He just doesn't care, and it may never happen. The true demand for this stuff has gone way down. Work It 2.0 has 34 discs, and you could probably make 6 more discs of other leaks since then, and an aging fan base just doesn't buy music anymore on a large scale. Had he simply released an album every 3 years after Purple Rain, and kept the demand up, he could have made a 10 Disc Boxset in 2000, and another one in 2005 and 2009...that would have been around 15 or so official albums through 2009, and 30 discs of stuff for the diehards. Tony M would've been an outtake, his reputation as the cheesy corny guy would have only been on the outtake sets that would have been excused as filler for the diehards...and he would have made a ton of money. The artists who did not flood the market created demand, and sold a lot more. Prince could have had it both ways, he could have had millions more in sales, and better critical acclaim for more solid well rounded albums, and he could have released more music...yes, he could have had it both ways...

Instead, he flooded the market with official albums until the casual fan got bored and quit buying them. Sad, because his legacy will always be there, but it could have gone up multiple notches. Imagine "Kiss" being the first single from SOTT? It woulda been huge. Instead Kiss gets stuck on Parade, an album far too brilliant for the pop audience, and is mainly remembered for being attached to that movie that we only love and everybody else points to as the first Nuclear Bomb of his career.

From 1986 on, he only had a few 2 million selling albums, a few million, and a lot of gold or less. That's a fine career, but Prince blew it.

And now whatever market exists for his bootlegs is almost dried up.

He still makes good music. PE & AOA are fine albums that would have been a far better single disc. Spreading 93 minutes over two discs is stupid. And as much as I complain about the Auto Tune and young people sound effects, despite his pandering to young people who don't even buy his music...it was still pretty good. A legend, but a legend with a lot of warts that didn't have to be there.

So basically, he could have released lower numbers of official albums, but HUGE outtake sets. He would have had better sales, and also released more actual volumes of music.

Instead we got more official albums, but less music.

Still, he released more awesome songs than anyone...it's just the path he took after Purple Rain was not the smart one. But it's better than the path George Michael took. 3 albums of original material since Faith...but that's for a George Michael site. I could write for hours about how GM has wasted more talent than most could dream of having.

[Edited 1/18/15 7:35am]

stillwaiting said:

He just doesn't care, and it may never happen. The true demand for this stuff has gone way do

Still, he released more awesome songs than anyone...it's just the path he took after Purple Rain was not the smart one. But it's better than the path George Michael took. 3 albums of original material since Faith...but that's for a George Michael site. I could write for hours about how GM has wasted more talent than most could dream of having.

[Edited 1/18/15 7:35am]

If you would write for hours about anything GM related I would read it. I agree with you that he has wasted his talent but not in the same way. He has utilised his talent because recording doesn't feel like a chore for him, he hasn't surpressed his talent he writes and records music still. He just hasn't released this material because he is a perfectionist and seriously HATES the media and all the things that come with promoting music. The clues are all there from the patience era that he willy "slowly dissappear". What I don't understand though is why he just doesn't make songs just put them on his website to buy. He won't make millions doing so but he has more than enough money to sustain something like that.

When Prince was on "The View" the last time one of the women asked him if he was going to ever release the music in his vault. And he replied.."Someone will" From there I got worried because I would hate for him to pass on without releasing the material.As for me, even though I have many bootlegs I don't pay for his bootlegs and I certainly don't ask anyone to pay me.

Dilan said:

stillwaiting said:

He just doesn't care, and it may never happen. The true demand for this stuff has gone way do

Still, he released more awesome songs than anyone...it's just the path he took after Purple Rain was not the smart one. But it's better than the path George Michael took. 3 albums of original material since Faith...but that's for a George Michael site. I could write for hours about how GM has wasted more talent than most could dream of having.

[Edited 1/18/15 7:35am]

If you would write for hours about anything GM related I would read it. I agree with you that he has wasted his talent but not in the same way. He has utilised his talent because recording doesn't feel like a chore for him, he hasn't surpressed his talent he writes and records music still. He just hasn't released this material because he is a perfectionist and seriously HATES the media and all the things that come with promoting music. The clues are all there from the patience era that he willy "slowly dissappear". What I don't understand though is why he just doesn't make songs just put them on his website to buy. He won't make millions doing so but he has more than enough money to sustain something like that.

