udo said:

TwiliteKid said:

C) (And this point draws on my 10 years working the music industry). Prince is an icon. He has reached a point in his career where his new material matters to a relatively small number of people, but he's always going to be able to get it released. He may need to learn to compromise on timetables,

.

Oh, he will have lost interest by then...

(you know the Prince man, don't you?)

You're not wrong there!

udo said:

feeluupp said:

Prince's tweet just said:

AS 4 HITNRUN PHASE 2 CD: 1ST BATCH WILL B AVAILABLE 4 PURCHASE AT PAISLEY PARK ON THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT: JANUARY 21 2016

... is this an indication that he really is indeed having trouble find a major label to distribute this release to the general public?

.

Please contact me to trade a phase 2 CD. (I need one, you can provide one)

TwiliteKid said:

feeluupp said:

... and people were beating me up for making such statements after the shocking low sales of PHASE 1... now look what's going on, he can't even get a proper distribution anymore.

A) There's nothing shocking about the sales of Phase 1. Aside from the fact that sales in general continue to fall rapidly (unless your name is Adele), this was an album released with almost no promotion - and what little there was focussed on it being availalbe on Tidal alone. The public can't buy it if they don't know it exists.

B) We don't know that he can't get Phase 2 released. I think the more likely scenario is that any interested parties have said they would like to hold off for a few months - which is entirely reasonable, given that he's flooded the market with 3 albums over the last 18 months.

C) (And this point draws on my 10 years working the music industry). Prince is an icon. He has reached a point in his career where his new material matters to a relatively small number of people, but he's always going to be able to get it released. He may need to learn to compromise on timetables, his up-front fee and the base level of promotion in the future - but he will ALWAYS find a home. Here's a story for you: One of the artists I work with is an icon of equal, if not greater, stature than Prince and, like Prince, they haven't had a hit in years. This artist is releasing a new album soon, which more than one person at the label has indicated they do not like and have no faith in - but they are putting it out anyway. They aren't putting much effort behind it, mind you, but it's coming out. Such is the nature of the industry.

[Edited 1/15/16 21:26pm]

It is interesting the way the industry is at the moment. Soundcloud have just released a survey that states 71% of music is free to listen to and 95% of downloads are accessed illegally. I have talke to a number of people about this and they simply do not ever pay for music, some have grown up and never paid for music. 52% of all money spent on music last yeay was for live performances.

feeluupp said:

Prince's tweet just said:

AS 4 HITNRUN PHASE 2 CD: 1ST BATCH WILL B AVAILABLE 4 PURCHASE AT PAISLEY PARK ON THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT: JANUARY 21 2016

... is this an indication that he really is indeed having trouble find a major label to distribute this release to the general public?

great ..now..a-holes will be selling it on ebay for a fortune

luvsexy4all said:

feeluupp said:

Prince's tweet just said:

AS 4 HITNRUN PHASE 2 CD: 1ST BATCH WILL B AVAILABLE 4 PURCHASE AT PAISLEY PARK ON THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT: JANUARY 21 2016

... is this an indication that he really is indeed having trouble find a major label to distribute this release to the general public?

great ..now..a-holes will be selling it on ebay for a fortune

... i know just like the Pattie Labelle pies... SMH

TwiliteKid said:

feeluupp said:

... and people were beating me up for making such statements after the shocking low sales of PHASE 1... now look what's going on, he can't even get a proper distribution anymore.

A) There's nothing shocking about the sales of Phase 1. Aside from the fact that sales in general continue to fall rapidly (unless your name is Adele), this was an album released with almost no promotion - and what little there was focussed on it being availalbe on Tidal alone. The public can't buy it if they don't know it exists.

B) We don't know that he can't get Phase 2 released. I think the more likely scenario is that any interested parties have said they would like to hold off for a few months - which is entirely reasonable, given that he's flooded the market with 3 albums over the last 18 months.

C) (And this point draws on my 10 years working the music industry). Prince is an icon. He has reached a point in his career where his new material matters to a relatively small number of people, but he's always going to be able to get it released. He may need to learn to compromise on timetables, his up-front fee and the base level of promotion in the future - but he will ALWAYS find a home. Here's a story for you: One of the artists I work with is an icon of equal, if not greater, stature than Prince and, like Prince, they haven't had a hit in years. This artist is releasing a new album soon, which more than one person at the label has indicated they do not like and have no faith in - but they are putting it out anyway. They aren't putting much effort behind it, mind you, but it's coming out. Such is the nature of the industry.

[Edited 1/15/16 21:26pm]

A) It was the lowest sales of Prince's career. Phase 1 didn't even break 10,000 copies sold in the U.S. Even N.E.W.S. sold much more, and there was no promotion for that either...

