Prince ranks number 4 on this list. Here's what RS said

"In 1993 Prince was fed up with his label Warner Bros. They wanted him to release fewer CDs so he wouldn't flood the market and they could better promote him. He couldn't get out of his contract, but he could change his name to an unpronounceable symbol largely to mess with them. Journalists started to call him "the artist formerly known as Prince," but in 2000 he went back to Prince when his Warner contract expired. During that time sales of his new music slowed down significantly, but he still managed to get his point across."

bashraka said:

Prince ranks number 4 on this list. Here's what RS said

"In 1993 Prince was fed up with his label Warner Bros. They wanted him to release fewer CDs so he wouldn't flood the market and they could better promote him. He couldn't get out of his contract, but he could change his name to an unpronounceable symbol largely to mess with them. Journalists started to call him "the artist formerly known as Prince," but in 2000 he went back to Prince when his Warner contract expired. During that time sales of his new music slowed down significantly, but he still managed to get his point across."

If that was No.4 on the list, then what was 1, 2 and 3?

"But the ones who say no ....make history...

Call it an ....."

they misspelled "Stupidest"

bashraka said:

Prince ranks number 4 on this list. Here's what RS said

"In 1993 Prince was fed up with his label Warner Bros. They wanted him to release fewer CDs so he wouldn't flood the market and they could better promote him. He couldn't get out of his contract, but he could change his name to an unpronounceable symbol largely to mess with them. Journalists started to call him "the artist formerly known as Prince," but in 2000 he went back to Prince when his Warner contract expired. During that time sales of his new music slowed down significantly, but he still managed to get his point across."

I can respect that. That was a risk taker but, he did it and from the looks of it he's won!!

how did he win? He had top 10 hits every single year under WB, but hasn't had a top 10 hit since despite recording quite a bit of brilliant music. Quite a bit of the post WB content isn't even in print anymore. Full albums were never even released for sale.

I thought the bold move they were praising was starting production of Purple Rain before getting the go ahead from WB. That was a bold move that actually worked.

alandail said:

how did he win? He had top 10 hits every single year under WB, but hasn't had a top 10 hit since despite recording quite a bit of brilliant music. Quite a bit of the post WB content isn't even in print anymore. Full albums were never even released for sale.

I thought the bold move they were praising was starting production of Purple Rain before getting the go ahead from WB. That was a bold move that actually worked.

so true, Prince failed after leaving WB.: the 1996 to 2001 promotion was a huge mess. And a miss.

2001 to 2010 has been better though, still no single hits, and often no music video.

nothing compares to Warner Bros. 1978 to 1995.

thedance said:

alandail said:

how did he win? He had top 10 hits every single year under WB, but hasn't had a top 10 hit since despite recording quite a bit of brilliant music. Quite a bit of the post WB content isn't even in print anymore. Full albums were never even released for sale.

I thought the bold move they were praising was starting production of Purple Rain before getting the go ahead from WB. That was a bold move that actually worked.

so true, Prince failed after leaving WB.: the 1996 to 2001 promotion was a huge mess. And a miss.

2001 to 2010 has been better though, still no single hits, and often no music video.

nothing compares to Warner Bros. 1978 to 1995.

I think the Emancipation, New Power Soul and Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic albums were promoted well.

802 said:

thedance said:

so true, Prince failed after leaving WB.: the 1996 to 2001 promotion was a huge mess. And a miss.

2001 to 2010 has been better though, still no single hits, and often no music video.

nothing compares to Warner Bros. 1978 to 1995.

I think the Emancipation, New Power Soul and Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic albums were promoted well.

I don't know about "well" but they were promoted a LOT.

Unfortunately Prince's departure from WB coincided with one of the least inspired phases of his career.