Too off topic for me to go into detail, but the drug use, and emotional issues have curtailed his songwriting. He has done a recent awful remake of the New Order song using so much Auto Tune it would make Prince blush. "Feeling Good?" yet another remake. "White Light" was actually pretty good, but still, the silly vocal effect with someone as vocally talented as GM is alarming. I would bet his mental/emotional issues have resulted in him not writing that much. He was never all that prolific to begin with. The only amazing song he's done in the last several years was "An Easier Affair." That was stunning. But Prince writes more actual real music in a bad week than George has since 2005. That is really sad to me, because I'm a GM fanatic. Again, too off topic for me to write anymore, but I have written several page essays on multiple artists, just not GM, but I could

Absolutely NOT. But I would pay for any and all that stuff if he put it on CDs and sold them. That's assuming the tracks are in near perfect quality and the CDs are not overpriced. I'd go about $15 or so a disc, hoping for at tleast 50 minutes of material.

bluegangsta said:

How about he just releases the fucking recordings. Then I'll pay for them.

-

I just paid a very large amount for a few DAT tapes of unreleased George Michael tracks. Frankly, it's his problem for not releasing them. Same with Prince. Same with Stevie. Same with Michael's Estate.

Wow, I'm a fairly big George Michael fan. I never realized he had outtakes circulating. I had only seen live performance bootlegs in the shops back in the day.

ThomasBjj said:

bluegangsta said:

How about he just releases the fucking recordings. Then I'll pay for them.

-

I just paid a very large amount for a few DAT tapes of unreleased George Michael tracks. Frankly, it's his problem for not releasing them. Same with Prince. Same with Stevie. Same with Michael's Estate.

Wow, I'm a fairly big George Michael fan. I never realized he had outtakes circulating. I had only seen live performance bootlegs in the shops back in the day.

I think the poster who mentioned it said it was different mixes, and not actual new songs. I have never heard the extended Crazyman Dance, and even though the song is decent for a B-Side, I am not dying to hear it either. I would love to hear anything that GM has that has not leaked. He probably is just like Prince in the fact that there may be quality outtakes better than what was released...probably not too many though.

stillwaiting said:

Dilan said:

If you would write for hours about anything GM related I would read it. I agree with you that he has wasted his talent but not in the same way. He has utilised his talent because recording doesn't feel like a chore for him, he hasn't surpressed his talent he writes and records music still. He just hasn't released this material because he is a perfectionist and seriously HATES the media and all the things that come with promoting music. The clues are all there from the patience era that he willy "slowly dissappear". What I don't understand though is why he just doesn't make songs just put them on his website to buy. He won't make millions doing so but he has more than enough money to sustain something like that.

Too off topic for me to go into detail, but the drug use, and emotional issues have curtailed his songwriting. He has done a recent awful remake of the New Order song using so much Auto Tune it would make Prince blush. "Feeling Good?" yet another remake. "White Light" was actually pretty good, but still, the silly vocal effect with someone as vocally talented as GM is alarming. I would bet his mental/emotional issues have resulted in him not writing that much. He was never all that prolific to begin with. The only amazing song he's done in the last several years was "An Easier Affair." That was stunning. But Prince writes more actual real music in a bad week than George has since 2005. That is really sad to me, because I'm a GM fanatic. Again, too off topic for me to write anymore, but I have written several page essays on multiple artists, just not GM, but I could

I agree with your thoughts on those most recent songs. Althought i'd have to say An Easier Affair is amazing but I think I like 'This is not Real Love' even more (from 2006 25live) that was the last song in which I felt his vocals were as strong as they had ever been. I thought 2008's December song was pretty good too. He said in an interview a few months ago 'my recording studio feels like my home' I really think GM has never stopped writing its just a matter of releasing what he is happy with but then again pretty much anything to do with unreleased GM is all hidden only known by himself and some collectors unlike the prince and mj world. btw, did you hear the voice-overs he did for the symphonica documentary earlier this last year, ive got feeling the silence is because his voice is gone.

Se7en said:

I think people misread the OP and think this idea is for a pay-per-download. It's an anonymous donation site to make amends for stuff you've ALREADY downloaded. A way to give Prince some of the money you feel he deserves from the enjoyment you've gotten "illegally". People on this site have a lot of opinions about bootlegs, the most common being "if he released it himself, I'd buy it". I doubt this is true for most.

.

It used to be true. But then CB happened. Plus: now we're 15+ years later.

.

Prince tried something like this during the NPGOnlineLTD website era. It was called "Experiment In Truth". You could mail your bootlegs to an address he provided. No questions asked. I don't know how that ever worked out. I can't imagine truckloads full of vinyl, cassettes and CDs rolling up to Paisley Park. Interesting idea though…

.

T said on amp back then that they'd had received some packages.

Dilan said:

The clues are all there from the patience era that he willy "slowly dissappear".

.

You knwo what's sad? That there is a 3CD(!) 25th anniversary edition of Bros' Push, yet the Wham back catalogue is a shambles (read the replies to that blog post). Sure, it ain't high art, but some of it is really great pop music and it deserves a "definitive" release.

There are so many bands selling their concerts in any given format. Why not do that? People would buy it for sure.

There is one German band right now, offering a USB stick for purchase IMMEDIATELY after the show. It is 30,- € (a fancy USB by the way). You can also purchase the MP3 only from a dedicated website at half the price. That is great.

Ok, we know that Prince wants everything to be perfect, so he is certainly reluctant to have a concert sold, where the sound, performance or anything else is not at par with his understanding of being great. So be it. I would buy it anyway....

joecoco said:

Ok, we know that Prince wants everything to be perfect,

.

This is nonsense. Stop saying this.

.

From Ronin Ro's bio of Prince:

.

With the film’s start date approaching, he asked sound engineer David Leonard to fly to town to help with his studio. He wanted Susan Rogers and Leonard to move all of his equipment—including his home console—to the warehouse. He had recorded “Let’s Go Crazy” during the MDT benefit concert but felt, since it would accompany a concert scene, it should feel even more like a big live performance. Rogers thought it “seemed a little crazy” since “nobody had really done that before.” Producers didn’t record a band live without isolating musicians from an engineer. But for four years, he had loved the echo and big sound rehearsing in large spaces provides. Despite her misgivings, Rogers and Leonard set up his equipment in the center of the cavernous space. He arrived with a new part for the song, a riff that would make it even better, he felt. “Dearly Beloved,” he said over his sepulchral organ riff and sermon: “We are gathered here today to get through this thing called like …” Prince got the echo he wanted, but had to deal with track leakage and electrical interference from every device in the building. “There was never any proper separation between the board and the instruments,” drummer Bobby Z explained. But Prince valued spontaneity and a great performance over things like proper mic placement. He kept rolling tape and delivered his stunning new synth and guitar solo. The result had a few minor flaws, but Prince could live with them. He wanted this version on the album and in the film.

.

Hell, just listen to his latest records. Perfectionists don't allow clipping, for instance.

[Edited 1/19/15 8:34am]

He won't. He sux.

All my bootlegs were shared with me for free so I never paid anything for them anyway. And even if I had paid for them, hell naw, I wouldn't pay for them now because they would have already been paid for. If Prince didn't get the money for them the first time, then it's his own fault for not putting them up for sale himself.

BartVanHemelen said:

.

You knwo what's sad? That there is a 3CD(!) 25th anniversary edition of Bros' Push,

WTF!?

Prince is a loser when you look at remasters and count that as sole criterium.

If a no-no group can do a multi-CD anniversary edition, why can't mr Prince (WB?!!) do a nice release sometime now?

.

But we know Prince.

No vision.

Just let him make some music.

BartVanHemelen said:

joecoco said:

Ok, we know that Prince wants everything to be perfect,

.

This is nonsense. Stop saying this.

.

From Ronin Ro's bio of Prince:

.

With the film’s start date approaching, he asked sound engineer David Leonard to fly to town to help with his studio. He wanted Susan Rogers and Leonard to move all of his equipment—including his home console—to the warehouse. He had recorded “Let’s Go Crazy” during the MDT benefit concert but felt, since it would accompany a concert scene, it should feel even more like a big live performance. Rogers thought it “seemed a little crazy” since “nobody had really done that before.” Producers didn’t record a band live without isolating musicians from an engineer. But for four years, he had loved the echo and big sound rehearsing in large spaces provides. Despite her misgivings, Rogers and Leonard set up his equipment in the center of the cavernous space. He arrived with a new part for the song, a riff that would make it even better, he felt. “Dearly Beloved,” he said over his sepulchral organ riff and sermon: “We are gathered here today to get through this thing called like …” Prince got the echo he wanted, but had to deal with track leakage and electrical interference from every device in the building. “There was never any proper separation between the board and the instruments,” drummer Bobby Z explained. But Prince valued spontaneity and a great performance over things like proper mic placement. He kept rolling tape and delivered his stunning new synth and guitar solo. The result had a few minor flaws, but Prince could live with them. He wanted this version on the album and in the film.

.

Hell, just listen to his latest records. Perfectionists don't allow clipping, for instance.

[Edited 1/19/15 8:34am]

Well, maybe you don't mind reading the full line which says "Ok, we know that Prince wants everything to be perfect, so he is certainly reluctant to have a concert sold, where the sound, performance or anything else is not at par with his understanding of being great". Besides you are quoting something which describes what happened more than 3 decades ago.

I was referring to concert recordings and trying to explain that Prince might have different opinion concerning the quality of many things that happen in a concert. This could be the guitar being out of tune, the drum sound, the beat being "off-time", the camera noise or a flashlight, or a blue light, or somebody eating popcorn. In short: He also might not want to "release" something that he is not feeling comfortable with for WHATEVER reason.

[Edited 1/19/15 12:02pm]

vainandy said: