Shorty said:

ONA Live is a step in the right direction IF ALL OF HIS MEMBERS GET IT BEFORE RETAIL. How many members still haven't got their copy of ONA Live yet? How many people (me included) are waiting for them to fix NPGMC orders that they screwed up? That's a major hurdle they have to over-come.

RIAA

'nuff said.

LittlePill said:

i don't base my 'happiness' on what Prince does or doesn't do.



I might CRITIQUE the recording, and may find a few things that don't fit with my particular tastes, then find myself in the rediculous position of defending my OPINION from someone who thinks like you do.

I might SUGGEST different things i may have liked to have seen or heard. I won't be sad over it, and you shouldn't read any of those things an ATTACK on your hero,




Fuck the grammys either way.

See, you'll never be happy...

Prince will release something and some folks will like it and some won't. Some will want different things and like different songs, and you'll complain that we hate on Prince and hate the album. You'll complain that some of us wish it was delivered on time. You'll complain that we didn't worship the plastic on which the cd was burned as a testament to all things Prince. You'll complain that we will not, en masse, drop to our knees and thank our lucky stars that he's deigned to release an album for which we willingly paid our money - ususally without hesitation. You'll complain that some of us were upset when he cancelled that show at the last minute after we'd gotten time off of work and traveled to see him.

You'll complain that we don't like the same songs as you, or that we think NPS was beneath Prince's standards.

Who's complaining here?



Well, why do you think we take the time to come here and offer our opinions? All people ever do is complain about those that we express.

10 years ago: "Wouldn't it be great if there was a message board where fans could express their thoughts about Prince and his music?"

After it's so: "Why do all of these people express thoughts and opinions that inspire me to complain about them? Don't they know that Prince's music and art are wonderful?"

Why do you complain so much? jeez, you'll never be happy.



[Snip. Flame removed. LaV] I'll stop coming HERE before I lose my interest in Prince's music. How fucking boring would this place be if ALL you read was bootlicking threads and topics about how brilliant Prince is and how everything he's done was right?

Oh, wait, that would probably suit about 1/2 the people i read on here.

BTW, Prince has done an awful lot of complaining over the years, occasionally even SUING HIS FANS OVER IT.

herb4 said:

RIAA

'nuff said.

SassyPants said:

That's a completely different argument than your previous one. The way he prices CD's and then its store price being lower has nothing to do with charging $100 for the club members.
The $100 was described as being for 4 CD's and access to presale tix for concerts. Anything beyond(like calendars, candles, etc) are simply extra.

I have noticed, as you pointed out, that his prices can be, aren't always higher than a store bought copy, but I think that has more to do with the individual stores' pricing guidelines, what they're willing to take a loss on, and if they buy in bulk.

chookalana said:

I got mine before retail! There is no way he will ever have a perfect shipping record, so that ALL members get their's before it goes to retail...that is unrealistic and a perfect set up for disappointment. That is a good question about how many people haven't got their copy of ONA live yet. I don't know the answer but I'm willing to bet a very small percentage of members haven't received it yet...say maybe 10%? (I think I'm being generous)
I can totally understand your frustration about not getting your ONA Live set or about any screwed up orders from the NPGMC, BUT one thing to point out is...those are mistakes...unfortunate mistakes but...mistakes none the less. Your whole argument about Prince not caring about his fans implies that those of us who have not received ONA live or who have had a bad shipping experience has been a deliberate attempt by Prince to disrespect us or not care for us...that my friend is where I feel you go astray. yes, I think the NPGMC has flaws...I think they have worked out many other flaws and are trying to correct existing flaws...but, maybe not...maybe Prince's real motive is to piss his fans off intentionally...maybe that's what he's really trying to do...yeah..yeah...that's it.

I got mine before retail! There is no way he will ever have a perfect shipping record, so that ALL members get their's before it goes to retail...that is unrealistic and a perfect set up for disappointment.

[Snip. Flame removed. LaV]

When a independent labels like Dischord, Kill Rock Stars or Righteous Babe can have 10,000 - 40,000 CDs (depending on the artist's album), delivered to the person's front door on the day of release as promised, YET HAVE A MERE FRACTION OF FUNDS TO OPERATE WITH when compared to Prince's resources, then all a person can say is RUBBISH to Prince's business practices.

I got the last Fugazi album delivered to my door on the official release date, and they shipped just under 50,000 CDs. And they have NO budget. They operate out of a basement, for crying out loud.

Prince is a brat who pulls these antics becuase he know he can get away with it. Because, complacently, YOU allow it.

SassyPants said:

oh please, I know a lot of domestic families that treat each other worse. So dont go there.

Prince will NEVER listen to his fans.


