So, what if Prince just flipped out and made a simple website with all of his archived soundboard-quality shows (audio only) available as a download for the iTunes going rate? ($9.99 in Canada, not sure about others)

We're talking no disc manufacturing, no artwork, hell, maybe not even chapter stops (I'm talking minimal work for Prince & Co. here). Would you buy:

• Every show (with maybe one or two exceptions)?
• Most shows (several shows from each tour)?
• One show from each tour?
• Some shows (one or two each from only the tours you're interested in)?
• None at all?

I'm just trying to get a feel for how much loot P could be looking at, here...

i'm thinking shoes...

If they were offered 100% unedited and in lossless, then I would probably buy most of them up to a certain point.

Yeah, I'd go broke.

I think that the release of pro shot concerts on dvd could be even more profitable for the wee baw bag.

Casual Prince fans might be more likely to buy a dvd of a show than a cd. While the hardcores would be cockahoop with both.

I'd buy the best shows only. Now, this raises the question of what a "good show" is: I think we'd need a site/wiki/something to rate them. But I'd probably buy at least 40-50 of them.

I would definitely buy them. With Apple about to introduce its iCloud, it looks like it will be possible to store music in a way that you can listen to it wherever you are, with a potentially unlimited amount of storage. It would be nice not to have to carry around a bulky iPod that won't hold all my music anyway. However, I'm not sure if unauthorized recordings will be eligible for the new service. Apple is doing deals with the major record companies, but presumably they have no rights over concert bootlegs and the like.

I would buy maybe 8-10 of the shows that are rated highly. It would be interesting to have some of his best live shows, but the reason I wouldn't buy most of them is that his live versions of songs often are inferior to his studio versions.

Not sure if I am talking boots or unreleased material, but here's what I'd want/purchase:

-A pristine CD of the "best" show from each tour.

-A DVD of the same show.

-A CD of Prince's favorite aftershow from the tour.

electricberet said:

I would definitely buy them. With Apple about to introduce its iCloud, it looks like it will be possible to store music in a way that you can listen to it wherever you are, with a potentially unlimited amount of storage. It would be nice not to have to carry around a bulky iPod that won't hold all my music anyway. However, I'm not sure if unauthorized recordings will be eligible for the new service. Apple is doing deals with the major record companies, but presumably they have no rights over concert bootlegs and the like.

this is off the OP's topic, but...

I'm not in to the cloud thing at all. As someone who's collected media for over 35 years (records, tapes, CDs, VHS, DVDS, BD, audio files, etc...), I have seen that the industries (audio & video) can not be trusted to do this right.

How many times have they changed a recording (audio or video) and made previous versions unavailable?

Consider this (movie example):

George Lucas decides to revise Star Wars for the 83rd time. He decides this new version is the definitive version. He has all 82 previous versions removed from the cloud and replaced with the new version that contains "smellovision", that's right, you can now smell the wet wookiee hair when they come out of the trash compactor, Yay! Well, I want to watch the original version... No Longer Available.

Or, for a music example:

Maybe Prince decides he doesn't like you listening to him curse. He makes good on his decade old promise to rerecord his entire catalog, and has the originals in the cloud replaced with the new versions. If your entire collection is in the cloud, are you happy now?

And, how many TV shows are butchered in the editing room before going into syndication. Are you happy when the studios lazily place the syndication versions in the cloud instead of the original uncut versions? Do you want to watch WKRP In Cincinnatti (yeah, I'm THAT old) with all the original music edited out to avoid paying the royalties?

I'm just saying, don't trust the music or movie industries to back up your collections. They don't care about such things. They've proven it time and time again.

If you do use the cloud for convenience, at least have everything backed up at home for when they scew it up...

And now back to your regularly scheduled topic!

Yeah, I'd go BROKE!!

[Edited 6/1/11 8:41am]

1

Evvy said:

i'm thinking shoes...

Me too! but my wish is 4 a pair of the white fuzzy boots!

[Edited 6/1/11 10:14am]

electricberet said:

I would definitely buy them. With Apple about to introduce its iCloud, it looks like it will be possible to store music in a way that you can listen to it wherever you are, with a potentially unlimited amount of storage. It would be nice not to have to carry around a bulky iPod that won't hold all my music anyway. However, I'm not sure if unauthorized recordings will be eligible for the new service. Apple is doing deals with the major record companies, but presumably they have no rights over concert bootlegs and the like.

from:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110606/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_apple_music;_ylt=Ak9w5bdIlahbGRBOW.F.O74jtBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTJqZXUyZDZhBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNjA2L3VzX3RlY19hcHBsZV9tdXNpYwRjcG9zAzMEcG9zAzcEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yeQRzbGsDYXBwbGVzY2xvdWRt

Speaking on The Cloud, Steve Jobs says:

Where songs can't be identified — say of bootlegged concert recordings — users can manually upload them to the cloud and gain the same access.

Hmmm, guess you can have bootlegs in the cloud...

Just like now, I don't get every show, but at least one from every tour that kind of sums the feeling of it up the best, "special" shows like the 84 birthday gig and small club and shows with special setlists. That's why I get less and less shows nowadays; I feel like the feeling has been the same for the last couple of years and that shows become special just because of their setlist. If he started promoting his latest album live, though, that would be a whole different story.

If there was a way of paying Prince for all this, I'd do it immediately and my interest wouldn't fade because of the price at all.

Hang on. Did you say soundboard quality? Then I'd probably get three times as many shows, because the other criteria become less important when a good listening experience is guaranteed. So, for instance, I'd buy another Musicology show full of the songs I've already heard live a hundred times just because the quality would be perfect.

Evvy said:

i'm thinking shoes...

LOL..I was too...and I was excited about Prince endorsed Boots...

I'm just glad this isn't happening because I would go broke having to get everything, even stuff I already have because, hey, it's "official" and I'm like that

I'm overall pretty content with the system the way it's working now - TONS and TONS of pristine recordings, stacks of CD-spindles full of unreleased, unauthorized goodies, for just pennies per CD.

Count your blessings, people!

raddahone said:

1

Evvy said:

i'm thinking shoes...

Me too! but my wish is 4 a pair of the white fuzzy boots!

[Edited 6/1/11 10:14am]

I didn't realize 'til this photo that these are spats...

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/LakerFanIam/W2America%2021Nite%20Stand/Picture1a.png[/img:$uid]

[Edited 6/7/11 11:30am]