funksterr said:

alandail said:

do you mean his deal with Clive Davis where Clive Davis was fired the day the album was released and promotion from Arista was shelved. Prince gets blame for quite a few of his post WB projects bombing, but he should get a pass for the Rave problems. I'm not sure how the Revolution is geting screwed here, they will still get their royalties. If anything, it should make them some money. I do wonder about this being the 3rd announcement of a deal for a record company to release an album this year.

Prince became difficult and stopped promoting Rave when A&R didn't like the album. At the time there were stories written that part of why Clive got fired was the deal he cut for Rave with Prince. But even if we take Rave out of the equation Prince doesn't tend to play well with any of his business partners. Think of the various internet music clubs. Prince gets his check then he walks away. This WB announcement sounds like he has options to back out at any time. In that case we won't get anything but DJ Rashida remixes, censored tracks, live renditions featuring Maceo and Doug E. Fresh and unreleased material that no one ever requested ie TC Ellis outtakes. Or possibly stuff he already put out on Crystal Ball or The Vault. Electric Intercourse and the real Extra Loveable would be too much like right. He's stacked the deck against himself with this 3EG whack-fest, and when the project doesn't blow up in full he's going to quit WB again possibly without ever releasing a remastered PR.

Well, if that DOES happen, I hope Warner sues Prince into the ground.

Then I hope that Prince announce 51 dates in the o2, to refill his coffers. [Snip - wishing death on Prince? Are you serious? Inappropriate - Militant]

OnlyNDaUsa said:

paulludvig said:

Do we know that WB owns the vault material? He managed to release Crystal Ball with vault material without WB?

[Edited 4/19/14 7:57am]

that is what I take from what was said in the press releases. He may have had premission from WB for the ctystal ball?

But there was something in one of the stories: like "Including the songs recorded duing his time with WB."

I thought for a long time that P was allowed to use vault material but Alan Leeds once came here and explained that he actually can't: every studio and live track recorded between 1978 and 1996 belonged to WB until today.

He may have asked for their permission for Crystal Ball and the NPGMC vault tracks but my theory is that he fucked them over, plain and simple, and they just let it go to avoid more public embarrassment. If he'd obtained permission, CB would have certainly had to contain a line "courtesy of WB" and it didn't. If my theory is right, Prince really pushed it because he didn't just release unreleased tracks: CB contained previously released Good Love and several remixes of WB tracks, and NPGMC went as far as to rerelease the maxi version of Thieves In The Temple and Horny Pony. I think he tested WB's limits and I think they may have finally sent him a few C&D's after some time, something like "cut the crap and don't go and complain about it publicly and we'll let u get away with everything u've already released without our permission, but if u gonna make a fuss about it then see ya in court". This may explain the unexplained cancellation of Roadhouse Garden then CBII, as well as NPGMC abruptly changing its format after the first year. Of course P has a history of cancelling projects at the last minute so it could just be he changed his mind, and anyway all of the above is pure speculation, but what we know for a fact is what Alan Leeds said, and P getting his whole catalogue back from WB this years means he's now absolutely free to open the vault if he so wishes (but does he?).

About the above (Prince messing up with every partners so far and cancelling half of the projects he announces), I understand the doubts. Where's Montreux 2009? Where's PlectrumElectrum? What will become of the new deals with Kobalt and Sony? From our perspective this is all a huge mess with no logic and many announcements ending-up in a dead end (and I think we're still all burnt by the Lotuscam.com disaster). But as said above WB will want this to work, and they have an experience of dealing with Prince (at least as a company, for I doubt any of the people who dealt with P from 78 to 96 are still there), so it may turn-up well.

I'd be tempted to say that it's Prince's last chance to redeem himself with his fans, so hopefully he won't spoil it.

And once again, NO HE WON'T TEMPER WITH THE SEX/RUDE LYRICS.

But the whole project could indeed go to hell before we know it.

I suppose if the record company financed those recording sessions then they might very well own the "sound recordings". I don't think they own the compositions as such, so that's something that has allowed Prince to release re-recorded versions of his older unreleased stuff (e.g. "In A Large Room With No Light").

