I was wondering if prince is testing the water with the release of Judith Hills Back in Time. Maybe he could release a new album , and then ask for a donation? That way they could still make money and make the fans happy at the same time. Yes probably a crazy idea, and leave the remasters for Warner's to organise.

I love that idea!

Yes it seems quite obvious at this stage that the only Cds/mp3s that will possibly make any money are the remasters (unless Prince can play the game and get lucky with a hit single then release a tie-in album which is doubtful). So Prince must look at other ways of marketing/releasing his new music by other methods that won't nessessarily make a large profit but will at least break even. Judith Hill was a nice surprise, but I doubt Prince will go that far (maybe NPGQ could be released in this way?). I'm a luddite when it comes to Spotify, but if Prince were to release an exclusive 'spotify only' album, can it be bootlegged easily? could be a way to market at least...

warning2all said:

It's interesting if you look at all the topics in "Prince:Music And More" it's all pretty much about bootlegs & The Vault. They interest people more than anything else- like "AOA" & "Plectrum". I don't think there's much interest in any new albums & they aren't going to make any money. Conclusion : don't hold your breath on any new albums anytime soon. The real interest is in the vault- and that's uplease to Prince & Warners to give them a proper release.

BS alert, a lot of Orgers have been making predictions such as 3EG disbanding, no tour or no new music this year. Then he goes at starts a Hit n Run, produces a new album, releases a pair of songs, and we're not even in April yet.

As for bootlegs getting the spotlight, it goes with what is available out there and since there's 30 years of stuff and multiple releases, DUH it eventually supplant discussion about albums released months ago. The same thing happens with bootlegs, eventually the latest fades from discussion with few exceptions.

Aerogram said:

If Prince is really all about the music, then he could follow the example of a band like Marillion and have the fans put up the money.

There are lots of bands who can still get by, but no they don't have custom-made clothes, their personal hairdresser and other such nonsense.

"What you're hearing is money". Yes.

Cut down on clothes, parties, stop thinking you are still a major artist who can demand millions, and start releasing the music.

Oh, and he could use vault albums to finance his new recordings. Of course WB will take their cut, because the songs were recorded when he was under contract, but it's still easy money: the work is already done.

Sometimes things are so simple.

To the OP, who knows, Prince is always exploring different avenues for distribution, but he tends to lean towards the most lucrative avenue obviously, any self respecting artist would. I'm a bit surprised by the free release of Judith Hill's album, but then again, the media didn't really pick up on it at all, defintely flew under their radar.

..

I love how some of you speak for 'all' of us fans. I think most people here are open to new albums, and to claim you're not interested in new music is BS, because even if you don't buy it, you'll certainly own it in the end just so you can whine about how much it sucks & it's not as good as PR or Lovesex, or SOTT, so yea, I call BS too. You guys so love reading your own nagging posts, but doesn't it get old after awhile, being so bitter all the time? No? Well, have at it then!

[Edited 3/27/15 4:27am]

He should put out an album of new stuff and say it's all vault material. Let's see what happens then

I don't care about his new music at all, but that is not what we're discussing. Prince can still get new music out.

If he is still so prolific, he could give WB the songs that are the most commercial, and promise to promote that collection. In exchange they could release 2-3 other albums a year for the die-hard fans. Or he could release those songs on the internet, it wouldn't interfere with 'good business'.

Edited. Misread/mis-interpreted the thread title.

[Edited 3/27/15 7:29am]

One of the guys from Radiohead did something with Torrents, it had a paygate, so there was kind of a free tier which got some tracks, then for anyone who paid they recieved the premium side at a cost of say 6 Dollars.

Prince could easilly set something like this up and maybe release one Torrent quarterly that included new tracks, outtakes, videos in each, it would distribute files to some fans who are maybe unsure and want to check out the free stuff and if inetrested pay for the premium.

He'd cut out the need for a record label, distribution and everything else and the profit would pretty much all be his 6 dollars or so would be more than he would get from the sale of a CD or Download after everyone else takes their cuts.