Yes he does just the other day I said: "Prince: he said: "huh" see....

FirstAvenue said:

co-sign.

if u were 2 spend a day with my family, i bet you'd believe that p's the fairest, most compliant person on god's green earth by day's end--no lie!

Its a great thang that Prince will NEVER listen to his fans becoz there still will be group of them who bitch about his releases.

Its a good thang that he does what he his MIND tells him 2 do and NOT the public or the fans otherwise he'd be lost like Mariah Carey.
[This message was edited Wed Feb 12 13:00:18 PST 2003 by Harlepolis]

terrencetuppins said:

ooohhh I was flamed and didn't even know it! Lav, was that your first snipping? oh that would be great if lav's fist moderator hammer came down to protect me! aww...I'm tearing up! thanx lav...although I wonder what he said now. hmm.

so..terrencetuppins, tell me, you know for a fact that out of these 10,000 - 40,000 CDs that were shipped...every single one got to it's intended location? No postal problems at all? Really? please tell me how you know this for a fact! please...enlighten us would ya? also..while your at it...please inform us how it is that you are SO sure these company's operate on a MERE FRACTION OF THE FUNDS? or NO buget for that matter, please...some evidence would be nice.

Prince knows which "fans" to "listen" to...

He doesn't have to listen to anyone. I think that's how he intended it to be, especially after the WB fiasco. I think he just has too much pride to submit to anyones request. It just might be a good idea he didn't think of.

Personally, I don't give a flying boot about his egoism. If I were that talented, I'd probably worship myself too. It's the nature of the beast as they say. So don't trip and take it so personally.

Why should he listen to anyone?
I thought that his originality was why we liked him!
An artist is an artist no matter what!
He does his stuff and we like it or not.

chookalana said:

I have to dis agree, WHAT artist wants to deliberatly piss their fans off?

mdiver said:

exactly!

so..terrencetuppins, tell me, you know for a fact that out of these 10,000 - 40,000 CDs that were shipped...every single one got to it's intended location? No postal problems at all? Really? please tell me how you know this for a fact! please...enlighten us would ya? also..while your at it...please inform us how it is that you are SO sure these company's operate on a MERE FRACTION OF THE FUNDS? or NO buget for that matter, please...some evidence would be nice.[/quote]

Dischord is run by 4 or 5 people out of Ian Mackaye's mother's basement in a suburb of Washington DC. There have been numerous DIY books, magazine articles and fanzine articles that document their "do it yourself" work ethic.
There is also a Fugazi documentary available which primarily focuses on the band, but touches down on their label's aesthetic as well. Numerous articles about Dischord can be found on the web, too. Have a looksie.


Same thing with Righteous Babe Records, which is Ani DiFranco's label. Prince has been quoted numerous times as citing Ani and her label as an inspiration for taking matters into his own hands. Too bad the end result for him wasn't quite so smooth.

That 'Crystal Ball' fiasco really says alot about him. C'mon...there's no excuse for telling people it's an INTERNET EXCLUSIVE ONLY, having the fans wait over a year and a half, have the NPG not return emails or phone calls, only have sporadic-yet-cryptic excuses posted on the official website. Meanwhile people's credit cards are charged. Still no Crystal Ball. And imagine my shock when I went to return a video on my lunch break at Blockbuster Video, only to see the legendary Crystal Ball set for sale!!! So much for an internet exclusive.

There's no excuse for business practices such as this. Should there have been complications along the way, letting people know the truth (something he claims to value) instead of whimsical messages, isn't asking much. And there are still people who never received their CDs, but were charged for them.

He seems to have learned his lesson somewhat since, but c'mon...that was just ill.

Do you people even READ?!?!? I mean, do you actually read the threads? Did you read the first thread of this post?

Man, I guess Prince has got it right, take my money, promise me I will get my box-set AFTER retail, and Promise me that if I sign-up that you will not give me albums that you advertised.

Thanks.

NPGMC

'nuff said.

chookalana said:

chookalana said:

