June7 said:

MMJas said:

Could the mods make a poll out of all the suggestions so that people can vote? I mean, this is going to be a nightmare for the Estate to decide on.
Maybe they're giving us a taste of what their current situation is, regarding choices and decisions...

It's on the front page.

Thanks. I voted already. P&M CD and DVD set and a new Prince album, with new songs. Like many have also stated, we got plenty of time to get remastered albums, collaboration albums, live set for this or that era. I truly want to hear new Prince music. A whole album of new songs, preferably songs that he considered ready to be released but was waiting for a specific time/context.

tbokris said:

I think the mods should have waited to see some Of the more interesting suggestions on this thread before making the poll. . But I'm glad to see that the golden era outtakes is what people want most. But does it have to be in the form of Crystal Ball 1,2 and 3. Wouldn't 3 box sets of studio outtakes of 83-85, 85-86 and 87-89 be much more interesting? .

Agreed. The very nature of CB type releases would mean each release would be slightly less appealling than the last. By the time CB XXXV comes along, they would be sweeping the cutting room floor looking for things to add to it. Not a great strategy. The estate wants gems and "holy grails" to be included on every release. The best way to achieve that is to simply do everything chronologically, wheat mixed with chaff, and they will be guaranteed several gems within each release. Like you say, keep everything tied together by year or era much like the "1986 - a year in the studio" boot.

Rebeljuice said:

tbokris said:

I think the mods should have waited to see some Of the more interesting suggestions on this thread before making the poll. . But I'm glad to see that the golden era outtakes is what people want most. But does it have to be in the form of Crystal Ball 1,2 and 3. Wouldn't 3 box sets of studio outtakes of 83-85, 85-86 and 87-89 be much more interesting? .

Agreed. The very nature of CB type releases would mean each release would be slightly less appealling than the last. By the time CB XXXV comes along, they would be sweeping the cutting room floor looking for things to add to it. Not a great strategy. The estate wants gems and "holy grails" to be included on every release. The best way to achieve that is to simply do everything chronologically, wheat mixed with chaff, and they will be guaranteed several gems within each release. Like you say, keep everything tied together by year or era much like the "1986 - a year in the studio" boot.

I really hope the Estate gets to a point where they are scraping the barrell, but Crystal Ball for me, was hampered by how it wasn't chronological within itself.

.

The Lovesexy Boxset that was suggested - is a great idea - but it's mostly stuff that has already been legitimately released.

.

There's 2 things I would love the estate to do:

1) Start to release a Studio Outtakes Series of boxsets chronologically organised

2) All of that film footage Prince shot for himself of concerts and documentary footage of Prince behind the scenes. A really decent Blu-Ray release of Prince's own archive of footage would be amazing. Why not a "Prince Live 1983-93" 8-Disc Blu Ray boxset?

3) Camille Remastered and pressed as an album with the original artwork that no one has seen.

.

Piano & Microphone concert

1983 First Ave DVD

Am I the only one around here thinking that this poll should be a little more "multiple choice" or a little more "scientific." I'm concerned that the big broad question "what do you want?" and the free form answers aren't the right approach.

I'm not coming from a place of criticism, just wanted to share one man's opinion. I'm super grateful to those that organized this interview in the first place.

Look at Peach & Black Podcast's "more scientific" poll about the contents and quality of the PR Remaster. Once the poll closed, there were actual statistics about the fan community's reaction to the set. Shouldn't this poll be similar??? In fact, from where I sit, the answer to the "what should the Estate release next?" and "what are fans willing to pay?" and "how would fans like to consume/receive the content?" are questions that are FAR more important than feedback on the PR Remaster. That horse has already left the barn. We are now talking about the future.

If we believe that there is a meaningful opportunity to provide this feedback and that the estate will inform its decisions, in part, based on this feedback... shouldn't we do this in a way that really gives them the information (read, data) that the need to make a BUSINESS decision.

After all, as it relates to the estate, "This is a business! And you ain't too far gone to see that yet!" (sorry, couldn't help it)

http://yarn.co/yarn-clip/b916b33a-1fe6-418d-a030-d228d33fcc7c

1) Box set of songs that are Remixes of previously released songs, Alternate Versions of previous released songs, and songs that he gave to other artists that he eventually recorded (Example 100mph, High fashion, screams of passion)

2) Box set of Unreleased Songs from the vault

Full 80's albums that where unreleased, in the way they were intended.

I would like to have the 3121 movie and a Piano and Microphone DVD please.

makes sense the next should be his final studio recording ---Black is the new Black

and final live recording...atlanta

1) A massive box set of studio outtakes

2) Piano & Microphone Tour - Paisley Park DVD and Atlanta audio.

