriters. No matter what he does he still has the respect of a huge number of other American musicians, artists AND industry types, as well. For an American artist with his level of fame and respect to have released a new album OUTSIDE of the US, with no plans announced thus far to release it here, is just, odd! With every day that passes without an announcement regarding a release date in the US it becomes more and more strange to me. As I said before, absurd.

Don't get me wrong, though, I don't understand why previous discs haven't seen worldwide distribution, either. Just Prince doing Prince, I guess.

Cerebus said:

I'm not against any of you getting Prince albums as close to possible as we NORMALLY do in the States. It's good business sense and I think Prince is an artist of a high enough caliber to make worldwide releases happen.

However, Prince IS an American artist. I believe most of his greatest successes (album sales, tour grosses, even movie box office numbers - as laughable as that may be) has happened in American. The reason for this is his extremely loyal American audience. I don't think it's too much of a stretch, even now, to say that he's one of our most succesful and prolific modern songwriters. No matter what he does he still has the respect of a huge number of other American musicians, artists AND industry types, as well. For an American artist with his level of fame and respect to have released a new album OUTSIDE of the US, with no plans announced thus far to release it here, is just, odd! With every day that passes without an announcement regarding a release date in the US it becomes more and more strange to me. As I said before, absurd.

Don't get me wrong, though, I don't understand why previous discs haven't seen worldwide distribution, either. Just Prince doing Prince, I guess.

one word:economics. When CD sales are down (and promotion costs at an all time high), people stealing music, it is not cost effective to do traditional releases. Keep in my mind Prince releases 1 CD or more a year. The promotion for this output for traditional streams far out weigh the revenue returns. In theory "traditional" distribution could lose Prince money.

squirrelgrease said:

OperatingThetan said:

No commercial dud.

The 'Daily Mirror' sold over 300,000 copies more in the UK due to '20TEN'. And a daily newspaper is only on sale for about 12 hours. '20TEN' garnered a great deal of press attention.

Reviews are nothing to go by, regardless. And how a free newspaper album can be a 'commercial' success is beyond me. It falls into a different category.

Plus, the European market and reviewers are very different in taste from those in the USA. The acceptance and respect of funk and soul here tends to be much less, funk particularly; and these are the predominant sounds on '20TEN'.

I understand the points you're making, but if we can believe the numbers given out by a tabloid magazine, we should also believe all of the articles therein.

Inflated numbers or not, pressing 2.5 million copies and selling far less than a million constitutes a flop any way you look at it. Unless someone accidentally left the presses running overnight, perception of public interest in Prince's music did not equal reality.

Listen, I like the Purple Yoda as much as the next hardcore fan, but he's a retro act now. LOL Non-fans are going to view his releases with raised eyebrows and the remark "He's still making CDs?" not for the last couple of years This is due in large part because his releases have been small-scale which percentage wise is making them huge successes and promoted within a very small window, if at all since leaving WB. Plus... those releases are all out of print and most are not available for download purchase.Gotta love the scarcity of what we do have Independent artists can and do thrive, but they still have to play the game by being accessible and fan-friendly. He is proving otherwise. That ain't our guy. Thank God.

[Edited 7/24/10 1:18am]

squirrelgrease said:

wasitgood4u said:

Can you please elaborate (this is not a sarcastic challenge but a genuine question)? I've seen no press reviews (I've clicked on about half of the pages on that interminable 20ten thread but none had press reviews) and have no real idea what the response has been other than the hype of the publications themselves and the raves of the people at the gigs.

So has the release been overwhelmingly ignored? dissed? hammered? Where?

I also wonder whether there isn't a built-in risk to this kind of release that other print media are going to snub it as a reaction (that doesn't explain electronic media tho - did they ignore it too?)

Considering that one newspaper was reported to have printed (to my recollection) 2.5 million copies, yet sold a little over half a million - a number which does include the normal circulation run, expectations were extremely high prior to release.

There are threads floating around here that give the actual numbers, but there are so many places to look, I wouldn't know where to begin.

I'm not happy with the fact that this album dropped with a thud, but it will partially explain why we may not see a US release of 20TEN. I do expect something to hit stores this year, but I doubt it will be the configuration that Europe got. If something was inked for retail distribution in the US prior to the EU mags, I think we would have heard about it by now. Target's probably weary after Lotusflow3r and Best Buy still has plenty of NOS of Planet Earth and The Rainbow Children, but Wal-Mart hasn't been stung by a Prince deal yet. If nothing is announced by month's end, I wouldn't bet on a retail disc in the US.

I do owe a couple of fellow orgers US copies, so I hope it does happen.

Damn, pretty self centered individual, no? That's a Thunderbird full of self.

NPGRUready said:

squirrelgrease said:

Considering that one newspaper was reported to have printed (to my recollection) 2.5 million copies, yet sold a little over half a million - a number which does include the normal circulation run, expectations were extremely high prior to release.

There are threads floating around here that give the actual numbers, but there are so many places to look, I wouldn't know where to begin.

I'm not happy with the fact that this album dropped with a thud, but it will partially explain why we may not see a US release of 20TEN. I do expect something to hit stores this year, but I doubt it will be the configuration that Europe got. If something was inked for retail distribution in the US prior to the EU mags, I think we would have heard about it by now. Target's probably weary after Lotusflow3r and Best Buy still has plenty of NOS of Planet Earth and The Rainbow Children, but Wal-Mart hasn't been stung by a Prince deal yet. If nothing is announced by month's end, I wouldn't bet on a retail disc in the US.

I do owe a couple of fellow orgers US copies, so I hope it does happen.

Damn, pretty self centered individual, no? That's a Thunderbird full of self.

Ummm... should my opinions and comments be coming from the perspective of someone other than me?

I don't think it's going to be released. A year after LF, another "one store" release wouldn't gain any attention. A regular Warner or another label release even less, they wouldn't make any profit out of it, since it most likely would sell half of what PE did.

Now, if only he wasn't against digital releases...

Hey...Where are we gonna put the school of funk? Or is that Old territory?

I'm pretty sure Dallas gets the Disco Hall of Fame. I guess I miss Rick James.