I don’t agree that he turns a completely deaf ear 2 his fans. I think npgmc is an attempt 2 both listen 2 and make money from his loyal core fans (fams… gimme a break). BUT, it is just a shame that he has proved so incompetent at doing either. The guy could simultaneously b earning buckets of cash (and make no mistake, this is hugely important 2 him) as well as pleasing fans like us (e.g. releasing a collection of live discs, one per month, 4 a year; releasing dvd’s in both pal and ntsc versions; making sections of the vault available 4 purchase etc. etc.).
If the club is charging money (which of course it should and is entitled to do) then it is a service and should b run as such. It is, of course, not run by anything even approaching good business practices. Don’t get me wrong, I have gotten a lot of joy from it but there is NO excuse 4 late delivery of merchandise, mixing up retail orders, selling more tix in presales than they book at the venue itself so npgmc members get totally fucked over and don’t get any seat (never mind front row), failure 2 reply 2 legitimate queries, problems and complaints.
Just a little professionalism is all that is required – for starters a reliable retail section is the bare minimum that should b offered by any service. The very idea that late delivery/non-delivery is an acceptable mistake is completely pathetic, the mere suggestion of it is ludicrous.
As far as folk above going on about music, I don’t think the original post was all about music necessarily, it was about the things that go on around the music, the things that keep fans being fans and not just ‘buyers of cd’s’ that are being questioned here and legitimately so.
I’ll keep buying the cd’s, because TRC is brilliant, ONA Live is great and even if they were shit I’d buy them out of interest. I’ll keep signing up 2 the club cos there r some great perks and it is the only way 2 get decent access 2 the man’s music these days. But I will always think that it is a shame what a skeleton and unreliable service is provided and I will always know that it is a huge great big business opportunity that is not being fully milked by Prince.

andrewajk said:

I fully agree with everything you said.

RIAA

'nuff said.

terrencetuppins said:

Dischord is run by 4 or 5 people out of Ian Mackaye's mother's basement in a suburb of Washington DC. There have been numerous DIY books, magazine articles and fanzine articles that document their "do it yourself" work ethic.
There is also a Fugazi documentary available which primarily focuses on the band, but touches down on their label's aesthetic as well. Numerous articles about Dischord can be found on the web, too. Have a looksie.


Same thing with Righteous Babe Records, which is Ani DiFranco's label. Prince has been quoted numerous times as citing Ani and her label as an inspiration for taking matters into his own hands. Too bad the end result for him wasn't quite so smooth.

That 'Crystal Ball' fiasco really says alot about him. C'mon...there's no excuse for telling people it's an INTERNET EXCLUSIVE ONLY, having the fans wait over a year and a half, have the NPG not return emails or phone calls, only have sporadic-yet-cryptic excuses posted on the official website. Meanwhile people's credit cards are charged. Still no Crystal Ball. And imagine my shock when I went to return a video on my lunch break at Blockbuster Video, only to see the legendary Crystal Ball set for sale!!! So much for an internet exclusive.

There's no excuse for business practices such as this. Should there have been complications along the way, letting people know the truth (something he claims to value) instead of whimsical messages, isn't asking much. And there are still people who never received their CDs, but were charged for them.

He seems to have learned his lesson somewhat since, but c'mon...that was just ill.[/quote]

My point is always missed! Yes, Dischord my be very successful at doing what they're doing but...You still can not say that every single CD out of the 10 to 40 thousand they sent made it to the proper destination at the precise time! No f'ing way! I'm not saying that Prince's NPGMC is perfect by any means, all I'm saying is, the people who get upset that they didn't receive their set on time are the exception not the rule. I agree that NPGMC needs to be more responsive, for sure, but from what I can see they are getting better and they are listening.
OK, the crystal ball "fiasco" was not a "fiasco" for me! I "PRE_ORDERED" my crystal ball KNOWING it was a "Pre" order, and I may be wrong but I think it was just over a year when we got it...not over a year and a half..but..I didn't sit and count the days either. I also don't recall them saying it was an "internet exclusive" either?
I agree that the organization during crystal ball wasn't good, and some people got charged and still got no CD and that is bad, but it was not done to intentionally disrespect his fans, I mean c'mon! if he is so "all about the money" then he wouldn't want to loose any money spending fans now...right? Looking at the NPGMC now...I see loads of improvement, which to me says they do care and are listening. but hey...that's just me.

chookalana said:

I read it, but just cause YOU said it doesn't make it true.
don't believe everything you read or hear.

Like I said, I think the club does listen to fans in its own way and it is getting better. But it really is a tip of the iceberg approach, both as far as potential revenue 4 Prince and as far as fan satisfaction is concerned. Just a little professionalism is not too much to ask.

Also, ‘don’t believe what u read’ – a fine sentiment and worth noting, but if u think that the club is providing a consistently reliable and satisfactory service to it’s (paying! – lets not 4get that…) members, then u r ignoring the testimony of many people on this site and elsewhere.
On balance I’m glad 2 b in the club, but it is just run so poorly that member frustration is both inevitable and understandable…

ak

andrewajk said:

My "don't believe everything you read" comment was more about some of the statements that chookalana made in the original post.
I'm a paying member and I can only speak from my own experiences with the club, which have all been consistant,reliable and satisfactory. All I'm saying is let's not ignore either side's testimony.

