NouveauDance said:

RODSERLING said:

Don't forget the BCW video ! 3.6 millions of views on youtube

Again, only kinda promo for the album since it was an entirely standalone single until we saw the album tracklist a month before the album. In hindesight, we hope someone might remember the tiny blip of media attention the Dave Chappelle single cover got and they might remember the song title if they see it on the album tracklist. A stretch, but that's about as far as I could say BCW as a standalone single was promo for the album.

.

To me, promo for the album is promotional activities tied directly to the albums (pre- and post-)release. General TV apperances and such months or years before the album is even mentioned and he's not actually promoting anything, just appearing, aren't really servicing this album other than keeping his face out there. Going on a talkshow, having the host hold up a copy of the album and announce it's title and release date, then Prince performing a song from that record - that's promotion. Releasing and promoting a single from the album shortly ahead or after the album drops is promoting the album. A tour called "Art Official Age Tour" or whatever is promoting the album.

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As it stands there's been some posters, bullboards and magazine ads? Probably all thanks to Warners. Prince has done... an embarassingly amateurish yahoo stream seen by a handful of diehard fans who most likely already pre-ordered the album or had fully intended to buy it regardless of quality. And he thinks that's job done?

I was just joking.

I am the dude that since the announcement of the album predict there won't be any kind of promotion for the albums. They released 2 albums, and they doesn't receive 1 % of an usual album promotion.

But there has been loads of promo... for 3rdeyegirl.

Interviews all over the place, magazine and newspaper coverage, red carpets, parties. Prince seems disinterested in promoting his own offering and keen to send these guys in his place.

Problem is, nobody really cares about 3rdeye... they just want the girls to dish on Prince. And they don't. It's all quite dull.

Prince really needs to stop it with the proteges. AOA is a great album but its getting no traction.

Another inkling of a thought I have is that Prince no longer wants to be Prince anymore. He wants to be that teacher that he spoke of on the Arsenio show. 3rdeyegirl and Josh are his students and he has used his name to help promote them, but these are their projects as schooled by Prince.... Maybe AOA is more of a Josh album than we realise. Songs written by Prince and passed onto the student to make of what he wants with them.... Perhaps this is the future now. Prince schooling others in the art.

Rebeljuice said:

Another inkling of a thought I have is that Prince no longer wants to be Prince anymore. He wants to be that teacher that he spoke of on the Arsenio show. 3rdeyegirl and Josh are his students and he has used his name to help promote them, but these are their projects as schooled by Prince.... Maybe AOA is more of a Josh album than we realise. Songs written by Prince and passed onto the student to make of what he wants with them.... Perhaps this is the future now. Prince schooling others in the art.

It does seem that Josh is being "Groomed" time will tell how long it lasts though. I guess he has to leave his Vault material in some capable eventually.

fnksoul said:

Rebeljuice said:

Another inkling of a thought I have is that Prince no longer wants to be Prince anymore. He wants to be that teacher that he spoke of on the Arsenio show. 3rdeyegirl and Josh are his students and he has used his name to help promote them, but these are their projects as schooled by Prince.... Maybe AOA is more of a Josh album than we realise. Songs written by Prince and passed onto the student to make of what he wants with them.... Perhaps this is the future now. Prince schooling others in the art.

It does seem that Josh is being "Groomed" time will tell how long it lasts though. I guess he has to leave his Vault material in some capable eventually.

Indeed. But we all know Prince has the attention span of a two year old. He gets bored very quickly.

RODSERLING said:

I was just joking.

It's difficult to tell on here!

At this point, I realize could do 75 talk shows, release 10 promo videos from an album, have TV ads and naked girls with the album's title painted on their tits run across the streets of every major city in the world, that some people here would still be claiming there is a "lack of promo". In a similar manner, AOA could sell 25 million copies and some people here would still claim it was only a moderate success, if not a commercial failure. The level of bad faith on this forum would make Goebbels sound like the most honest person on Earth!

databank said:

At this point, I realize could do 75 talk shows, release 10 promo videos from an album, have TV ads and naked girls with the album's title painted on their tits run across the streets of every major city in the world, that some people here would still be claiming there is a "lack of promo". In a similar manner, AOA could sell 25 million copies and some people here would still claim it was only a moderate success, if not a commercial failure. The level of bad faith on this forum would make Goebbels sound like the most honest person on Earth!

But there's virtually no airplay other than snippets here & there as background music. Even my local radio station is using FnR in their promotions, but they're not playing his whole songs. I don't get it.

Think maybe WB said, 'yea, we'll distribute & provide some limited promo, but don't expect any airplay."

NouveauDance said:

RODSERLING said:

I was just joking.

It's difficult to tell on here!

Sadly, I agree

databank said:

At this point, I realize could do 75 talk shows, release 10 promo videos from an album, have TV ads and naked girls with the album's title painted on their tits run across the streets of every major city in the world, that some people here would still be claiming there is a "lack of promo". In a similar manner, AOA could sell 25 million copies and some people here would still claim it was only a moderate success, if not a commercial failure. The level of bad faith on this forum would make Goebbels sound like the most honest person on Earth!

That's not bad faith but the truth : there is no promo.

Emancipation, Musicology and 3121 for instance benefited from a LOT of promo. Prince always benefited from a lot of promotion when he were at WB.

Why should he ... he already got paid for them .... why give a shit ...... I would do little as I could "aslong I get paid" !!

I am Prince bitches !!!

fans will always support his music !!

There's no black TV show to go on, which Prince prefers (Oprah, Arsenio, Tavis) or even an old trusted friend like Jay Leno to visit.