If it had happened 2 years earlier, he would have come out of the gate very strong with the Gold/Come/etc. stuff. As it is, when you listen to Emancipation, NPS and Rave, you have to think to yourself "THIS was what he was dying to get out of his contract with WB to release?"

alandail said:

how did he win? He had top 10 hits every single year under WB, but hasn't had a top 10 hit since despite recording quite a bit of brilliant music. Quite a bit of the post WB content isn't even in print anymore. Full albums were never even released for sale.

I thought the bold move they were praising was starting production of Purple Rain before getting the go ahead from WB. That was a bold move that actually worked.

He made lots more money after leaving WB. He made more from Emancipation than he did from Purple Rain.

Elton John played at Rush Limbaugh's wedding!?

Stupid list

802 said:

thedance said:

so true, Prince failed after leaving WB.: the 1996 to 2001 promotion was a huge mess. And a miss.

2001 to 2010 has been better though, still no single hits, and often no music video.

nothing compares to Warner Bros. 1978 to 1995.

I think the Emancipation, New Power Soul and Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic albums were promoted well.

How do you figure?

The promotion of Emancipation was derailed by the death of his son.

The promotion of Rave was derailed by Clive being ousted I believe the day it was released. That was his project, nobody else at the label wanted anything to do with it.

RodeoSchro said:

alandail said:

how did he win? He had top 10 hits every single year under WB, but hasn't had a top 10 hit since despite recording quite a bit of brilliant music. Quite a bit of the post WB content isn't even in print anymore. Full albums were never even released for sale.

I thought the bold move they were praising was starting production of Purple Rain before getting the go ahead from WB. That was a bold move that actually worked.

He made lots more money after leaving WB. He made more from Emancipation than he did from Purple Rain.

most of the money he made was riding the fan base WB built and by going cheap on promotion, videos, etc. You know, the stuff WB spent a fortune on to build that fan base for him. And I guess we just take him at his word that he made more money from am album that sold under a million copies than he did from an album that sold 20 million copies, had an associated movie that grossed $68 million and a associated top selling tour?

I'm certain of one thing, Purple Rain makes more money for Prince this year than Emancipation does.

[Edited 3/22/11 13:55pm]

alandail said:

how did he win? He had top 10 hits every single year under WB, but hasn't had a top 10 hit since despite recording quite a bit of brilliant music.

It's not all about hits though. Shit, Rihanna's got hits and they're cancelling dates on her tour due to poor ticket sales, where Prince can sell out the O2 arena (25k capacity) for 21 nights, you know?

If Prince wants a hit on the level that mostly only major labels can provide he may have to sacrifice a certain level of control. And it's totally his prerogative. Some people are gonna complain regardless. Shit, some people don't even want him making commercially accessible music. You can't please everyone. I wish Prince success in any path he chooses, but as a fan I don't NEED him to be on commercial radio or popping up in the current media purveyors of the what's at the top of the charts. I just need him to make good music. Which he does. So it's all good.

Militant said:

alandail said:

how did he win? He had top 10 hits every single year under WB, but hasn't had a top 10 hit since despite recording quite a bit of brilliant music.

It's not all about hits though. Shit, Rihanna's got hits and they're cancelling dates on her tour due to poor ticket sales, where Prince can sell out the O2 arena (25k capacity) for 21 nights, you know?

He sold those tickets thanks to the fans WB helped him build. Don't think he sells out the O2 once, much less 21 times, had he had as little commercial success during his WB years as he's had since.

And the #1 reason he doesn't have the commercial success he had then is he won't invest the money into proper promotion. He only releases stuff when he knows he's getting paid. The deal with Target. The newspaper giveaways. Other albums had upfront guarantees. Even Crystal Ball didn'tget released until he hit a target number of preorders. This all despite his proving he could do proper promotion with The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.

alandail said:

Militant said:

It's not all about hits though. Shit, Rihanna's got hits and they're cancelling dates on her tour due to poor ticket sales, where Prince can sell out the O2 arena (25k capacity) for 21 nights, you know?