Regardless, I don't think WB can own every demo and sketchy recording Prince might have done during his time with them. Just things that they can be proven to have "paid for". It might be a bit difficult for them to prove that things that were done in Paisley Park all alone by him should belong to them.

novabrkr said:

I suppose if the record company financed those recording sessions then they might very well own the "sound recordings". They do, for that reason precisely. I don't think they own the compositions as such No, of course they don't. , so that's something that has allowed Prince to release re-recorded versions of his older unreleased stuff (e.g. "In A Large Room With No Light").

Regardless, I don't think WB can own every demo and sketchy recording Prince might have done during his time with them. Just things that they can be proven to have "paid for". It might be a bit difficult for them to prove that things that were done in Paisley Park all alone by him should belong to them. Actually yes. WB paid some studio recordings but they also gave P advances to finances further recordings on his own, and anyway they were not really involved in financing his tours if I'm not mistaken and still, according to Alan Leeds they owned even the live recordings because Prince was under an EXCLUSIVE contract meaning that EVERYTHING he produced at this time belonged to them unless a deal was made between WB and another record company (for produced artists on other labels) and, curiolsy, most of the Paisley Park albums whose masters reverted to Prince when WB shut the label down (another Alan Leeds revelation).

I guess the problem really are the "advances" if they really own even the demos. Because then they are financing the whole creative process as such and that means they sort of owned everything that was happening inside Prince's head for a very long time. Considering he must have spent most of his days just playing and recording music that's what it practically meant in that case.

I don't really blame Prince if the deal really was so exclusive and he got angry about it in the end. It's a terrifying thought to me.

Oh no, they (Prince and WB) released "The Breakdown" as first single of this renewed cooperation... it should have been "We Can Work It Out"

roverlo said:

Oh no, they (Prince and WB) released "The Breakdown" as first single of this renewed cooperation... it should have been "We Can Work It Out"

novabrkr said:

I guess the problem really are the "advances" if they really own even the demos. Because then they are financing the whole creative process as such and that means they sort of owned everything that was happening inside Prince's head for a very long time. Considering he must have spent most of his days just playing and recording music that's what it practically meant in that case.

I don't really blame Prince if the deal really was so exclusive and he got angry about it in the end. It's a terrifying thought to me.

According to some (unverified) source, Prince didn't know he didn't own his masters (including unreleased) until about 1994 when he was trying to bail out: obviously he believed that he could take his catalogue with him if he'd leave WB and he was mad, almost crying, when he realized that they owned the stuff for good.

The thing is like it OR NOT Prince has to admit that Warner has the "Gold" he needs. Plain and simple, regardless of how he feels about them or labels in general, they have his work, and if he wants to push his new work, he needs something to get him the light again. And going on Arsenio or Jimmy Fallon aint going to do shit for that. He needs this "30th Anniversary" to work, he needs to be a "Nostalgia" whore from now on, he doesnt like to look back, we all get that, but thats your legacy right there, that is the only reason that you are who you are, PURPLE RAIN, i know that 1999 sold 2 million etc....but if PR wouldnt have happend he would have faded back into the clubs, which is fine, but we all know the reason he is still here is because of PR, even if you dont like to admit it, NONE of those albums after would have happend without this statement he made in 1984 with not just a mega album, but a mega movie and a mega MOVEMENT, lets not forget that the hysteria around him and others rivaled any other ICON.

Now as for the re-mastering of albums tours and new work, he needs to be a "professional". I think now at age 55 Prince is through with nonsense like signing and then walking away from things, like he did with RAVE which i can tell you left a bad taste in everyones mouth at any label, and was also the reason that SONY in 2004 had strict outlines in his contract, he had to do promo, he had to tour, and he tied that in, to what PURPLE RAIN 20th anniversary, so if you think that PRINCE can just do what he wants and play games again at a label, DONT. Prince needs this, and those HORRIBLE sounding albums need freaking remastering ASAP, everything up the 90's sounds like garbage, SIGN O THE TIMES is probably the worst sounding of them all, it sounds like Billy Joels 70's albums before he did re-mastering and got ownsership too.