RODSERLING said:

databank said:

At this point, I realize could do 75 talk shows, release 10 promo videos from an album, have TV ads and naked girls with the album's title painted on their tits run across the streets of every major city in the world, that some people here would still be claiming there is a "lack of promo". In a similar manner, AOA could sell 25 million copies and some people here would still claim it was only a moderate success, if not a commercial failure. The level of bad faith on this forum would make Goebbels sound like the most honest person on Earth!

That's not bad faith but the truth : there is no promo.

Emancipation, Musicology and 3121 for instance benefited from a LOT of promo. Prince always benefited from a lot of promotion when he were at WB.

Yes but I was on the Org at this point (well for the last 2, the Org didn't xist in 96) and I remember people already complained about the lack of promotion, and still complain about those album's "poor sales".

First, to have a worlwide top ten or top 20 album is very good...The best thing is that he finally got some very good reviews in big magazines or the papers...

In germany three of the biggest papers reported about the album and praised it a lot...

But still...always a sad thing to see him making that strange moves...

Of course, he as one of the best performers, could perform on SNL or Jimmy Fallon`s tonight show and

people would hear the new music...

He did it for Rock and Roll love affair on kimmel or screwdriver on fallon...so why not this time?

Why not a video before the release?

Maybe like some said the warner deal changed all his former plans..?.

Or he believed all the promo or internet activity in the last months would be enough...?

Maybe there is more coming, but the momentum you need in todays music world, is gone after the first weeks if you don`t have a hit single...

What does he have to Promote?

The albums are out now. There are a few songs on youtube if you want to hear them, there is a video for BCW and another for PE. He toured in the early half of the year. Did a big american talkshow. There has been a fair amount of press, fans are hailing AOA as a return to form (for real). The yahoo live event, and the albums are in the top 10/top 20 so they're front page on iTunes and in Prime retail positions. Radio2 and 6Music are all over the new albums.

The videos aren't in heavy rotation because WB likely aren't pushing them. Why would they when they have other artists they can push and make more money from?

Would Prince going on a talkshow really help the album sales? Plus it looks like they're going to tour again soon enough... So it doesn't really matter if sales fall off because it'll re-enter the charts as he tours (in europe at least).

Prince sees himself as above promotion, and to be honest, he kind of is.

Rebeljuice said:

Another inkling of a thought I have is that Prince no longer wants to be Prince anymore. He wants to be that teacher that he spoke of on the Arsenio show. 3rdeyegirl and Josh are his students and he has used his name to help promote them, but these are their projects as schooled by Prince.... Maybe AOA is more of a Josh album than we realise. Songs written by Prince and passed onto the student to make of what he wants with them.... Perhaps this is the future now. Prince schooling others in the art.

I guess people forgot that he DID do Arsenio with 3rd Eye Girl before the show went off the air, which he announced his social media (promo) accounts on.

He really should have a made a video for "Clouds".That song has potential as a single.

MattyJam said:

Prince sees himself as above promotion, and to be honest, he kind of is.

No artist is "above" promotion.If you want a hit record,you gotta work for it.This applies to every artist.

madison said:

Why should he ... he already got paid for them .... why give a shit ...... I would do little as I could "aslong I get paid" !!

I am Prince bitches !!!

fans will always support his music !!

I dont know about that. If he had already been paid, then surely WB would be pushing more to recoup their outlay. If he was being paid upfront, Im sure his asking price is quite high. Say it is $2m. Then WB would need to sell nearly 170,000 copies at an average price of $12 per album. And that is just to recoup the outlay. You have to take manufacturing and distribution off the top of that.

The figures I have seen do not even come close to that which would mean WB would be taking a big hit on these albums.

Speculation, of course, as ever...

SoulAlive said:

Warners must be pulling their hair out. No tv, no interviews; Prince says he wants sales. Does he?

Do Morning Joe.

Prince is probably in the studio mixing the NPGQ album with John Blackwell, Andrew Gouche, Xavier and Marcus Anderson and moving forward with plans for new albums for related artists. I would love to hear the NPGQ record but how will it be released: through Kobalt or WB. Bottom line, I'm interested in his next album or tour. Promo for these albums should have been in advance a month before September 30.

2freaky4church1 said:

Warners must be pulling their hair out. No tv, no interviews; Prince says he wants sales. Does he?

Added to siggy. No TV*, no interviews.. hell, nothing even remotely engaging like the Facebook question session. (*He did Arsenio and that cameo on New Girl but it was months ahead of the release.)

2freaky4church1 said:

Warners must be pulling their hair out. No tv, no interviews; Prince says he wants sales. Does he?

*

How much of this is Warner Bros. fault? I'm not trying to be sarcastic or flip? As much as I love AOA and really like PlecElec, I'm amazed that after the Clive Davis deal went sour that compaines are willing to work with Prince. I can only assume that Warners Bros. is doing this because they want to be able to reissue Purple Rain, about which I care nothing, but that's the only reason of which I can think that they would work with Prince again. So, if they are "pulling their hair out," which means that they would also be surprised that Prince isn't promoting the record, how foolish does this make them? Again, I'm glad that I have the albums, but I'm amazed that Warner Bros. or any other record company would sign a deal with Prince without including in the deal mandatory promotion. They must be really banking on that Purple Rain reissue money.

emesem said:

SoulAlive said:

I wouldn't be surprised if Prince's attitude is..... "Why should I promote these records?!...they're on a major label and I don't wanna make those guys richer"

Which is comical since WB will likely be out of business in less than 5 years.

Warner Bros. is definitely a sinking ship these days.

SoulAlive said: