In the recent Billboard article/interview, Prince is asked if he will release any new songs (since he says he doesn't do albums any longer). He says he will listen to his fans and what they want (and how much they would pay).

I think the most constructive thing we can do, is to state what we would buy from Prince, and I'll kick it off. I'm leaving monetary amounts out, as I think "what" is more important than "how much"...

In summary of some of my recent posts, I don't do mp3s, except for a quick listen for reference purposes... perhaps to hear if I want to buy something. I don't like the compression and data loss that occurs with mp3s/mp4s. Lossless digital (WAV, FLAC, etc) is okay, but that would require me to burn on optical disc, to play through my analog stereo system. I also like packaging - artwork, credits and lyrics.

Prince is the only artist that I will buy any album he puts out without hearing anything ahead of time... as long as it is in physical format.

If he really means that he "doesn't do albums anymore", then there's not much for me to buy from him. I've seen him live many times since 1988, and I'd see him again if time and space allow, but what I enjoy the most is getting a new Prince album, and having my own listening party with my own home stereo. I was blown away when I did that with the 'Lotusflow3r' album, which is stunning when listened to through a proper sound system.

So... here's what I would buy:

New music - physical format (vinyl or CD).

Live concert video - physical format (optical media).

Live concert ticket - if time and space allow.

I won't pay for mp3s... ever. Won't do iTunes... ever.

What about you? What would you buy from Prince?

~G

Generally speaking, I find that I enjoy Prince's "one off"/"individual" songs far less than the experience of a collection of his songs on an album. Therefore, I imagine I would only buy new Prince albums.

In other words, if he does not release new albums, then it is unlikely I will be purchasing anything else from Prince.

love,

Spirit

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[Edited 1/25/13 13:16pm]

I'd pay for digital downloads, no problem. Offer them lossless and it's no differnt to CD, can even be better than CD thesedays.

I don't mind high bit rate MP3 either.

whatever format, i'll hand over my cc details for:

01. outtakes from the period between 1979 and 1999.

02. new music. the more the better

03. soundboard concert audio

i'll pick up concert video or dvd releases if they are released, but it's not something

i'm really hoping for.

what i want the most is just music. studio songs. a combination between outtakes

and new stuff would be great.

soundboard concerts would be great too.

[Edited 1/25/13 13:55pm]

[Edited 1/25/13 13:57pm]

I'd buy concert tickets if he ever came back to Detroit, digital music, CDs and records. I don't really care so much about videos/DVDs. I wouldn't pay to watch a video online and wouldn't care about watching it at home either. I'm just not into music like that anymore. But I know other people who want to snatch up any live footage of Prince playing in concert. My brother-in-law cares more about live performances and would probably pay a pretty penny for something good, and would not buy a new album.

SpiritOtter said:

Generally speaking, I find that I enjoy Prince's "one off"/"individual" songs far less than the experience of a collection of his songs on an album. Therefore, I imagine I would only buy new Prince albums.

In other words, if he does not release new albums, then it is unlikely I will be purchasing anything else from Prince.

love,

Spirit

I kind of agree. Even songs like Gett Off, which I have grown to like, were not really that exciting to me as singles. Within the context of an album, they begin to stand out more.

Perhaps it's just because of how I listen to music. I don't play shuffle, and I don't make playlists, I listen to albums. So FUNK and Cybersingle and U Make My Sun Shine are simply not getting an airtime with me.

what if he'd release 'collections' of separate song bundled together

as sort of a mixed tape. no name, just a bunch of songs?

that would probably sit better with people. even if there was not a

real theme or feel to them that binds them together in a traditional

way.

i hear what people are saying with regards to one off tracks. i can

enjoy them a lot, but i don't listen to them as often as i do albums.

for instance, those 6 rehearsals we got last year, i listened to them

as they were 'released' and then just filed them away.

but since i compiled them into an EP for myself last month and put

some artwork on them, i find that i play them all the time.

however, one off songs or not, i find that i tend to enjoy prince an

awful lot more if i've got a bunch of tracks to discover instead of

just hitting repeat on a single song over and over until i've grown

sick of it. that's the main problem with single tracks. they quickly

bore you because you listen to them too often and there is just

no buffer of other sounds, ideas and lyrics between each listen so

it just becomes a loop.

i've already 'destroyed' RNR affair that way. it will take a cool off

period of 6 months before i can listen to that one again so i'm a

bit less frequent with listening to "screwdriver".

even just an EP of 4 new tracks at a time would be better than a

track here, a track there.

that would be a novel concept for prince and i'm sure it could be

a good inspiration to release only EPs for a year or so with 4 to 5

songs on them that fit well and covered a certain theme/feel.

