I have paid for any and all official releases from or related to Prince since 1978 and will continue to do so as long as I am able.

Hellllls Yes i would pay for them . It would be great to include a picture booklet and info about the sessions of these songs . He could release at least two of these projects a year and would never go hungry.

I would be quite happy to pay Prince for this music, even if it was digital only, no art or anything.

Absolutely, if they were released in studio quality.

Of course!

Bambi82 said:

Absolutely, if they were released in studio quality.

me too

Only if they are not chopped up, I want the original recordings....

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Yeah, I think I'm the same as the majority of people here. Once an official version of something is released that you may have stumbled across somehow then Prince should be paid - simple common sense and reward for artistic endeavour for someone who who all, as we are here, revere (if that isn't too strong a word!!)

Regardless of all the noise you hear on this site, most of us have spent the past twenty-five years or so trading for and purchasing bootlegs only to purchase something, again, when it became available as an official. So, yeah, I'd pay for official releases of bootlegs, though I'm mostly interested in live stuff rather than studio stuff. I mostly collect studio stuff just to have in my collection as I've only loved about ten percent of the studio stuff I've gotten, and that includes 80s era stuff. But, for quality live video and audio, I'd sell my neighbor's kidney to purchase that stuff.

I would. Prince still holds the trump card because he can add packaging, liner notes, photos, interview tracks, etc. But he does need to ACTUALLY incude nice versions of those things. Truth is, we've got some form of most of the bootlegs we want, so few people are going to run out and pay for them if there isn't an additional incentive.

'Mos 'def.

Without a doubt!

tatocorcu said:

It's obviously up to Prince what music he wants to release and what he wants to keep, but the last series of bootlegs has made me think about this. Last week I would have paid him money for a great sounding version of Moonbeam Levels and Purple Music, or for The Flesh. And I didn't even know of Kiss Me Quick and Don't let Him Fool Ya, and again I would have downloaded them straight away from iTunes or similar. But now I have these things, so would I still pay for them if he decided to release them tomorrow? I think I still would, as I feel it is the right thing to do (if you use a service or a commodity you pay for it), but how do people feel? And is Prince losing a lot of money by keeping his music in the vault?

I would buy every track I already have a bootleg of with a big fat smile on my face...

I would be all "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!" like Fry in that pix.

djThunderfunk said:

I would buy every track I already have a bootleg of with a big fat smile on my face...

Preach it

I have paid for every official release, even for the lousy websites ( and a T-shirt I never got)

and I will continue to do so !

[Edited 11/13/14 0:43am]

Absolutely... that's the difference between piracy and bootlegging.

Piracy is the copying of music/material that is readily available for purchase, where bootlegging has always been a fan thing. Technically, by bootlegging rules, you shouldn't be sharing in/enjoying unreleased material until you own everything by the artist that is availalble, and then only through free sharing, no profit involved, and you should buy that material should it become officially available.

I really wish Prince and/or Warners would take a lead from Bob Dylan and Columbia Records. The Bob Dylan Bootleg Series, now on its 11th volume, is an absolute treasure trove of material, beautifully pacakged and presented. It's become an entirely new arm of Dylan's legacy, with fans discussing what they hope to see next in the series just as much as his new material.

Columbia have also started a Bootleg Series for Miles Davis, showing that you don't have to be a 'mainstream' artist for these projects to make a profit, thus making them worthwhile ventures for the artist/label.

All Prince's talk of 'I don't look back' pales in comparison to Dylan's approach on that matter (hell, there was an early documentary even titled 'Don't Look Back'.) Dylan's made a career out of forging forward to the next sound, the next song, without pandering to the crowd in hi setlists, etc, and yet he can see the good that a Bootleg Series does. He doesn't have to personally endorse it to benefit from it. And the fans benefit perhaps the most.

This is what Prince should be doing, in my opinion. Organising the back catalogue in this way, playing the legacy card alongside the fresh new material. Hopefully that's where the Purple Rain remaster might take us, the beginnings of that path.

Fingers crossed.

Obviously- Yes!

Yes, but for a proper official CD version to add to my collection.

Digital releases are not my cup of tea.

He tried that with Crystal Ball, and the results were sloppy and dissatisfying.

I'd rather some thought go into presenting the tracks in a context. So either a particular unreleased album (or configuration) or simply chronologically, so you'd have a set that focused on The Revolution era, or The (original) NPG era, pre-1999 etc. Or even easier - as bonus discs on remasters (pretty please?!)

I don't think there's a fan alive though who wouldn't gladly throw their cash at Prince to release this stuff.

[Edited 11/13/14 3:21am]

Pay? Yes. Of course:

I support the artists,

I am still buying cd's, vinyls, iTunes songs - and other official downloads..

when I sometimes "take" music it's because the songs aren't released officially.

Yes. Without a doubt.