First of all some are saying the "Remasters" are aimed at fans, PEOPLE all of this is aimed at his base! Who the hell still cares about this man but his loyal base that has been through it all? Purple Rain remaster, YES it may garner new interest in him of course, but his BASE is the only ones that are gonna buy a PARADE deluxe with B sides. I mean lets be real on this, this is HUGE for fans and Prince and WB, We get what we have been asking for, for AGES, possibly....WB gets to make EASY money with his approval, i mean all they are doing is packaging and putting it out and doing promo, its not like they are bankrolling him to make a bunch of albums that wont sell. And Prince will get back what he wants and need, his work, and to just finally live the legacy he created, as opposed to bad mouthing it at times, and distancing himself from it.

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

Questlove asking to help compile the album is kind of a insult to Prince specially when Prince didn't ask for it. That's like saying he can't do it on his own. It seems he wants to makes things about him and find a way to be a part of Prince history. I'm kinda tired to see his name pop up when he has nothing to do with the creation of Prince's music

[Edited 4/18/14 19:30pm]

Prince may not have asked for it but he needs it, and Questlove is the perfect person to do it.

Face it; Prince doesn't know what he's doing anymore.

If "The Breakdown" is an example of what we can expect from the new deluxe album remasters - he can lock them up in the vault and forget the code...

I will never understand the logic of this guy - He announces that the remasters are FINALLY coming after all these years - and then releases possibly the WORST mastered song of his entire career.

FunkyStrange said:

I will never understand the logic of this guy - He announces that the remasters are FINALLY coming after all these years - and then releases possibly the WORST mastered song of his entire career.

Silly one.. you still think you can understand Prince logic... HAHAHAHA

In light of this news, Prince being 'uninterested' in his past could work for us (and music history in general) - it could mean that he's gonna leave the remastering of his work to more able people, and just sit back and let the money roll in.

As for censored versions of these songs, like many have said, there's NO WAY that WB would have signed a deal that would let him do that. At most, he'll have veto power over what extras are included, which is not unreasonable. At the heart of it, we just need properly remastered versions of those albums... everything else is gravy.

PoorLonelyComputer said:

TrueFunkSoldier2 said:

Questlove asking to help compile the album is kind of a insult to Prince specially when Prince didn't ask for it. That's like saying he can't do it on his own. It seems he wants to makes things about him and find a way to be a part of Prince history. I'm kinda tired to see his name pop up when he has nothing to do with the creation of Prince's music

[Edited 4/18/14 19:30pm]

Prince may not have asked for it but he needs it, and Questlove is the perfect person to do it.

Face it; Prince doesn't know what he's doing anymore.

Some people just plain don't like Questlove... and for some reason are ticked off everytime he mentions Prince's name. To quote Prince "Talk to D'Angelo, or better yet, Questlove." And since, in the same song, Prince suggests that he "can't remember" songs he "wrote in '84"--somebody better be doing the work of compiling the thing.

Oh shit...its on and crakkin !!

I'm happy for our man Princeton.

Finally something to look forward to - remasters at last.

Dont post much anymore but, special day indeed.

Cosmic day actually.

Exciting times. Who knows how this will end, but it could be very, very good. Apart from SO many songs, Loversexy Dortmund needs to live again.

Alternatively they completely screw it up and the man gets over-commodotised via a series of blatant rip-off greatest hits "packages" and loses all his mystique. Wouldn't mind Questlove having a hand in some kind of editorial oversight here. I'm happy to help

If they want one person who will be objective over the remaster planning, they need someone who can bring oversight, of the era. Not Questlove, or Funkenberry, Larry or 3rd eye. They need to call Alan Leeds.

3rdeyeboy said:

If they want one person who will be objective over the remaster planning, they need someone who can bring oversight, of the era. Not Questlove, or Funkenberry, Larry or 3rd eye. They need to call Alan Leeds.

my pick would be susan rogers

IstenSzek said:

3rdeyeboy said:

If they want one person who will be objective over the remaster planning, they need someone who can bring oversight, of the era. Not Questlove, or Funkenberry, Larry or 3rd eye. They need to call Alan Leeds.

my pick would be susan rogers

Good call. Get a committee of Alan Leeds, Susan Rogers and Sheila E.

funksterr said:

laurarichardson said:

funksterr said:

I'm being honest and realistic. Not only is he screwing The Revolution out of this news, but he just bailed on agreements he had with one or possibly two other labels. I woud not be surprised at all, if that got messy. Then how long before he becomes dissatisfied with WB, which is not at all the same powernouse label it was in the 1980's. It's essentially a mom and pop operation at this point and it'sno guarantee that they can sell Prince's old music into the hundreds of millions of dollars that Prince is likely expecting. Prince being Prince, as soon as he doesn't get his way on something, he quits. Remember the Rave deal with Clive Davis when he sat on the sidelines and watched the record tank? Do you honestly think WB has a strong legal and binding contract with Prince that forces him to release all the original material in it's original form? And promote it? Is Purple Rain the movie finally getting a real remaster? Will we finally get that infamous "barn scene" from the WDC video? If so then the excitement is justified, but the announcement reads as though this agreement is sort of an at-will arrangement. In that case you only have to go back to the Kobalt announcement from not even a year ago, lol, to understand why I'm skeptical that we will actually get a no bullshit remaster of the good stuff.

----The truth of the matter is you have no idea if the revolution is being screwed or if he walked out on the Kobalt deal.Until yesterday we the public did not even know this was the works and none of know the terms of the deal. Bottom line Prince is winning and the fans are winning.

The fans are only winning when the goods get released. Track record is not good.

PoorLonelyComputer said:

laurarichardson said:

PoorLonelyComputer said:

Prince may not have asked for it but he needs it, and Questlove is the perfect person to do it.

Face it; Prince doesn't know what he's doing anymore.

-///---That is why he pulled off this deal because he does know what he is doing.

If he knew what he was doing, he wouldn't have signed a deal in 92 then spend 22 years having a tantrum about it, only to jump back into bed with them.

His obsession with the masters has brought him back to the table.

Ask yourself this.Having waited 22 years, and the 35 year rule kicking in with For You since last year, why not wait a few short years for full ownership?

WB have dangled a cash carrot again, and the donkey has come running. WB will suck one last drop of milk from the Purple teat, then hand him over his beloved masters. Win Win.

laurarichardson said:

PoorLonelyComputer said:

Prince may not have asked for it but he needs it, and Questlove is the perfect person to do it.

Face it; Prince doesn't know what he's doing anymore.

-///---That is why he pulled off this deal because he does know what he is doing.

3rdeyeboy said:

laurarichardson said:

PoorLonelyComputer said: -///---That is why he pulled off this deal because he does know what he is doing.

If he knew what he was doing, he wouldn't have signed a deal in 92 then spend 22 years having a tantrum about it, only to jump back into bed with them.

His obsession with the masters has brought him back to the table.

Ask yourself this.Having waited 22 years, and the 35 year rule kicking in with For You since last year, why not wait a few short years for full ownership?

WB have dangled a cash carrot again, and the donkey has come running. WB will suck one last drop of milk from the Purple teat, then hand him over his beloved masters. Win Win.

And what people dont wanna admit is PURPLE RAIN is all he has, yes 1999 was a big album sold 2 million had 3 top 10 hits etc...BUT alot of albums did that back then, 1999 was not a mega album to put him over the top. Purple Rain was the explosion he needed, and WB was helping him grow letting him grow that shit would never happen now, you cant be an artist and GROW with 6 albums, thats more than a career today, and for Prince those 6 albums were 6 years of work, nowadays you get one album out of an artist in 4 years at best an it has to be mega. But PR is Prince's calling card, in 2004 it IS what brought him back into the light, and now its doing it again, lets face it NO ONE was looking for him, he is just coming back into the realm of things his way.

POOK said:

WELL

POOK BETTER GET NOTHER JOB

TO PAY FOR ALL NEW STUFF!

Good god, you know this is big news when Pook wants to come down from the tree and pass comment or money.

Go Prince! Love it, love it!!!!!!!!!!! Chowah! Owah!