He sold those tickets thanks to the fans WB helped him build. Don't think he sells out the O2 once, much less 21 times, had he had as little commercial success during his WB years as he's had since.

And the #1 reason he doesn't have the commercial success he had then is he won't invest the money into proper promotion. He only releases stuff when he knows he's getting paid. The deal with Target. The newspaper giveaways. Other albums had upfront guarantees. Even Crystal Ball didn'tget released until he hit a target number of preorders. This all despite his proving he could do proper promotion with The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.

Sure, but that's besides the point. He's not going to exponentially gain new fans by working with majors and pushing out commercial Billboard singles, he's past all of that. So why give up control and money to do it, NOW? He's been there and done it.

And if it's all about money, then there's only one conclusion to draw. We know he has the money to do that kind of promotion if he wanted to. So the only option again, is what I already said - he just doesn't care about pushing commercial songs onto pop radio etc.

The title says top 25 boldest career moves in rock history. And

Britney Spears Shaves Her Head at number 10??

SO SICK OF IT. DUMBEST LIST EVER!!

Michael Jackson fought Sony after his album Invincible was released. And that's not included? Ugh.

Emancipation89 said:

The title says top 25 boldest career moves in rock history. And

Britney Spears Shaves Her Head at number 10??

SO SICK OF IT. DUMBEST LIST EVER!!

Michael Jackson fought Sony after his album Invincible was released. And that's not included? Ugh.

by the time MJ got around to it, it was so passé.

Militant said:

Sure, but that's besides the point. He's not going to exponentially gain new fans by working with majors and pushing out commercial Billboard singles, he's past all of that. So why give up control and money to do it, NOW? He's been there and done it.

And if it's all about money, then there's only one conclusion to draw. We know he has the money to do that kind of promotion if he wanted to. So the only option again, is what I already said - he just doesn't care about pushing commercial songs onto pop radio etc.

But how did he win? You're saying he no longer needed to win.

Commercially he's coasted off of the fan base WB built him. Sure, hits won't exponentially increase his fan base, but they could certainly help it sustain or expand instead of contract. ANd could help keep his new music from going out of print. How much of his post WB content is still in print? His last album never even made it to print.

Like I said earlier, I'm certain he'll make more money in 2011 from Purple Rain revenue than he will from Emancipation revenue. Perhaps more than his entire post WB catalog combined generates aside from a possible new release.

Rather than splitting with WB being a win, reuniting with WB for a multi-album deal would probably be the single best career move Prince could make right now.

[Edited 3/22/11 19:07pm]

Militant said:

alandail said:

how did he win? He had top 10 hits every single year under WB, but hasn't had a top 10 hit since despite recording quite a bit of brilliant music.

It's not all about hits though. Shit, Rihanna's got hits and they're cancelling dates on her tour due to poor ticket sales, where Prince can sell out the O2 arena (25k capacity) for 21 nights, you know?

If Prince wants a hit on the level that mostly only major labels can provide he may have to sacrifice a certain level of control. And it's totally his prerogative. Some people are gonna complain regardless. Shit, some people don't even want him making commercially accessible music. You can't please everyone. I wish Prince success in any path he chooses, but as a fan I don't NEED him to be on commercial radio or popping up in the current media purveyors of the what's at the top of the charts. I just need him to make good music. Which he does. So it's all good.

Which is how I've felt about Prince since the day I became a fan in 1979. I could care less what he wore. The first I saw him live was the 1999 tour in Oakland. Floor seats, courtesy of my ex-girlfriend, (for the record I took my straight roommate, but I diverge . . . )

I wanted to see him live to know that he could do what I heard on his albums. I've seen him live some 40 times or something and it's never been a physical attraction. It's a great show. But seeing him night after night, you know which shows are gonna be better.

But yeah, it's the music.

SUPRMAN said:

Militant said:

It's not all about hits though. Shit, Rihanna's got hits and they're cancelling dates on her tour due to poor ticket sales, where Prince can sell out the O2 arena (25k capacity) for 21 nights, you know?

