Militant said:

Prince should try the Trent Reznor approach.

Trent created a custom "ultra deluxe" edition (I believe it was for the 'Ghosts' release) including the CD's, a DVD with multitracks, a Blu-Ray with super high quality audio (24 bit), a photo book, and an artwork book, numbered and limited to 2500 copies, each signed by Trent.

The pre-order came with an immediate digital download.

The best thing was, the product didn't even exist when people ordered them. They cost $300 each and didn't ship for something like two months.

They sold out in ONE day. Do the math. $300 x 2500 = $750,000.

There's no way that it cost more than $50k to create all 2500 editions. Probably much less. So Trent made at least $700k in profit, in 24 hours without the product even existing at that point.

And that doesn't even include how much Trent made from the "regular" version of the release - the $5 digital download, the $10 double CD, and the $75 deluxe edition which was the digital download, the CD's, the multitracks DVD and the high-def BluRay! In that first day of release, Trent easily made $1million.

Imagine if Prince did that! Even with a new album let alone vault material! I reckon Prince could shift 5000 copies at the same price because his fanbase is bigger than NIN's. That's $1.5million right there JUST from an ultra-deluxe package! With revenue from a regular release, and perhaps a deluxe release with a T-shirt, coffee table photobook, and high-def audio BluRay (I don't expect Prince to release his multi-tracks like Trent did)

That would solve the issue he has with not getting paid up front.

The best thing is, the "Ghosts" set wasn't even THAT good. It was 4 CD's of ambient instrumentals. And I'm a BIG NIN fan and I could only listen to it a few times.

Prince could either do this with a new record, or compile "Crystal Ball 2" and make BANK, and very quickly too.

I wish I could be his business advisor.

People like to throw Trent around as an example a lot, and true, he has a great business sense. A million times better than Prince.

But...

Yeah, I do believe that "Ultimate" cost more than $50 thousand to create and ship. It's not like he did everything himself in the kitchen or basement of his mom's house. Believe me things add up very quickly on any project. $50 grand can be spent in a blink of an eye even if you are just repackaging something. You have no idea.

Another thing. I seriously think Prince netted in the same ball park as what Trent earned from his Newspaper schemes. His Target Lotusflow3r scheme.

Our man Prince is not as business savvy as Trent, but I seriously doubt Trent is earning more from his schemes than Prince's. It's a tough time in the music business and everybody is throwing spaghetti at the wall.Trent earns his money one way, Prince another. But neither is making too much more than the other.

[Edited 7/3/11 6:50am]

V10LETBLUES said:

Militant said:

Prince should try the Trent Reznor approach.

Trent created a custom "ultra deluxe" edition (I believe it was for the 'Ghosts' release) including the CD's, a DVD with multitracks, a Blu-Ray with super high quality audio (24 bit), a photo book, and an artwork book, numbered and limited to 2500 copies, each signed by Trent.

The pre-order came with an immediate digital download.

The best thing was, the product didn't even exist when people ordered them. They cost $300 each and didn't ship for something like two months.

They sold out in ONE day. Do the math. $300 x 2500 = $750,000.

There's no way that it cost more than $50k to create all 2500 editions. Probably much less. So Trent made at least $700k in profit, in 24 hours without the product even existing at that point.

And that doesn't even include how much Trent made from the "regular" version of the release - the $5 digital download, the $10 double CD, and the $75 deluxe edition which was the digital download, the CD's, the multitracks DVD and the high-def BluRay! In that first day of release, Trent easily made $1million.

Imagine if Prince did that! Even with a new album let alone vault material! I reckon Prince could shift 5000 copies at the same price because his fanbase is bigger than NIN's. That's $1.5million right there JUST from an ultra-deluxe package! With revenue from a regular release, and perhaps a deluxe release with a T-shirt, coffee table photobook, and high-def audio BluRay (I don't expect Prince to release his multi-tracks like Trent did)

That would solve the issue he has with not getting paid up front.

The best thing is, the "Ghosts" set wasn't even THAT good. It was 4 CD's of ambient instrumentals. And I'm a BIG NIN fan and I could only listen to it a few times.

Prince could either do this with a new record, or compile "Crystal Ball 2" and make BANK, and very quickly too.

I wish I could be his business advisor.

People like to throw Trent around as an example a lot, and true, he has a great business sense. A million times better than Prince.

But...

Yeah, I do believe that "Ultimate" cost more than $50 thousand to create and ship. It's not like he did everything himself in the kitchen or basement of his mom's house. Believe me things add up very quickly on any project. $50 grand can be spent in a blink of an eye even if you are just repackaging something. You have no idea.