B) If u followed his Twitter rants a few weeks ago, a fan asked why can't PHASE 2 be released like PHASE 1 and he claimed it was due to "numbers" sarcastically ofc... Also he claimed in the TWEETS that PHASE 2 was in the hands of WB a while ago and to pickett for it's release as well with the PR Remaster.

C) Prince is an icon, no doubt about that. However he is not handeling his "legacy" in this digital age properly... Can't even YouTube Prince... That's sad... It's 2016.

jayspud said:

AnonymousFan said:

jayspud said:

It is interesting the way the industry is at the moment. Soundcloud have just released a survey that states 71% of music is free to listen to and 95% of downloads are accessed illegally. I have talke to a number of people about this and they simply do not ever pay for music, some have grown up and never paid for music. 52% of all money spent on music last yeay was for live performances.

Interesting, what do you think could be done to fix/reverse such a trend?

There's no reversing it anymore... It's become the REALITY now.

That's the truth.

AnonymousFan said:

jayspud said:

It is interesting the way the industry is at the moment. Soundcloud have just released a survey that states 71% of music is free to listen to and 95% of downloads are accessed illegally. I have talke to a number of people about this and they simply do not ever pay for music, some have grown up and never paid for music. 52% of all money spent on music last yeay was for live performances.

Interesting, what do you think could be done to fix/reverse such a trend?

Sadly nothing can be done to reverse it now. Prince had been given chance after chance after chance to change his ways, and actually honor an signed contract, but Prince failed to do so. Prince had burned so many bridges in the music biz, that there is no one to save the day for him now. The fact of the matter is Prince just don't have enough fans to warrant investing in his new music anymore. Prince has spent decades angering and alienating his fanbase by sueing all fan websites dedicated to him (inclding this one) sueing fan magazines dedicated to him. Sueing his fans that play snippets of his music on youtube. Sueing his fans at his shows for taking pictures, or having them thrown out. Factor that in with abruptly cancelled project (like the PR Remaster) and Prince is now The Artist Formally Known as Successful. Again I must say, Prince brought all of this on himself. In his mind it's all Warner Bros doing. Sad. This is the Dawn.

Scarfo said:

AnonymousFan said:

jayspud said: Interesting, what do you think could be done to fix/reverse such a trend?

Sadly nothing can be done to reverse it now. Prince had been given chance after chance after chance to change his ways, and actually honor an signed contract, but Prince failed to do so. Prince had burned so many bridges in the music biz, that there is no one to save the day for him now. The fact of the matter is investing Prince just don't have enough fans to warrant

in his new music anymore. Prince has spent decades angering and alienating his fanbase by sueing all fan websites dedicated to him (inclding this one) sueing fan magazines dedicated to him. Sueing his fans that play snippets of his music on youtube. Sueing his fans at his shows for taking pictures, or having them thrown out. Factor that in with abruptly cancelled project (like the PR Remaster) and Prince is now The Artist Formally Known as Successful. Again I must say, Prince brought all of this on himself. In his mind it's all Warner Bros doing. Sad. This is the Dawn.

Sadly it is becoming true... His obsessive controling behavior especially in 2016 where everything is about social media, not to be able to search his concerts in YouTube is absurd.

He could care less about his visibility and promotion with those forms of social media... Which is a result of the general public and the new generation almost not knowing who he is anymore... With all this retro is back in fad, the youth buying vinyls, searching YouTube for the past stars of music... The first thing you see when you YouTube Prince is Breakfast Can Wait... Imagine what a young music fans first impression will be when they see that and can't find LOVESEXY concert on Youtube, or When Doves Cry... Hell if they were smart they'd move on to the next search, Bowie, Zepplin, or any other legends that can actually have their work be seen to the public...

Selling 33,000 of Plectrum and not even 10,000 copies of Phase 1 is a shrinking fan base indeed...

feeluupp said:

TwiliteKid said:

feeluupp said:

A) It was the lowest sales of Prince's career. Phase 1 didn't even break 10,000 copies sold in the U.S. Even N.E.W.S. sold much more, and there was no promotion for that either...

B) If u followed his Twitter rants a few weeks ago, a fan asked why can't PHASE 2 be released like PHASE 1 and he claimed it was due to "numbers" sarcastically ofc... Also he claimed in the TWEETS that PHASE 2 was in the hands of WB a while ago and to pickett for it's release as well with the PR Remaster.

C) Prince is an icon, no doubt about that. However he is not handeling his "legacy" in this digital age properly... Can't even YouTube Prince... That's sad... It's 2016.

