All right, guys. I started to post this in response to something over on the Kobalt deal announcement thread, but it was getting long and seemed like it might be an imposition on the thread. So I thought I'd bring it here, instead. Someone was going on about how little Prince sold anymore, and I was saying something else, and someone else said something else, and most of it was pretty familiar. But then I realized that Prince hasn't really released anything in years--at least not in a way that can result in good sales in today's digital world.

So--here's the post I started over on the other thread.

Just to make clear--I don't think the sales talk is very interesting, but since it keeps coming up, it seems that there's something missing from those discussions. Besides the fact that all Prince's peers have lower sales than at their heights, it's hard to even think of the last time Prince released an album for which sales weren't somehow affected by some factor that complicates their numbers--not the least of which being that he doesn't make them digitally available.

I'd said that Lotusflow3r was Prince's last real release, but then I realized that its sales were probably meaningless, too. You couldn't get Lotusflow3r digitally outside of the website membership, the CD was really cheap from one (but only one) retail outlet in the U.S., and then 2 different forms are released a half year later in France (?what about the rest of the world?). The more I think about it, the less that sounds like a release that means anything sales-wise. And since digital sales are the lion's share of sales anymore (at least that's what I understand from the music media these days), Prince's practice of not using iTunes and other real digital outlets (here today, gone tomorrow personal sites don't count) means his sales numbers are obviously going to stink. Yes, many of us here might prefer or even require physical media, but it's far more damaging to sales to cut out digital availability than to drop physical availability. What's really weird about Prince is that he messes with either the digital or physical availability of almost everyone of his releases.

I might be wrong about any part of this--and I have not yet installed iTunes on this computer (and I don't really want to), so I might miss something obvious--but let's look at things since 2000.

Rave in2 the Joy Fantastic--CD distribution to Music Club members. Digitally available through NPGMC store beginning in 2004 until website closed in 2006 (same as with all NPGMC store releases).

The Very Best of Prince--not relevant to discussion, but readily available physically and digitally.

The Rainbow Children--readily available on CD; digitally available through the NPGMC store.

One Nite Alone... --CD distribution to NPGMC members only; digitally available through the NPGMC store.

One Nite Alone... Live!--readily available on CD; digitally available through the NPGMC store.

Xpectation--no physical availability; digitally available through the NPGMC store.

N.E.W.S.--CD release primarily to NPGMC members (with limited retail); digitally available through the NPGMC store.

Musicology--readily available on CD, including concert giveaways; digitally available through the NPGMC store.

The Chocolate Invasion--no physical availability; digitally available through the NPGMC store.

The Slaughterhouse--no physical availability; digitally available through the NPGMC store.

C-Note--no physical availability; digitally available through the NPGMC store.

3121--readily available on CD; no digital availability.

Ultimate--not relevant to discussion, but readily available physically and digitally.

Planet Earth--readily available on CD (except in the UK, where it was available as a covermount and concert giveaway); readily available digitally.

Indigo Nights--only available as a CD included with 21 Nights book; no digital release.

Lotusflow3r--full 3-CD set available only in U.S. from Target, later available in 2-CD form in France--no further worldwide availability; digitally available only from Lotusflow3r.com as part of full $77 membership.

20Ten--physically available only as covermount in several European countries; no U.S. or further worldwide availability; no digital release.

So, if the above information is correct, let's see how "released" Prince's releases have been since the millenium. We can, I hope, agree to exclude the Warner Bros. hits collections, since they don't reflect either the popularity of Prince's more recent work or the effectiveness of his business/promotional choices. Several of these releases are currently unavailable legally in any form, but let's give credit for a legitimate commercial "release" for any album that was "readily available" in both physical and digital form at any time, however briefly. What are we left with?

Planet Earth.

Even then, the UK is left out of standard retail for physical, I think, but that looks about as close as we got to something nearly everybody could get in whichever form they wanted.

Wow. One. That surprises me.

[Edited 5/26/13 19:50pm]

Seems like you just spent a good amount of time reasoning out something that's basically a false premise that based on a manipulation of technicalities.

[Edited 5/26/13 20:44pm]