The guy from Radiohead also issued a limited number of Vinyl copies of the Album for any fans who wanted phsical copies, for Prince and his team to arrange soemthng a limited run of vinyl its simple enough to do independantly. They could even do this on a Pre-order basis so that only orders before a certain date get a copy, then that way they would know exactly how many copies they need to run off.

Personally I think this is something he could do with minimal effort and cut out the need for a label all together.

I'd like to see Prince do an album, drawn from all eras of the vault (also include newer music). Rather than a 'vault' release per se, just an album of songs Prince thinks works together (maybe have an overall theme?). seems to me that if the material is older than a certain period Prince seems to not consider it for albums. imagine if you had a 1000 songs to choose to make an album?

Moonbeam Levels should be a starting point.

back on topic - the musical style of Judith's album, to me, goes back to Musicology with the over amped drums (played by prince), also the stuff he did with Tamar and Andy Allo. the retro feel of Sly or Bette Davis. but this time i think he nails it perfectly. gets the balance of old and new just right, I think it took D'Angelo's record to push him in ths direction. although not as experimental, it feels less forced than previous 'retro' prince attempts. So in answer to the OP, he's been doing this sound for a whikle he just hasn't put it down so cohesively before.

[Edited 3/27/15 17:08pm]

"...when it comes time 2 download ur music 2 ur fans' computers, u have 2 b free..."

remember that?

the first full album as a download was "Xpectation".

"As Trains Go By" has a horn riff lifted directly from the track "Xpand".

So, the answer to the question is:

he already has.

Just cant see why it matters

Pentacle said:

I don't care about his new music at all, but that is not what we're discussing. Prince can still get new music out.

If he is still so prolific, he could give WB the songs that are the most commercial, and promise to promote that collection. In exchange they could release 2-3 other albums a year for the die-hard fans. Or he could release those songs on the internet, it wouldn't interfere with 'good business'.

Might work on the internet, but i can't see WB spending money at the pressing plants at all. The amount of 'die-hards' has dwindled so much it wouldn't be cost effective for WB to even bother. A good indication of such people would be the sales figures for the last albums and erm... yeah, they weren't that great.

.

Die-hards are people who empty their bank accounts for concert tix/tour memorabilia these days. They spend more money. Prince knows this.

warning2all said:

Marrk said:

Pentacle said:

I don't care about his new music at all, but that is not what we're discussing. Prince can still get new music out.

If he is still so prolific, he could give WB the songs that are the most commercial, and promise to promote that collection. In exchange they could release 2-3 other albums a year for the die-hard fans. Or he could release those songs on the internet, it wouldn't interfere with 'good business'.

Might work on the internet, but i can't see WB spending money at the pressing plants at all. The amount of 'die-hards' has dwindled so much it wouldn't be cost effective for WB to even bother. A good indication of such people would be the sales figures for the last albums and erm... yeah, they weren't that great.

.

Die-hards are people who empty their bank accounts for concert tix/tour memorabilia these days. They spend more money. Prince knows this.

Yes, maybe Prince will have no other choice to self-release everything on the internet...

But we still need WB to give the OK for the Vault material. That is cause for concern, i.e. for those people who are not deaf and want the old music instead of the new 'music'.

Pentacle said:

If Prince is really all about the music, then he could follow the example of a band like Marillion and have the fans put up the money.

There are lots of bands who can still get by, but no they don't have custom-made clothes, their personal hairdresser and other such nonsense.

"What you're hearing is money". Yes.

Cut down on clothes, parties, stop thinking you are still a major artist who can demand millions, and start releasing the music.

But he can. At least for concerts.

Pentacle said:

Oh, and he could use vault albums to finance his new recordings. Of course WB will take their cut, because the songs were recorded when he was under contract, but it's still easy money: the work is already done.

Sometimes things are so simple.

How so? Doesn't he own the masters now?