A) yes, but NEWS came out 13 years ago. Sales have declined dramatically since then, and have outright collapsed into the last few years. First week numbers that would have barely got you into the top 10 a decade ago are now more than enough to debut at #1. In that climate, and given the lack of promo, it's not surprisingly at all that Phase 1 did so poorly. B) I saw those tweets and I agree that he was being facetious. I think that actually strengthens my theory - WB didn't want to put out Phase 2 three months after Phase 1, so he went another route. C). That's all true. Prince is his own worst enemy, and could likely be much more successful if he'd just play the game.

WB didn't even put out PHASE 1 at all... It was a TIDAL: ROC NATION/NPG release.

feeluupp said:

TwiliteKid said:

feeluupp said:

WB didn't even put out PHASE 1 at all... It was a TIDAL: ROC NATION/NPG release.

I know that. But further flooding the market with Prince albums is obviously not something they want to do right now.

Exactly... So in terms of speculation, since PRINCE is still signed to WB... I assume WB didn't release PHASE 1 due to the low sales of Plectrum. As stated on twitter, WB also passed up on PHASE 2...

TwiliteKid said:

feeluupp said:

WB didn't even put out PHASE 1 at all... It was a TIDAL: ROC NATION/NPG release.

I know that. But further flooding the market with Prince albums is obviously not something they want to do right now.

jlucky said:

feeluupp said:

I know that. But further flooding the market with Prince albums is obviously not something they want to do right now.

Has anyone else noticed that PHASE 1 is crawling back up the sales chart on Amazon? It was 847 or so last week, and is 519 or so today? Not sure how that translates into actual units sold but it seems like good news.

Means it probably sold 20-50 copies... It won't have any effect with the sales, there was no promotion for it. Besides a billboard on Times Square... It will go down as his lowest selling album ever, perhaps... Phase 2 will sell more if released...

feeluupp said:

jlucky said:

feeluupp said:

Means it probably sold 20-50 copies... It won't have any effect with the sales, there was no promotion for it. Besides a billboard on Times Square... It will go down as his lowest selling album ever, perhaps... Phase 2 will sell more if released...

Thanks! Hopefully all of the positive reviews for Phase 2 will help, too!

It's just about promotion. Prince know's this, we know this...

SOTT got rave reviews from every music critic on Earth... It sold only 1 million in the U.S.

1991 Diamonds & Pearls sells over 6.7 million copies world wide... Why... Cause of the "GREAT MUSIC" ... Not so much... But cause of promotion... Same thing with Musicology, selling over 3 million world wide, 2M in the U.S. alone... When PRINCE promotes he gets sales... When he doesn't... Well we got numbers like Plectrum Electrum and Phase 1.

If u combind the TOTAL SALES of Plectrum and Phase 1, it doesn't even surpass the FIRST WEEK numbers of AOA.

[Edited 1/18/16 12:42pm]

feeluupp said:

jlucky said:

feeluupp said:

It's just about promotion. Prince know's this, we know this...

SOTT got rave reviews from every music critic on Earth... It sold only 1 million in the U.S.

1991 Diamonds & Pearls sells over 6.7 million copies world wide... Why... Cause of the "GREAT MUSIC" ... Not so much... But cause of promotion... Same thing with Musicology, selling over 3 million world wide, 2M in the U.S. alone... When PRINCE promotes he gets sales... When he doesn't... Well we got numbers like Plectrum Electrum and Phase 1.

If u combind the TOTAL SALES of Plectrum and Phase 1, it doesn't even surpass the FIRST WEEK numbers of AOA.

[Edited 1/18/16 12:42pm]

Too true. Is there a reason why he wouldn't do late night talk shows to promote a Phase 2 cd release? It would seem to be a natural fit...

Prince's track record with promoting speaks for itself...

He could get away with not promoting albums in the 80's... World Wide he always sold millions of copies in the 80's... Weither it was 25 million with Purple Rain, or 3 million copies in the U.S. alone for AWTIAD or over 2 million world wide for Lovesexy... He sold millions and millions in the 80's...

In the early 90's untill 1993 he still sold solid numbers... Over 6.7 million for Diamonds & Pearls, over 2.7 million for Love Symbol, The Hits 1, 2, The Hits- The B-Sides all over 1 million each in the U.S. Alone...

It's when he decided to sabatoge his career and contract feuds with WB that the general public and audience got lost... He promoted the wrong albums, all the promotion he did for NPS rather than TGE... Promoting RAVE, having ARISTA spend millions and millions for an album that is almost entirely forgotten in his catalouge...

He needs to be promoting now, because his visibility to the public and NEW GENERATION is very damaging... His constant crusade to be against social media, youtube, facebook, streaming, etc... He continues to hinder his visibility... So the sales speak for itself...

200,000 world wide for AOA

33,000 for Plectrum Electrum

less than 10,000 for Phase 1... It's going to get lower and lower and lower, untill he can't even break a 1,000 copies anymore... That's why promotion is important. It's the truth. No promotion, no one but a few thousand orgers know he's released any new music. The demand will be gone for ALBUMS.

Writing a song that is a) good and b) has some hit potential, would also be a interesting idea.

Maybe he could rip off another U2 song?

feeluupp said:

jlucky said:

feeluupp said:

Prince's track record with promoting speaks for itself...

He could get away with not promoting albums in the 80's... World Wide he always sold millions of copies in the 80's... Weither it was 25 million with Purple Rain, or 3 million copies in the U.S. alone for AWTIAD or over 2 million world wide for Lovesexy... He sold millions and millions in the 80's...

In the early 90's untill 1993 he still sold solid numbers... Over 6.7 million for Diamonds & Pearls, over 2.7 million for Love Symbol, The Hits 1, 2, The Hits- The B-Sides all over 1 million each in the U.S. Alone...

It's when he decided to sabatoge his career and contract feuds with WB that the general public and audience got lost... He promoted the wrong albums, all the promotion he did for NPS rather than TGE... Promoting RAVE, having ARISTA spend millions and millions for an album that is almost entirely forgotten in his catalouge...

He needs to be promoting now, because his visibility to the public and NEW GENERATION is very damaging... His constant crusade to be against social media, youtube, facebook, streaming, etc... He continues to hinder his visibility... So the sales speak for itself...

200,000 world wide for AOA

33,000 for Plectrum Electrum

less than 10,000 for Phase 1... It's going to get lower and lower and lower, untill he can't even break a 1,000 copies anymore... That's why promotion is important. It's the truth. No promotion, no one but a few thousand orgers know he's released any new music. The demand will be gone for ALBUMS.

I've been a fan for over 30 years and I'm more excited about this album than I have been in years. I hope it's a success for him.

Success for him is getting his sum upfront... He could care less about album sales anymore... Even though the less he sells, album by album, is obviously making it harder for him to get physical distribution...

Well PHASE 2 be released, ofc it will... But there obviously was an issue due to the fact WB chose to pass on PHASE 1 and PHASE 2... As well as the indication from Prince's tweets that their was an issue with the distribution.

feeluupp said:

jlucky said:

feeluupp said:

Success for him is getting his sum upfront... He could care less about album sales anymore... Even though the less he sells, album by album, is obviously making it harder for him to get physical distribution...

Well PHASE 2 be released, ofc it will... But there obviously was an issue due to the fact WB chose to pass on PHASE 1 and PHASE 2... As well as the indication from Prince's tweets that their was an issue with the distribution.

I'm a big fan...but my friends who are less hardcore hadn't heard about Phase 1 at all and barely knew about his Tidal deal.

I told my friends about Prince, all hard core music lovers, however still young, earlier than their 20's... They had no idea who he is. Said they tried searching but wasn't on SPOTIFY or YOUTUBE...

feeluupp said:

jlucky said:

feeluupp said: I'm a big fan...but my friends who are less hardcore hadn't heard about Phase 1 at all and barely knew about his Tidal deal.

I told my friends about Prince, all hard core music lovers, however still young, earlier than their 20's... They had no idea who he is. Said they tried searching but wasn't on SPOTIFY or YOUTUBE...

That's ridiculous. If they only get their music from Spotify or Youtube and know nothing of the history of popular music, then they aren't "hardcore music lovers" - they're the average listener.

AnonymousFan said:

feeluupp said:

I told my friends about Prince, all hard core music lovers, however still young, earlier than their 20's... They had no idea who he is. Said they tried searching but wasn't on SPOTIFY or YOUTUBE...

That's ridiculous. If they only get their music from Spotify or Youtube and know nothing of the history of popular music, then they aren't "hardcore music lovers" - they're the average listener.

The "AVERAGE" listener now a days are the "GENERAL AUDIENCE" that account for the majority of record sales in POPULAR music... Sadly ofc...

feeluupp said:

TwiliteKid said:

feeluupp said: I know that. But further flooding the market with Prince albums is obviously not something they want to do right now.

Exactly... So in terms of speculation, since PRINCE is still signed to WB... I assume WB didn't release PHASE 1 due to the low sales of Plectrum. As stated on twitter, WB also passed up on PHASE 2...

Signed to WB in what way?

paulludvig said:

feeluupp said:

Exactly... So in terms of speculation, since PRINCE is still signed to WB... I assume WB didn't release PHASE 1 due to the low sales of Plectrum. As stated on twitter, WB also passed up on PHASE 2...

Signed to WB in what way?

... Since he publically resigned with WB back in 2014.

feeluupp said: