Does anyone remember Prince doing that pointless interview a few months back where he dissed the PR remaster, then complained that it took too long to release albums? He was obviously talking about AOA.

My take is once again, without anyone forcing him to, he signed with WB and now feels trapped in a CON-tract. It baffles me that folks think that Prince isn't concerned with chart success or money. It appears to be his main motivation these days combined with control. Every single thing has to be in its right place, or you get this diva act from the guy.

I honestly don't care if he has no social media presence, so long as he starts releasing albums at a regular schedule that are decent or good. I don't see good things coming from the WB deal though, and I seriously don't Prince got the upperhand on WB, whatever the contract was that he re-signed. I would fathom, WB will best him. And of course, his dwindling fanbase will be made to pay the price.

Meh. It's Prince. Not a terribly spectacular human being, but at least he puts out some great albums here and there, between crap.

I'm sure it'll be discussed soon enough, there could be any number of reasons why he did it. As long as he's happy and still doing what he loves, the business side of it is probably draining and soul sucking.. and if there were haters giving him a hard time, they weren't going to buy his music anyway.

He can always book more shows, license them out to cover costs, put new songs out here and there as he had been doing. Host more PPAD events and have the fans come in and expect the unexpected, release songs on any label he wants, but it's interesting that he's been looking to the past, whether it's acknowledging Jill Jones on FB or revamping some of his old songs.

Remasters are for the digital era and HD downloads, the question is whether some of the WB era reissues are going to be extended versions because he can now put 20 minute songs out and at the time, he had limited space on vinyl to work with.

Interesting times ahead. He's already put a lot of work in touring and new music for the past few years that he deserves a break.

MIRvmn said:

[Edited 11/27/14 13:35pm]

He will be back when he has something to sell.. he is very good at marketing his product.. and most of us suckers will buy it. Im thinking if he wants to be gone so much.. lets give him what he wants

I think both Warner and Prince expected much more. Warner probably confronted him on lack of sales, the fingers started pointing, and then out of anger or retaliation, he pulls down everything that could still help profits for himself and warner. I guess history repeats itself, I wonder what he will write on his face this time. I don't blame warner, Prince got the best deal in history this time with them, got his masters back, all his demands met, etc. I would concerned too if I were Warner. Of course all just speculation, and it's a shame that he doesn't seem to be able to work better with the folks that actually do know how to promote an album.

Peace

MamaLisa said:

He will be back when he has something to sell.. he is very good at marketing his product.. and most of us suckers will buy it. Im thinking if he wants to be gone so much.. lets give him what he wants

Like AOA and PL??

leadline said:

Some Insiders on this org have the Clue in reply of our questions/speculations (PR DELUXE PROJECT...)...it is a pity that they don't want to share....

Here is an online article from yesterday about this occurance:

Prince vanishes from social media

November 26, 2014

• 

New York (AFP) - Prince, whose distaste for the music industry's conventions is well known, has abruptly disappeared from social media after tentative efforts to promote his two new albums.

Related Stories

As of late Tuesday, the megastar's Twitter and Facebook accounts had both disappeared and almost all videos from his official account had been taken off YouTube.

Prince offered no immediate commentary -- on social media or elsewhere -- on the reasons for the action.

But Prince's two latest albums, which he released simultaneously in September, remained on the streaming service Spotify.

The move puts Prince at odds with most musicians, both newcomers and longtime stars, who have considered social media a virtual obligation to reach out to fans.

A number of stars -- most famously Taylor Swift -- have criticized Spotify, accusing it of insufficient payouts to artists, but have nonetheless invested sustained energy in Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Recording artist Prince (L) and singer Mary J. Blige perform onstage during the 2012 iHeartRadio performance.

Prince had entered social media to promote the latest two albums but had barely disguised his lack of enthusiasm. He advertised a Facebook question-and-answer session after he joined the site but, after hours of queries, he responded to just one -- an esoteric matter about audio tuning -- by offering a link to an article.

The "Purple Rain" legend is known for bristling at the commercial advice of the music industry. Two decades ago, he wrote "slave" on his cheek and changed his name to the unpronounceable "love symbol" to protest his contractual terms with Warner Brothers.

But Prince returned to Warner Brothers for his latest two albums -- "Art Official Age" and "Plectrumelectrum," the latter performed with the all-female trio 3rdEyeGirl.

Prince was an early proponent of the Internet but later campaigned to crack down on unauthorized use of his songs.

Prince released his last album in 2010 on a CD distributed as an insert to several European newspapers.

In an interview at the time with one of the newspapers, Britain's Daily Mirror, Prince declared the Internet to be "completely over" and said of digital gadgets: "They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."

http://ekstrabladet.dk/fl...er/5325342


^ the danish tabloid ekstrabladet.dk did also write about this issue today..

to that tabloid.....


its an ugly, awful "paper", full of filth + always negative towards Prince, all the way even since the 80s (afaik).

I guess he accidentally deleted the ORG for a while too.

BartVanHemelen said:

fnksoul said:

I am dealing with that I know it would never happen, that was my point, he isnt bothered about the money

.

Oh he is (just go read his recent interviews), but he just doesn't feel he has gotten the right offers yet. Just look at all the crapola WBR had to do to get The Hits/The B-Sides released. Look at the deal to release The Black Album. It's always about money (and control) and about how Prince thinks they're trying to pull a fast one on him.

.

And he doesn't seem to realise the contents of that vault get worth less and less each year, especially considering the current technological advances combined with the trends WRT music consumption.

.

He should have cashed in long ago.

Vaults are interesting. One thing to notice is that there are now many acts that distribute all or allmost all of their concerts online. Metallica has done this since 2003, Kiss has been selling shows also Robbie Williams, Pearl jam and many others. However, we for example know that Metallica has virtually every show it has ever done recorded but everything done before they started their LiveMetallica -thing 2003 is given free and in a very random way. Springsteen also does this in more limited form. The question is that if these acts that own and manage all their rights and material decide that only new material is worth paying and older stuff should be free curiosity - well then all the vaults are essentially worthless. Giving fans a change to buy the show they attended is the business - not the vaults.

mtkmmt said:

The question is that if these acts that own and manage all their rights and material decide that only new material is worth paying and older stuff should be free curiosity - well then all the vaults are essentially worthless.

Seeling a recent show to a `fan` is a quick buck.

Vault tracks require more than the casual `fam`.

That is the basis for their busines model.

.

So vault tracks are not worthless. They are harder to market to the causal fan.

Hardcore people will buy the complete vault in 320 Kbit mp3 for $1000/€1000 in a heartbeat.

(assuming ~1000 songs and thus paying $1/€1 each; per song purchases will of course command a higher price)

Anything to do with Ferguson ?

The dates match.

theonly4ever said:

Anything to do with Ferguson ?

The dates match.

I'm sorry, but, I have to laugh everytime someone says this...

IF this had to do with Ferguson, it's a big FAIL. Because, if it's about Ferguson but he doesn't say it's about Ferguson then nobody knows about Ferguson and therefore it's not really about Ferguson...

Or rather, A protest that nobody knows is a protest is not an effective protest.

So, no, it is not about Ferguson.

theonly4ever said:

Anything to do with Ferguson ?

The dates match.

JW's don't care about the real world.

KingSausage said:

I'm taking a nasty dump right now. My dump has more to do with Ferguson than Prince's social media tantrum.

Other news from a familiar website tells us that the twitter part of this drama might be part of a trend that is just a sign of the times:
.

About Those Eyeball-Based Valuations: "Half Of Twitter Accounts Created In 2013 Have Already Been Deleted"

KingSausage said:

I'm taking a nasty dump right now. My dump has more to do with Ferguson than Prince's social media tantrum.

KingSausage said:

I'm taking a nasty dump right now. My dump has more to do with Ferguson than Prince's social media tantrum.

What's to explain? He created his accounts to promote AOA and PE. The promotion ended or it didn't work as well as he had hoped, so he no longer needs to keep the accounts. It's not like he communicates with fans because he likes them personally. His relationship with fans is a business relationship.

The only relantionship he ever had with his "fans" was with Mayte.

I think Prince is one of the few artists who has shown little love to his fans.

feeluupp said:

The only relantionship he ever had with his "fans" was with Mayte.

I think Prince is one of the few artists who has shown little love to his fans.

I disagree. He opens up Paisley Park for his fans and will basically perform for free. Name me another major artist who does anything close to that.

Could Prince be more open to his fans? Absolutely. But this is who he is. He is a very private person who likes to do his own thing. The LAST thing he wants is to be like everyone else.

[Edited 11/28/14 15:45pm]

This is pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts were all part of the WB Deal. Like his contract stated that he had to have a social media presence for a minimum of 90 days, and the second those 90 days were up he pulled the plug.

To me,Prince is just not a 'social media' type of person.Unlike many other artists/celebritities,he doesn't know how to use it to his advantage,and how to properly promote himself/his music that way.Plus,I don't think he likes to see any negative opinions about himself.It's probably best that he stays away from the Internet altogether

He was posting alot, changing his FB cover and profile page every few days lately.

I liked the facebook page, but I feel his Instagram account was the best. Oh well.