Another thing. I seriously think Prince netted in the same ball park as what Trent earned from his Newspaper schemes. His Target Lotusflow3r scheme.

Our man Prince is not as business savvy as Trent, but I seriously doubt Trent is earning more from his schemes than Prince's. It's a tough time in the music business and everybody is throwing spaghetti at the wall.Trent earns his money one way, Prince another. But neither is making too much more than the other.

[Edited 7/3/11 6:50am]

Do you have numbers or links for this? Otherwise....

leonche64 said:

V10LETBLUES said:

People like to throw Trent around as an example a lot, and true, he has a great business sense. A million times better than Prince.

But...

Yeah, I do believe that "Ultimate" cost more than $50 thousand to create and ship. It's not like he did everything himself in the kitchen or basement of his mom's house. Believe me things add up very quickly on any project. $50 grand can be spent in a blink of an eye even if you are just repackaging something. You have no idea.

Another thing. I seriously think Prince netted in the same ball park as what Trent earned from his Newspaper schemes. His Target Lotusflow3r scheme.

Our man Prince is not as business savvy as Trent, but I seriously doubt Trent is earning more from his schemes than Prince's. It's a tough time in the music business and everybody is throwing spaghetti at the wall.Trent earns his money one way, Prince another. But neither is making too much more than the other.

[Edited 7/3/11 6:50am]

Do you have numbers or links for this? Otherwise....

Well, no i do not have either of their balance sheets in front of me, but I do run a bussiness and know what things in general cost.

But here is a snip and link to an article From Wired about Prince's newspaper scheme to compare to Militant's numbers on Trents scheme.

http://www.wired.com/ente...gpost_0709

Jack Horner, creative and joint managing director for Frukt, a music-marketing agency, said that while "people like (Prince) play a key part in helping figure out what the models may be in the music business of tomorrow, by giving away a whole album on the front of a newspaper, there is a very clear devaluing of music, which is not a positive message to send out right now."

Neither the Mail on Sunday or Prince's camp would divulge how much the newspaper paid Prince for the right to give his album away, but it's clear Prince was paid upfront, and that nearly 3 million Mail on Sunday readers -- plus everyone who bought tickets to one of his shows -- will receive the CD for free. The giveaway almost certainly contributed to Prince selling out 15 of his 21 shows at London's O2 Arena within the first hour of ticket sales. The venue (formerly the Millennium Dome) holds around 20,000 people. If the remaining six shows sell out, the series will gross over $26 million.

Combined with the undisclosed fee paid by the Mail on Sunday, it's not a bad take for someone who's involved in a "very clear devaluing of music."

Prince's latest gambit also succeeded by acknowledging that copies, not songs, are just about worthless in the digital age. The longer an album is on sale, the more likely it is that people can find somewhere to make a copy from a friend's CD or a stranger's shared-files folder. When copies approach worthlessness, only the original has value, and that's what Prince sold to the Mail on Sunday: the right to be Patient Zero in the copying game.

I have no idea what the gross for this scheme was, but I would imaigne it would compare favorably with Trents schemes.

[Edited 7/3/11 7:45am]

V10LETBLUES said:

leonche64 said:

Well, no i do not have either of their balance sheets in front of me, but I do run a bussiness and know what things in general cost.

But here is a snip and link to an article From Wired about Prince's newspaper scheme to compare to Militant's numbers on Trents scheme.

http://www.wired.com/ente...gpost_0709

Jack Horner, creative and joint managing director for Frukt, a music-marketing agency, said that while "people like (Prince) play a key part in helping figure out what the models may be in the music business of tomorrow, by giving away a whole album on the front of a newspaper, there is a very clear devaluing of music, which is not a positive message to send out right now."

Neither the Mail on Sunday or Prince's camp would divulge how much the newspaper paid Prince for the right to give his album away, but it's clear Prince was paid upfront, and that nearly 3 million Mail on Sunday readers -- plus everyone who bought tickets to one of his shows -- will receive the CD for free. The giveaway almost certainly contributed to Prince selling out 15 of his 21 shows at London's O2 Arena within the first hour of ticket sales. The venue (formerly the Millennium Dome) holds around 20,000 people. If the remaining six shows sell out, the series will gross over $26 million.

Combined with the undisclosed fee paid by the Mail on Sunday, it's not a bad take for someone who's involved in a "very clear devaluing of music."

Prince's latest gambit also succeeded by acknowledging that copies, not songs, are just about worthless in the digital age. The longer an album is on sale, the more likely it is that people can find somewhere to make a copy from a friend's CD or a stranger's shared-files folder. When copies approach worthlessness, only the original has value, and that's what Prince sold to the Mail on Sunday: the right to be Patient Zero in the copying game.

I have no idea what the gross for this scheme was, but I would imaigne it would compare favorably with Trents schemes.

[Edited 7/3/11 7:45am]

So you DID have some numbers. Well done. This is very interesting indeed. So this shows that there are different ways to get music out there. But it will be limited to those superstar acts that have that kind of clout. Where do you see the new artist just starting out fit in to this picture?

leonche64 said:

V10LETBLUES said:

So you DID have some numbers. Well done. This is very interesting indeed. So this shows that there are different ways to get music out there. But it will be limited to those superstar acts that have that kind of clout. Where do you see the new artist just starting out fit in to this picture?

Right now? Same as these guys,.. throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Prince could do it, but he won't.

leonche64 said:

thisisit said:

in the future, everyone shares their music online for free, and make their money doing gigs.

What about people who don't gig? What about the songwriters? The producers? Do they get a cut of the performance fee? How is that even fair?

- radio/publishing

- selling CD's and merch at gigs

- live performance fees and royalties

- CD's in stores

...the list goes on...

there used to be a time when the internet didnt exist and people made their money just fine whether they gigged or not. plenty of avenues for making bank.

the trick back then was, you actually had to be GOOD at what you do.

its no different in the future.

The days of people making money off of bootleggers is a thing of the past. Now the fans just post them on, and when it comes to older bootlegs, people have cleaned a lot of them up and sound a thousand times better than the overpriced copy you would've bought in the store back in the 80s and 90s.

Def Leppard and Taylor Swift talked about this on Crossroads- very few people are making money in new recordings, and some of them have stopped recording because it costs them money and they can't even break even. Some people are doing the taking orders thing - see how many people are going to buy the album ahead of time and release that amount.

Reznor's always thrown himself in different projects, whether it be for a video game or a movie soundtrack. He put NIN on hold to raise a family, and he's talked about feeling old after getting offstage from a NIN show. And for the past decade he's put the bottle down and picked the weights up. I don't think Trent would say he's a great businessman,but just works hard at what he does. But he has tried to interact with his fanbase, but gave up when they were being dicks.

Prince and Axl Rose are equally litigious and eccentric, want complete control, and their new music doesn't sell as much as their back catalog does. They are both relying on touring to make a living.

For Prince to make money in the studio, he'd have to start coming up with hits, or start finding a protege that's going to record his songs and make hits out of them, and work on deluxe editions of his back catalog.

To me, it's a major task for someone who might be discovering Prince now from the live shows to try to find his music. It's not like they can go to a music store and his entire back catalog's there. He could sell the CDs at the shows, but then they have to haul that inventory show to show. A box of t-shirts is lighter than a box of CDs that same size.

leonche64 said:

V10LETBLUES said:

So you DID have some numbers. Well done. This is very interesting indeed. So this shows that there are different ways to get music out there. But it will be limited to those superstar acts that have that kind of clout. Where do you see the new artist just starting out fit in to this picture?

But these are the ones who need it the most. The up and coming acts aren't as popular, and therefore, not as pirated. This ironically leads to their being able to sell their material using more traditional digital methods, and support themselves as musicians.

I really don't think there has ever been a better time in history to be a working, professional musician. In the days of YouTube and self-publishing, talent and originality can go a long way. Take a look at a great act like Pomplamoose, who now get a 50% cut of all ad revenue from their YouTube channel. Plus sell downloads, and have also gotten some endorsement deals.

thisisit said:

leonche64 said:

What about people who don't gig? What about the songwriters? The producers? Do they get a cut of the performance fee? How is that even fair?

- radio/publishing

- selling CD's and merch at gigs

- live performance fees and royalties

- CD's in stores

...the list goes on...

there used to be a time when the internet didnt exist and people made their money just fine whether they gigged or not. plenty of avenues for making bank.

the trick back then was, you actually had to be GOOD at what you do.

its no different in the future.

So which is it? Just want to be clear. Either they are giving it all away online for free, or they are going to sell it at gigs and in CD stores. Radio does not pay, and publishing only pays on units sold. Same with royalties. Has to be a product that generates income. Anyway,this is the old model that is currently failing. Some bands have made for more money touring and in merch than they ever did selling recordings, and in the case of Kiss and AC/DC, we are talking hundreds of millions more. But some acts just don't lend themselves to this model. I have never seen anyone rocking a Michael Bubble t-shirt

[Edited 7/3/11 23:45pm]

leonche64 said:

So which is it? Just want to be clear. Either they are giving it all away online for free, or they are going to sell it at gigs and in CD stores. Radio does not pay, and publishing only pays on units sold. Same with royalties. Has to be a product that generates income. Anyway,this is the old model that is currently failing. Some bands have made for more money touring and in merch than they ever did selling recordings, and in the case of Kiss and AC/DC, we are talking hundreds of millions more. But some acts just don't lend themselves to this model. I have never seen anyone rocking a Michael Bubble t-shirt

in the future, they use the internet to share their music for free, and at the same time, they make their money offline, doing gigs, selling CD's, publishing. merch etc etc etc...

sorry if that wasnt clear the first time.

in the future, people dont make music so they can be famous, they make it cuz they love it. they gig cuz they love it. they localise their talent. their overheads are much lower because they're not trying to reach millions of people just to feel worthwhile.

Out of all the recording artists that have ever landed a record deal in the entire history of the music industry, only a few dozen have ever been successful to the point that they could live off their earnings and residuals. So the story remains the same.

If someone is truly talented and has the work ethic, the smarts, the drive and determination they will make a decent living at it. That has always been the case and I do not see that ever changing.

This idea comes only 13 years after Crystal Ball

Tremolina said:

IstenSzek said:

That ship has long since sailed. It could have worked out pretty sweet for him if he'd approached the internet with a bit more empathy for his fans. A good site from the start, that delivered the goods, was his best shot. But he blew it. Not once, not twice but at least 3 times. And each time he would turn around and blame his fans who supported those clubs in the first place. Last slap in the face was lotusflower which was the worst of all his web ventures, by far. No one is gonna be interested in anither online presence for prince's music, since experience tells us it will not deliver. But i disgress, as usual. If he had had once decent site from the start and had just steadily released vault material and shows on there, he'd have gained more and more customers over the years, instead of pissing people off so badly that they won't even pay for his albums anymore just out of spite. He's had some interesting runs this kast decade and lots of high profile, positive publicity. And yet, there was never a decent site for old and new fans alike to check him out and buy his stuff or discover new shows and outtakes. I'm sure he could have made quite a lot of money off releases like that. If anything, it would have been a transparant house for ALL his material to be available, instead of it being bits and pieces, in or out of print or simply one off shit that no casual fan would even know existed, let alone be able to buy if they wanted to. And yet, prince then turns around and stomps his foot, no doubt, when he finds out that people share, say ONA piano, online or that people make huge profits by selling it on ebay for $ 100. Yet, what are people supposed to do? He isn't offering it to us anymore. How else are you supposed to get it? Latest example: 20Ten. I'm surprised he hasn't stomped offstage yet in amercia when he sees people singing along to future soul song. I wouldn't put it passed him to be miffed that people knew those songs when he didn't release the album in the usa. He'd be like "how do you know this song? Did you download it illegally? Get out of my show, bootlegger" It's the wild west mainly because of the way he treated all of his releases and his fans. Other people still release cd's or download albums steadily and make a bit of money. So why wouldn't he be able to do it? Oh yeah, because he needs a multi million advance on everything he releases and continues to alienate more and more people with his antics and actions, then turns around and blames those who remain (for the time being). Ugh. I have to stop now. Prince is just getting on my tits as of late.

Word for word agreed. And you are not even exaggerating.

Yup

leonche64 said:

fever said: Can you imgine a two disc release of the best from the vault 80-87? He tried it with Crystal Ball, but that was a complete clusterfuck, and not nearly as good as it could've been.

What songs are you talking about? In the 30 years since then he has put out hundreds of songs. It seems to be a popular myth running through the ORG that he is just keeping the best songs locked away somewhere out of spite. What would be the purpose of that? I am certain he has a lot of recorded material ready to go. But if he felt he had some groundbreaking sure fire hit, it would have been released by now, as he has needed one for a long time. I am guessing that when that door swings open, a lot of folks are going to discover just that.

I dunno.

Prince's ideas of hit songs isn't all that great. He did release 'Planet Earth' as an album.

He obviously has bootlegs that could've, would've -but chose not to do anything with them.

Militant said:

Prince should try the Trent Reznor approach.