I am one of the rare Prince fans who does not really want him to just open the vault. That would be too much crap to wade through to get to the best stuff.

I want him to use his judgement and give us what he believes to be the very best that he has at any moment. Not what he believes will compete with Taylor Swift, but what he is genuinely proud of.

If he wants that to be in the form of 10-20 individually available songs or as an album per year, I don't really care. I just want some music, new music, the best possible music. And a similar amount of old and live music would be great, too. And I would like them to be released at one time, not one song at a time.

Giovanni777 said:

I won't pay for mp3s... ever. Won't do iTunes... ever.

I'm with you Gio, all paid digital downloads should be available in both mp3 and lossless format.

I dont need physical media, but lossless is non negotiable as far as I'm concerned.

I also believe that his entire back catalog including post WB and NPGMC should be made available for purchase. This will greatly dampen the secondary market, which doesn't affect Prince at all, and allows any new fans who are discovering Prince to readily acquire anything that has been officially released. By officially released I mean everything that's under official releases in Princevault, albums, online albums, maxi singles, one off tracks, all of it in a one stop shop.

What would I buy, I'm just about the music, whether it's outtakes, new material, concert soundboards or videos.

There should also be a loyalty program based on purchases that provides entitlements to concert presales or some other reward.

Merchandise is not welcome.

Giovanni777 said:

What about you? What would you buy from Prince?

I would buy music and videos. No merchandise and not interest in a subscription, club or whatever.

Just a reliable online record store where I can order or download anything Prince, at a fair price, in an easy way and with a good customer service.

Hopefully lots of great live and vault material.

Fair price is around $ 1,50 a song and $ 15 per album.

Giovanni777 said:

I'm leaving monetary amounts out, as I think "what" is more important than "how much"...

Not to Prince.

Oh, to answer the question - I want any previously unreleased songs. Don't care if they're new or old, an album or a single, download or physical.. and I would be willing to pay more than it's worth.

I want any studio footage that exists, particularly from the 80s.

What I want most of all though is separate instrument tracks from his 80s work and some more recent songs, paricularly stuff like Let's Work, Private Joy, Head, Mountains extended version, Little Red Corvette Dance Remix, Sexy Dancer long version, 777-9311, The Walk, A Love Bizarre extended version, The Stick, Baby I'm A Star, 1999, Musicology, La La La He He Hee Full Length - the stuff with the really outsanding and mysteriously unusual musicianship and arrangments.

I've tried my best to figure out how Prince played stuff on those records but it would be a real shame if he didn't reveal some of that information before he passes on. No one got better sounds than Prince and no one ever sounded like him on bass, guitar, drums or synths.

music in the form of downloads, CDs, concerts, parties

books/interactive online games

movies

clothing designs

perfumes

online seminars

lion hat

[Edited 1/25/13 18:28pm]

eoin said:

metallicjigolo said:

eoin said:

I want any studio footage that exists, particularly from the 80s.

What I want most of all though is separate instrument tracks from his 80s work and some more recent songs, paricularly stuff like Let's Work, Private Joy, Head, Mountains extended version, Little Red Corvette Dance Remix, Sexy Dancer long version, 777-9311, The Walk, A Love Bizarre extended version, The Stick, Baby I'm A Star, 1999, Musicology, La La La He He Hee Full Length - the stuff with the really outsanding and mysteriously unusual musicianship and arrangments.

I've tried my best to figure out how Prince played stuff on those records but it would be a real shame if he didn't reveal some of that information before he passes on. No one got better sounds than Prince and no one ever sounded like him on bass, guitar, drums or synths.

Interesting. But it would take a lot for Prince to divulge his best kept secrets. Even Bobby Z wouldn't give up the "Secret Sauce" to Darling Nikki.

For me this is is main legacy. The playing on his best records is incredible. There are bass and guitar licks on certain songs that no one may ever figure out unless Prince reveals how he did them. He doesn't get enough credit among musicians for innovating so much on bass, guitar and drums.

What about Darling Nikki? Is this something that came up on the spreecast?

eoin said:

Really? He's listening? Really?

I'm wondering how long this lasts before he gets bored with it. Certainly dragging it out already. Launch the damn website, be done with it.

Just sayin,

• I will buy CDs (just because I am a completist for my CD collection)
• FIRST in line to buy ANY concert DVDs (bring them on...........)
• I dont have a problem with iTunes - my entire music collection (not just Mr Purple) is on my ipod which is great and always ready to go
• I shall buy concert tickets when he comes back to Oz - this time I will go to more concert

I'd like to hear some of the lost Time music in the vaults, Roadhouse Garden, and while I'd like an album.....I'll be happy if he just puts out a lot of songs. And my top would be downloads of all of his concerts.

Stuff, just like the NPGMC store.

I hope he has a link for a store merch where we can purchase music, cds, dvds, and T-shirts, tickets, etc, etc.

I'd buy:

Music - Physical CDs preferred, but I'd settle for FLAC or 320 mp3 if need be

Videos (whether they be live concerts, rehearsals, documentaries, or music video collections) - Physical DVDs only

Pre-sale Concert Tix and/or Private Paisley Park Party Tix - Just like with the NPGMC and Lotusflow3r sites, give members first crack at premium seating. It would be beyond awesome if we were allowed to attend soundchecks again, although I'm not sure if Prince would be as open to that these days. My ultimate pipe dream would be backstage passes (yeah, right).

No merchandise, unless we could "buy" it via "points" we accumulate through purchases of any/all of the above items. (P wouldn't go for that, I reckon.)

I'd buy new music, vault material, remasters, live shows & music videos on CD, vinyl, DVD or Bluray. I would pay higher than the market standards of a "fair price" for these

I would only pay for downloads IF it was the only way to get the material AND the price was very low. Also, the quality would have to be high, 320kbps mp3 at minimum, lossless would be the way to go (especially for an artists who claims digital doesn't sound good).

I would also pay for some retro style t-shirts with designs from years (and tours) past. I would only pay fair price for these though, nothing expensive.

It is unlikely that I would pay to join a club or site. It's possible I would change my mind if the material offered was just to good to pass up, but, I would wait and see how it worked out for others before I'd trust such a venture. Instead of charging membership fees it would be much better to GIVE memberships to anyone who spent a specified minimum amount at an online store or website.

[Edited 1/25/13 20:51pm]

[Edited 1/25/13 20:53pm]

djThunderfunk said:

I'd buy new music, vault material, remasters, live shows & music videos on CD, vinyl, DVD or Bluray. I would pay higher than the market standards of a "fair price" for these

I would only pay for downloads IF it was the only way to get the material AND the price was very low. Also, the quality would have to be high, 320kbps mp3 at minimum, lossless would be the way to go (especially for an artists who claims digital doesn't sound good).

I would also pay for some retro style t-shirts with designs from years (and tours) past. I would only pay fair price for these though, nothing expensive.

It is unlikely that I would pay to join a club or site. It's possible I would change my mind if the material offered was just to good to pass up, but, I would wait and see how it worked out for others before I'd trust such a venture. Instead of charging membership fees it would be much better to GIVE memberships to anyone who spent a specified minimum amount at an online store or website.

[Edited 1/25/13 20:51pm]

[Edited 1/25/13 20:53pm]

Member discounts

What I would like to buy:

Vault material--anything that he didn't release that got finished (or pretty near). I'm not horribly interested in his going back and redoing or sanitizing just so I have an actual released (oh, ferinstance) "Extraloveable." I'm not exactly saying I wish the new one didn't exist, but what I really want is the original. Maybe that Prince is dead, but the one who's alive now is in charge of the dead guy's legacy, and that's best represented, in my opinion, by decent sounding tracks, especially since so much is out there anyway in lesser quality.

Also, let us hear those protege tracks before Prince's vocals got replaced. I've always really wanted to hear Prince on "Cool"--not doing it live, now, but back in 1981. I know some of this vault stuff (even stuff that's gotten out) might not still be in existence (or in Prince's possession, possibly), but how's it hurt him to let it out? If he can, if it's still there--release it.

Obviously, albums that were finished or nearly so--The Flesh, Flash, those Madhouses. I get it, maybe they weren't everything he wanted them to be, and no, they're not going to zoom to the top of any charts now.

Old live videos and audio: sure--but full shows; don't Frankenstein monster something--most of us have been to (or been exposed to through boots) enough shows to know that the live things Prince has done so far are hurt by the editing and cobbling done to them. Leave the flaws--they are part of the actual flow of the real show.

New Material: Yes. I want it. New studio tracks; live releases (bootleggers are gonna be releasing the Dakota shows--we know Prince has them, surely he could finish them and release them before they do? I know I'd gladly pay him for them).

Okay, maybe he doesn't really want to do albums. But single songs, even when they're coming drip, drip, drip every few days is kind of silly--and more fun probably from the other side than from the consumer side. I work 12-hour days with my wife in a pre-school and have a 7-year old daughter--and neither my wife or my daughter has much interest in Prince. So I have to carve time to listen or watch, and I'd prefer fuller experiences when I do take that time than some grab bag of things he's let out the couple of weeks that don't have any real connection: maybe 2 or three live tracks from different bands and eras, an old vault track and a new track from last week and a rehearsal video? Oh, I might like them all, but I'd really rather have little packages of stuff that goes together.

Ten to 15 track packages would be nice for vault material, or for new studio. I'd prefer physical format, but I'd accept high quality mp3s.

Live should be complete shows, and he should make representative shows available from current and recent tours. I don't know that I need tons of videos--it's much easier to listen while I'm doing other activities. But I would like to hear what others are getting to actually experience. Again, don't waste time with them. It's a document of a performance--you played what you played, you said what you said.

How much would I pay? Something reasonable. Look, if he's getting most of the money, and much of this is for old work (or live work that he's already really gotten paid for and this is really just extra), it doesn't make sense for him to charge huge amounts. Besides, if you spread it out and do it regularly--I'm a typical idiot. I'll pay you $10-20 every 2 or 3 weeks if what I'm getting is more or less what I want, and I'm pretty sure the next time you offer something I'll know in general what it is. It's not a real risk. If you hype something up, with no real idea of what's really involved, and want me to pay a larger amount (like, say $77), I don't always even have the option of being that idiot.

I strongly suspect the "pay what you think it's worth" model would work for Prince if he tried it.

djThunderfunk said:

I'd buy new music, vault material, remasters, live shows & music videos on CD, vinyl, DVD or Bluray. I would pay higher than the market standards of a "fair price" for these

I would only pay for downloads IF it was the only way to get the material AND the price was very low. Also, the quality would have to be high, 320kbps mp3 at minimum, lossless would be the way to go (especially for an artists who claims digital doesn't sound good).

I would also pay for some retro style t-shirts with designs from years (and tours) past. I would only pay fair price for these though, nothing expensive.

It is unlikely that I would pay to join a club or site. It's possible I would change my mind if the material offered was just to good to pass up, but, I would wait and see how it worked out for others before I'd trust such a venture. Instead of charging membership fees it would be much better to GIVE memberships to anyone who spent a specified minimum amount at an online store or website.

[Edited 1/25/13 20:51pm]

[Edited 1/25/13 20:53pm]

Had a few more thoughts:

It doesn't always have to be albums, but, collections are preferable to single tracks.

I could go for E.P's. Collections of 5 or 6 tracks of related material would be cool.

Maxi-singles would be nice. Not the 3 or 4 dj remixes of the same song type, but rather the kind that might have a single (edit) version, an extended (full-length) version, maybe a remix, and of course a b-side or two.

I prefer albums over individual songs. But a collection on a CD offer and individual songs sold via on line would suite both kinds of people.

Would like to buy Blueray discs of concerts(Montreux, Musicology, Lovesexy etc.).

Something similar to the NPGMC would be great.

a song a day for .99 per download!! It can be a mixture of studio, live, rehearsal, remix. Thats $7.00 a week and we could have a overload and Prince would be everyone's hero again and plus he would be CRAZY RICH!! Everyone is happy!! Keep the songs up for limited time only so it keeps everyone coming back daily/weekly for the new tunes. DVD dowloads or physical mail order would be great too!! The more the better. If he did this he could then tour for a cheap rate ticket rate as he would be PAID from the downloads and the touring would be a GREAT way to attract more people to his site and new music. It could be INCREDIBLE!! He would EASILY be the highest paid Musician year end and year out and would completely break a new ground.