I can't help but think that Prince was behind some of his own 80's bootlegs. Think about how many stories you hear about WB denying Prince of releasing certain versions of his albums, only for them to surface anyway [Dream Factory, Black Album]. I kind of think it was his way of being a rebel to WB & releasing them secretly on the low. Notice how bad the sound quality is of a lot of them. If some of these tracks were originally "Bootlegged" in good condition, why haven't the quality versions of "all" of them surfaced yet? Every boot was not "cassette-only" [We all know there were vinyl pressings too] Maybe it's because the bootleggers didn't own better copies. Prince could have easily diminished the quality of them himself on purpose. Then on top of that, think about how the packaging looks for the released version "Crystal Ball", it looks like a cheap bootleg. Prince did it on purpose, Just so it would look like any other horrible bootleg attempt [which I think was genius btw]. I think Prince loved the whole "slinging my music like crack" idea back then. It fed his ego if you think about it. It helped build up his "mysterious" persona he has. I know some of you might not buy it, but I'm not buying that EVERY boot ever released was through old friends, angry proteges or soundboard hijackers every-time.....

What are your thoughts on this?

[Edited 8/3/11 10:01am]

Titty, Titty, Titty...

*heavy sigh; twists your nipples til you yelp in pain then runs like hell*

I think your on to something.

armpit said:

Titty, Titty, Titty...

*heavy sigh; twists your nipples til you yelp in pain then runs like hell*

Damn, WTF? Are you stalking my threads?!

Every time I make a thread, you have to come to it & respond with some little negative or stupid remark! I've done nothing to you & if you don't like my threads, WHY DO YOU KEEP COMMENTING ON THEM?! I don't come on any of your threads talking shit to you or anything. I usually don't care what people say on my threads, but you are a constant negative! I'm still waiting to see this superb thread you come up with too....Damn....

TylerHippie said:

I think your on to something.

Tittypants said:

armpit said:

Titty, Titty, Titty...

*heavy sigh; twists your nipples til you yelp in pain then runs like hell*

Damn, WTF? Are you stalking my threads?!

Every time I make a thread, you have to come to it & respond with some little negative or stupid remark! I've done nothing to you & if you don't like my threads, WHY DO YOU KEEP COMMENTING ON THEM?! I don't come on any of your threads talking shit to you or anything. I usually don't care what people say on my threads, but you are a constant negative! I'm still waiting to see this superb thread you come up with too....Damn....

Bro, it's not worth it. People do me the same way. I just give me them a "thank you" or "ok".

That way everyone stays on topic.

TylerHippie said:

Tittypants said:

Damn, WTF? Are you stalking my threads?!

Every time I make a thread, you have to come to it & respond with some little negative or stupid remark! I've done nothing to you & if you don't like my threads, WHY DO YOU KEEP COMMENTING ON THEM?! I don't come on any of your threads talking shit to you or anything. I usually don't care what people say on my threads, but you are a constant negative! I'm still waiting to see this superb thread you come up with too....Damn....

Bro, it's not worth it. People do me the same way. I just give me them a "thank you" or "ok".

That way everyone stays on topic.

Very true. I'm just sick that person though. I usually brush it off, but I'm not in the mood too right now

No, no, no, a million times no. See the plethora of older threads as to why this is just a fantasy.

Every bootleg is traceable if you really really try. And they never came intentionally from Prince. Maybe unintentionally.

I seriously doubt it.

It's plain to see the OP hasn't got the slightest clue about the bootleg world.

Next!

NouveauDance said:

No, no, no, a million times no. See the plethora of older threads as to why this is just a fantasy.

ufoclub said:

Every bootleg is traceable if you really really try. And they never came intentionally from Prince. Maybe unintentionally.

Right, but he knows that if he plays a song on a radio station, it's going to pop up around the world in minutes. He's keenly aware of the mystery surrounding his bootlegged songs, and he didn't get arsed about them until they came out in EX+ quality. And he loves the intrigue, he's mentioned it in enough songs, interviews, and concerts. Hell, when even non-fans know about your outtakes, you know you've got something.

billymeade said:

ufoclub said:

Every bootleg is traceable if you really really try. And they never came intentionally from Prince. Maybe unintentionally.

Right, but he knows that if he plays a song on a radio station, it's going to pop up around the world in minutes. He's keenly aware of the mystery surrounding his bootlegged songs, and he didn't get arsed about them until they came out in EX+ quality. And he loves the intrigue, he's mentioned it in enough songs, interviews, and concerts. Hell, when even non-fans know about your outtakes, you know you've got something.

He has come down hard on bootlegs as far back as the mid 90's as far as I know. He went into an indie record (was it with Tony M?) supposedly at some point in time in time and got pissed off at all the boots on display. In the late 90's all three indie music shops in Houston which had previously had tons of bootlegs like "Dreams" by Sabotage, stopped carrying them and only carried legit stuff. A manager told me that someone from the record companies came in (or mailed in) and told them they had to stop or face legal punishment or fines.

ufoclub said:

Every bootleg is traceable if you really really try. And they never came intentionally from Prince. Maybe unintentionally.

Look at what Andy Allo is doing right right now, & tell me Prince can't be responsible...

Timmy84 said:

I seriously doubt it.

Andy Allo is releasing stuff right now on the net, & I highly doubt Prince is clueless about it.

NouveauDance said:

No, no, no, a million times no. See the plethora of older threads as to why this is just a fantasy.

So you know everything for a fact huh......nOPe.

Tittypants said:

Timmy84 said:

I seriously doubt it.

Andy Allo is releasing stuff right now on the net, & I highly doubt Prince is clueless about it.

Might be now but then???

vitriol said:

It's plain to see the OP hasn't got the slightest clue about the bootleg world.

Next!

Prince had his own studio & you believe some of those boots have any other origin besides Prince? Yeah right.....

Tittypants said:

ufoclub said:

Every bootleg is traceable if you really really try. And they never came intentionally from Prince. Maybe unintentionally.

Look at what Andy Allo is doing right right now, & tell me Prince can't be responsible...

That's not bootleg! That's official. But you see in the past year, Jill Jones post some studio song or Ingrid Chavez... those are bootleg once it gets copied and put on a distributed collection.

Putting the stuff onto a distributed collection that Andy Allo is posting is just "pirating". Because it's Prince sanctioned official releases. It's also very throw-away. Unlike say having "Joy In Repetition" on vinyl back in 1988. Or "Expert Lover" aka by Prince "Crystal Ball".

Timmy84 said:

Tittypants said:

Andy Allo is releasing stuff right now on the net, & I highly doubt Prince is clueless about it.

Might be now but then???

Especially then. The internet didn't mess with music sales back then. Actually, we all know people were making money back then off of music. Prince had his own studio too....It just doesn't seem like those boots just happen to fall in whoevers hands first out of the blue to me....

Tittypants said:

Look at what Andy Allo is doing right right now, & tell me Prince can't be responsible...

Wtf are you talking about? Andy Allo releasing some Prince material on her FB page and Youtube means that they aren't bootlegs. They are being officially released by Prince this way.

Some of you have no idea what a bootleg is. And I agree that Prince didn't leak the stuff from the 80s or it would have been in better quality back then and now.

ufoclub said:

Tittypants said:

Look at what Andy Allo is doing right right now, & tell me Prince can't be responsible...

That's not bootleg! That's official. But you see in the past year, Jill Jones post some studio song or Ingrid Chavez... those are bootleg once it gets copied and put on a distributed collection.

Putting the stuff onto a distributed collection that Andy Allo is posting is just "pirating". Because it's Prince sanctioned official releases. It's also very throw-away. Unlike say having "Joy In Repetition" on vinyl back in 1988. Or "Expert Lover" aka by Prince "Crystal Ball".

Didn't Prince have his studio at that time {Paisley Park}? And I'm not saying every boot, I said some. Has anyone ever got arrested for these old boots?

FunkiestOne said:

Tittypants said:

Look at what Andy Allo is doing right right now, & tell me Prince can't be responsible...

Wtf are you talking about? Andy Allo releasing some Prince material on her FB page and Youtube means that they aren't bootlegs. They are being officially released by Prince this way.

Some of you have no idea what a bootleg is. And I agree that Prince didn't leak the stuff from the 80s or it would have been in better quality back then and now.

But she deliberately said in one captions on Youtube "Don't Tell" or something like that. I'm pretty sure she was joking, but at this point, it would have to be official [after the fuss Prince has put up in today's age]. When did the studio outtakes dry up?

I think back in the 80s, he didn't care as much if tapes got out there. There's a thousand ways how demos and unreleased recordings make it out from artists into the public. He used to keep demos in his car. It prob. helped having everything in-house when Paisley Park was built, but before that, anyone who was working or around the recording studio that had access could've copied it.

There was also money trading hands. It's not like now -fans will tweak the recordings, or try to track down the source tape.

A lot of artists only get upset when it has to do with an unreleased song that's planned for an upcoming release being leaked. To me, the fanbase should be jumping all over that and contacting the management. Anything like that should be held off until the finished recording's out.

FunkiestOne said:

Tittypants said:

Look at what Andy Allo is doing right right now, & tell me Prince can't be responsible...

Wtf are you talking about? Andy Allo releasing some Prince material on her FB page and Youtube means that they aren't bootlegs. They are being officially released by Prince this way.

Some of you have no idea what a bootleg is. And I agree that Prince didn't leak the stuff from the 80s or it would have been in better quality back then and now.

That's why I don't think he's releasing his own bootlegs. Especially considering the situation with Andy.

vitriol said:

It's plain to see the OP hasn't got the slightest clue about the bootleg world.

Next!

This.

Must we continue to have this same ol' tired conversation?? The answer (for the OP) is no, no, no, no, no, no....

alexnvrmnd777 said:

vitriol said:

It's plain to see the OP hasn't got the slightest clue about the bootleg world.

Next!

This.

Must we continue to have this same ol' tired conversation?? The answer (for the OP) is no, no, no, no, no, no....

What's funny to me is those of you who think you "do" know where "all" of these boots come from.....especially from a notorious liar like Prince.

billymeade said:

ufoclub said:

Every bootleg is traceable if you really really try. And they never came intentionally from Prince. Maybe unintentionally.

Right, but he knows that if he plays a song on a radio station, it's going to pop up around the world in minutes. He's keenly aware of the mystery surrounding his bootlegged songs, and he didn't get arsed about them until they came out in EX+ quality. And he loves the intrigue, he's mentioned it in enough songs, interviews, and concerts. Hell, when even non-fans know about your outtakes, you know you've got something.

That's why I find it funny that anyone can truly confirm or deny the true origins of where certain boots came from....no one knows