Trent created a custom "ultra deluxe" edition (I believe it was for the 'Ghosts' release) including the CD's, a DVD with multitracks, a Blu-Ray with super high quality audio (24 bit), a photo book, and an artwork book, numbered and limited to 2500 copies, each signed by Trent.

The pre-order came with an immediate digital download.

The best thing was, the product didn't even exist when people ordered them. They cost $300 each and didn't ship for something like two months.

They sold out in ONE day. Do the math. $300 x 2500 = $750,000.

There's no way that it cost more than $50k to create all 2500 editions. Probably much less. So Trent made at least $700k in profit, in 24 hours without the product even existing at that point.

And that doesn't even include how much Trent made from the "regular" version of the release - the $5 digital download, the $10 double CD, and the $75 deluxe edition which was the digital download, the CD's, the multitracks DVD and the high-def BluRay! In that first day of release, Trent easily made $1million.

Imagine if Prince did that! Even with a new album let alone vault material! I reckon Prince could shift 5000 copies at the same price because his fanbase is bigger than NIN's. That's $1.5million right there JUST from an ultra-deluxe package! With revenue from a regular release, and perhaps a deluxe release with a T-shirt, coffee table photobook, and high-def audio BluRay (I don't expect Prince to release his multi-tracks like Trent did)

That would solve the issue he has with not getting paid up front.

The best thing is, the "Ghosts" set wasn't even THAT good. It was 4 CD's of ambient instrumentals. And I'm a BIG NIN fan and I could only listen to it a few times.

Prince could either do this with a new record, or compile "Crystal Ball 2" and make BANK, and very quickly too.

I wish I could be his business advisor.

I wish I could be his producer and advise on singles to be released . . . . . .

But he'd have to listen to either of us.

leonche64 said:

thisisit said:

in the future, everyone shares their music online for free, and make their money doing gigs.

What about people who don't gig? What about the songwriters? The producers? Do they get a cut of the performance fee? How is that even fair?

They should get a cut. They also get paid for airplay which an artist does not.

V10LETBLUES said:

Militant said:

Prince should try the Trent Reznor approach.

Trent created a custom "ultra deluxe" edition (I believe it was for the 'Ghosts' release) including the CD's, a DVD with multitracks, a Blu-Ray with super high quality audio (24 bit), a photo book, and an artwork book, numbered and limited to 2500 copies, each signed by Trent.

The pre-order came with an immediate digital download.

The best thing was, the product didn't even exist when people ordered them. They cost $300 each and didn't ship for something like two months.

They sold out in ONE day. Do the math. $300 x 2500 = $750,000.

There's no way that it cost more than $50k to create all 2500 editions. Probably much less. So Trent made at least $700k in profit, in 24 hours without the product even existing at that point.

And that doesn't even include how much Trent made from the "regular" version of the release - the $5 digital download, the $10 double CD, and the $75 deluxe edition which was the digital download, the CD's, the multitracks DVD and the high-def BluRay! In that first day of release, Trent easily made $1million.

Imagine if Prince did that! Even with a new album let alone vault material! I reckon Prince could shift 5000 copies at the same price because his fanbase is bigger than NIN's. That's $1.5million right there JUST from an ultra-deluxe package! With revenue from a regular release, and perhaps a deluxe release with a T-shirt, coffee table photobook, and high-def audio BluRay (I don't expect Prince to release his multi-tracks like Trent did)

That would solve the issue he has with not getting paid up front.

The best thing is, the "Ghosts" set wasn't even THAT good. It was 4 CD's of ambient instrumentals. And I'm a BIG NIN fan and I could only listen to it a few times.

Prince could either do this with a new record, or compile "Crystal Ball 2" and make BANK, and very quickly too.

I wish I could be his business advisor.

People like to throw Trent around as an example a lot, and true, he has a great business sense. A million times better than Prince.

But...

Yeah, I do believe that "Ultimate" cost more than $50 thousand to create and ship. It's not like he did everything himself in the kitchen or basement of his mom's house. Believe me things add up very quickly on any project. $50 grand can be spent in a blink of an eye even if you are just repackaging something. You have no idea.

Another thing. I seriously think Prince netted in the same ball park as what Trent earned from his Newspaper schemes. His Target Lotusflow3r scheme.

Our man Prince is not as business savvy as Trent, but I seriously doubt Trent is earning more from his schemes than Prince's. It's a tough time in the music business and everybody is throwing spaghetti at the wall.Trent earns his money one way, Prince another. But neither is making too much more than the other.

[Edited 7/3/11 6:50am]

Objection. Conjecture.

V10LETBLUES said:

leonche64 said:

Right now? Same as these guys,.. throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Not the same.

No one knows a new act.

A new act doesn't have a track record.

SUPRMAN said:

V10LETBLUES said:

Right now? Same as these guys,.. throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Not the same.

No one knows a new act.

A new act doesn't have a track record.

I see this as an advantage in the new digital marketplace. A "new act" can very easily, if they have talent and originality, find and build a very loyal fanbase virally on YouTube. It happens all of the time. Never has been a better time in history than the present to be a "new act."

Imaginative said:

SUPRMAN said:

Not the same.

No one knows a new act.

A new act doesn't have a track record.

I see this as an advantage in the new digital marketplace. A "new act" can very easily, if they have talent and originality, find and build a very loyal fanbase virally on YouTube. It happens all of the time. Never has been a better time in history than the present to be a "new act."

Give me some names.

I've never discovered an act on YouTube- yet.

SUPRMAN said:

V10LETBLUES said:

Right now? Same as these guys,.. throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Not the same.

No one knows a new act.

A new act doesn't have a track record.

But that has always been the case for new artists, internet or not.

There is no proven formula at the moment in the internet age. All artists are in it for themselves and have to keep trying new things, innovate. That's exactly the same thing the established artists like Trent and Prince, and Radiohead are doing, but on a bigger scale that their fame affords them.

SUPRMAN said:

Imaginative said:

I see this as an advantage in the new digital marketplace. A "new act" can very easily, if they have talent and originality, find and build a very loyal fanbase virally on YouTube. It happens all of the time. Never has been a better time in history than the present to be a "new act."

Give me some names.

I've never discovered an act on YouTube- yet.

Check out Pomplamoose, who have redefined the music video by creating "VideoSongs" where they videotape the recording of every note, so that anything you see it in the video, you can also hear in the recording. Not overdubbed, mind you; that exact note as it was tracked live in the studio! Brilliant.

They have a deal with YouTube where they receive 50% of the ad revenue from their YouTube channel. They are also are successful selling their music digitally, and even got a commercial deal creating several spots for Hundai this past Christmas.

Once you check out Pomplamoose, they will also turn you on to some other great independent acts making a name for themselves on YouTube.

I'm not a fan, but I also believe Justin Bieber got his start as a YouTube sensation.

[Edited 7/4/11 11:58am]

V10LETBLUES said:

Another thing. I seriously think Prince netted in the same ball park as what Trent earned from his Newspaper schemes.

His one last year was brilliant. He threw the newspaper a cd like he makes them every day (and that's from someone who likes 20ten). They give him a pile of cash, and they promote the shit out of his concert. For which he gets trucks of money too.

Brilliant.

I love the direction this thread has taken.

Beautiful thread and I agree with most of the posts here! Prince has to step his game up and realize since things have changed within the music industry; instead of JUST acknowledging these changes, study and see how others are doing something about it and making money. He may not make multimillion's but he can earn money and respect from those who feel he is mistreating him. I honestly think that if he lays down the structure of what he wants, with time and humility he can reach this point. He needs a little break to think things over, and fortunately I believe he just might be doing that!

Good points here on this thread!

even if he released every song in his vault, in pristine quality, after a few days they would ALL be online for people to download for free. i think thats his problem when it comes to releasing anything now. some people would buy, a lot more would download it for free

[Edited 7/5/11 8:22am]

thisisit said:

leonche64 said:

What about people who don't gig? What about the songwriters? The producers? Do they get a cut of the performance fee? How is that even fair?

- radio/publishing

- selling CD's and merch at gigs

- live performance fees and royalties

- CD's in stores

...the list goes on...

there used to be a time when the internet didnt exist and people made their money just fine whether they gigged or not. plenty of avenues for making bank.

the trick back then was, you actually had to be GOOD at what you do.

its no different in the future.

BINGO!!!! the reason Prince doesn't release his music normally is because he has no faith in it, he's cheapening his product getting paid upfront without selling 1 copy, regardless how many people buy it, (see PE, LF and 20Ten). To release it properly and make money it would involve him trying to sell his product ie tv performance/tour/singles/videos which we all know he doesn't like doing. People say cd's aren't selling anymore, try telling GaGa, Foo Fighters and Adele that. For prince to make money off a normally released cd it would have to be good, not just for us but other cd buying people. How many non GaGa fans have bought BTW, me for one and thousands of others, same goes for Foos and Adele. Lotus was a solid effort and could have sold well distributed worldwide, and i think 20Ten:Deluxe could've done the same.