Shorty said:

True I know and agree with what your saying. My experiences are that Year One was much better than Year two. Everything that NPGMC was going to do, they did. Now days, It's all b.s. and hype.

chookalana said:

I agree, I liked year one better than year two also, I so miss the ahdio shows!..BUT I do remember during year one...there were many people complaining about how it was all downloads, some folx could never download, some could only download some stuff, but didn't have a CD burner so they complained about that...there were many folx unhappy with that system...which seems to be why they switched formats for year 2. It seems to me they were trying to change things up to make people happy...but...again, people complain! They will never be able to please everyone everytime, but they certainly do seem to be trying. I wonder what (if anything) year 3 brings? I'm willin' to bet it will be different than last year...maybe a mix from year 1 nad 2? we'll see...tomorrow? I hope

This is the same guy who can't understand why he can't get a camel in Minnesota at 3:00am in the middle of January!

Do I need to go on?




:

'nuff said.[/quote]

I THINK you meant to spell CARMEL, not CAMEL!!! Why would Prince want a CAMEL in Chanhassen in the middle of the night?!! "Hump" jokes aside, what would he do with a camel, ride around the snowy fields singing "Animal Kingdom"?

SERIOUSLY, though,I think you're rant is VERY SCARY!

The problem is NOT with Prince, it is with YOU! I do not say this to be insulting. But, if you just lived your life and were happy enough to just pop into a record store and pick up the latest Prince album when it hits shelves, "all things will be fine".

You gotta be cool about things! Instead, you're being TOTALLY materialistic, and doing that consumer-robot thing society has made you into and you are crying out for MORE Prince music! MORE! MORE! MORE!!!

You worry too much about Prince HASN'T released or delivered to you! This is where too much info, like a lot of the DREK on PRINCE.ORG is bad for you! Obiviously, life would be more peaceful for you if you had NO IDEA Prince had a vault of music! I'm sure an Alan Parson's Project fan has no such musings/concerns/obsessions and the better for it!

WORRYING, or concerining yourself with questions like, "Why didn't he stick with SIGN O THE TIMES? or why did he pull the BLACK ALBUM?!?! is such a waste of energy!

WHO CARES!!!

Did you buy SOTT (or BLACK ALBUM)? Did YOU enjoy it? Does it sit in your pile of cd's? THAT is ALL that matters: did you get return for YOUR investment? Worrying about promotion decisions from 1987 in the year 2003 of a product you had no financial or creative investment in is, as Spock would say, "ILLOGICAL!"Move on! It's like those SAD individuals who post topics about how "Rave" could have been promoted better! Get a grip!Get some sun!

RANTING about how he chooses to display his personality in public (Slave cheeks, inarticulate interviews) is Prince's problem, his choices, NOT yours! If YOU did those things, THEN there would be a problem. PArt of liking Prince is accepting he CAN be a royal DORK, and just laugh at it. The music still sounds the same.

NPGMC: I don't feel sorry for anybody who felt screwed by this fiasco. CAVEAT EMPTOR: the "CRYSTAL BAll" experience. Fool me once, shame on you ; fool me TWICE? Shame on YOU!

It's THAT simple, regarding NPGMC! Did 1-800-NEW-FUNK not tip you off to NPG's attitude to "customer service"? On top of all, ANYONE who easily parted with $100 to a business that had no specific outline or statement of products/projects being bought, in addition to timelines of delivery, was REALLY taking a risk! You only have yourself to blame with NPGMC, in the end.Sorry, it's true.

FINALLY,...KNOWING the BUDGET for a video clip Prince made with a non-singer on her one-off cd years ago, and having an EMOTIONAL RESPONSE to that is VERY FRIGHTENING! It's Prince's $$$, not yours,for starters. Would you freak out to hear Prince bought a new car, instead of paying for a big video of his own? THIS is really a red-alert, a warning sign, a worrysome thing, that you felt the need to express your unhappiness with Prince and referencing a video shoot with Carmen Electra!It's like prople who wonder on this site if "prince does background checks on his girls"- it's fans like this that are cause for bodyguards!

1) shut off your computer/ stay away from Prince sites more!

2) worry about your own life and accomplishments, and less about a musician in Minneapolis-he's just a guy!

3) don't be materialistic about the Prince product you DON'T HAVE !

some of you fans really freak me out.

pimpytheclown said:

I paid $100 for a f'in box set that I HAVE NOT GOT YET, and joined for three albums that never will come out!

I bought from the NPGMC store and STILL HAVE NOT RECIVED MY CORRECT ORDER!

I paid my money, I want my fucking product.

Simple as that. So far the only thing I have got from the NPGMC this year is fraud.

So do not sit here and tell me to not be materialistic. He got my money, I just want my shit.

pimpytheclown

'nuff said.