If Prince wants a hit on the level that mostly only major labels can provide he may have to sacrifice a certain level of control. And it's totally his prerogative. Some people are gonna complain regardless. Shit, some people don't even want him making commercially accessible music. You can't please everyone. I wish Prince success in any path he chooses, but as a fan I don't NEED him to be on commercial radio or popping up in the current media purveyors of the what's at the top of the charts. I just need him to make good music. Which he does. So it's all good.

Which is how I've felt about Prince since the day I became a fan in 1979. I could care less what he wore. The first I saw him live was the 1999 tour in Oakland. Floor seats, courtesy of my ex-girlfriend, (for the record I took my straight roommate, but I diverge . . . )

I wanted to see him live to know that he could do what I heard on his albums. I've seen him live some 40 times or something and it's never been a physical attraction. It's a great show. But seeing him night after night, you know which shows are gonna be better.

But yeah, it's the music.

I certainly don't need Prince to have commercial success to enjoy his music. But it's hard to say he "won". And commercial success does have it's benefits for fans, like helping to ensure that a studio album like 20ten can actually get released, ensuring the back catalog stays in print, full length videos, etc.

Look at his videography here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_discography#Videography

From 1984 through 1985, there was an average of 1 new movie or full length video every year. Feature films, concert videos, full length video collections, after shows, etc. Since then there have been just 3 releases, the last in 2003. We also used to get EPs and extended versions of songs, often which included versions better than the album version. When's the last time we got something like that? He even pulled discojellyfish the day Lotusflow3r.com launched instead of making it part of the content.

The diminished amount of content from NPGMC year 1 when it was outstanding through the lotusflow3r disaster has everything to do with lack of commercial success. WIth commercial success, there would potentially be a real official fan site where he could give stuff away from time to time.

alandail said:

SUPRMAN said:

Which is how I've felt about Prince since the day I became a fan in 1979. I could care less what he wore. The first I saw him live was the 1999 tour in Oakland. Floor seats, courtesy of my ex-girlfriend, (for the record I took my straight roommate, but I diverge . . . )

I wanted to see him live to know that he could do what I heard on his albums. I've seen him live some 40 times or something and it's never been a physical attraction. It's a great show. But seeing him night after night, you know which shows are gonna be better.

But yeah, it's the music.

I certainly don't need Prince to have commercial success to enjoy his music. But it's hard to say he "won". And commercial success does have it's benefits for fans, like helping to ensure that a studio album like 20ten can actually get released, ensuring the back catalog stays in print, full length videos, etc.

Look at his videography here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_discography#Videography

From 1984 through 1985, there was an average of 1 new movie or full length video every year. Feature films, concert videos, full length video collections, after shows, etc. Since then there have been just 3 releases, the last in 2003. We also used to get EPs and extended versions of songs, often which included versions better than the album version. When's the last time we got something like that? He even pulled discojellyfish the day Lotusflow3r.com launched instead of making it part of the content.

The diminished amount of content from NPGMC year 1 when it was outstanding through the lotusflow3r disaster has everything to do with lack of commercial success. WIth commercial success, there would potentially be a real official fan site where he could give stuff away from time to time.

I could care less about win or lose.

errant said:

Unfortunately Prince's departure from WB coincided with one of the least inspired phases of his career.

If it had happened 2 years earlier, he would have come out of the gate very strong with the Gold/Come/etc. stuff. As it is, when you listen to Emancipation, NPS and Rave, you have to think to yourself "THIS was what he was dying to get out of his contract with WB to release?"

- Agree.

I am happy that Prince is free now, but back in the WB days his official music was much more accessible. Today, some of his albums are real hard to find. Some of them didnt even reach the stores.

WB was right... he was putting out too much music. He should have slowed to one every 3 years. He would have been more important and more valued.