Sorry to enter into the discussion so late, but I am really disappointed by the suggestions made in this thread. We are asked what we want to see released from the mythological vault - and all you can think of is a cd/dvd-set of the 1st Ave gig from 1983, or the Piano & A Microphone Shows from Paisley Park?

Who if not Prince should at least match if not top the latest archive releases from fellow legendary artists like Bob Dylan or The Greatful Dead. I said this before, but Dylan's latest release was a 36 CD set of all his recorded live shows from 1966 (very affordably priced, btw), and before that came a 6 CD set of all his home recordings from 1967. That's what we need from Prince!

And Grateful Dead fans were treated to a 80 CD set containing 30 previously unreleased live concerts last year. Not for streaming, not from some small record company, but from Rhino. Wonderful to look at, including a 288 page book, and for those who want their music as files only (I surely don't!!!) also including a USB stick with all files in flac format.

As far as I'm concerned that's what we should talk about here! Let's make it big and comprehensive. Let's talk about sets containing 40 or 80 CDs, covering whole eras in a comprehensive way. The 1986 Box Set that was discussed here two years ago would be a nice way to start. 20+ CDs with all the Studio Sessions and canceled releases from that year (incl. The Flesh, Dream Factory, Camille) plus key concerts and rehearsals.

Less then that just won't do. Thanks for listening!

kindofblue said:

kindofblue said:

Sorry to enter into the discussion so late, but I am really disappointed by the suggestions made in this thread. We are asked what we want to see released from the mythological vault - and all you can think of is a cd/dvd-set of the 1st Ave gig from 1983, or the Piano & A Microphone Shows from Paisley Park?

Who if not Prince should at least match if not top the latest archive releases from fellow legendary artists like Bob Dylan or The Greatful Dead. I said this before, but Dylan's latest release was a 36 CD set of all his recorded live shows from 1966 (very affordably priced, btw), and before that came a 6 CD set of all his home recordings from 1967. That's what we need from Prince!

And Grateful Dead fans were treated to a 80 CD set containing 30 previously unreleased live concerts last year. Not for streaming, not from some small record company, but from Rhino. Wonderful to look at, including a 288 page book, and for those who want their music as files only (I surely don't!!!) also including a USB stick with all files in flac format.

As far as I'm concerned that's what we should talk about here! Let's make it big and comprehensive. Let's talk about sets containing 40 or 80 CDs, covering whole eras in a comprehensive way. The 1986 Box Set that was discussed here two years ago would be a nice way to start. 20+ CDs with all the Studio Sessions and canceled releases from that year (incl. The Flesh, Dream Factory, Camille) plus key concerts and rehearsals.

Less then that just won't do. Thanks for listening!

I'm with kindofblue! 80+ CD sets or home video/DVD sets are the way to go. The more Prince...the better!

kindofblue said:

Sorry to enter into the discussion so late, but I am really disappointed by the suggestions made in this thread. We are asked what we want to see released from the mythological vault - and all you can think of is a cd/dvd-set of the 1st Ave gig from 1983, or the Piano & A Microphone Shows from Paisley Park?

Who if not Prince should at least match if not top the latest archive releases from fellow legendary artists like Bob Dylan or The Greatful Dead. I said this before, but Dylan's latest release was a 36 CD set of all his recorded live shows from 1966 (very affordably priced, btw), and before that came a 6 CD set of all his home recordings from 1967. That's what we need from Prince!

And Grateful Dead fans were treated to a 80 CD set containing 30 previously unreleased live concerts last year. Not for streaming, not from some small record company, but from Rhino. Wonderful to look at, including a 288 page book, and for those who want their music as files only (I surely don't!!!) also including a USB stick with all files in flac format.

As far as I'm concerned that's what we should talk about here! Let's make it big and comprehensive. Let's talk about sets containing 40 or 80 CDs, covering whole eras in a comprehensive way. The 1986 Box Set that was discussed here two years ago would be a nice way to start. 20+ CDs with all the Studio Sessions and canceled releases from that year (incl. The Flesh, Dream Factory, Camille) plus key concerts and rehearsals.

Less then that just won't do. Thanks for listening!

Both Dylan and The Grateful Dead have been putting out official releases of previously unreleased/bootlegged material since the 90's. Nobody aside from Prince himself, his associated artists or engineers had even stepped foot in the the vault before April 2016. According to Ms. Nelson, "there is a lot of content that it is still being looked at this time," and it is still being digitized, which will likely be a long process. The first and last Piano & A Microphone shows and "Black Is The New Black" are D-O-N-E. According to comments Prince made on April 17 and comments his band members have made, Prince planned to release both very soon. Those who have suggested that the P&M shows or the last album he wrote should be released next are not being "unimaginative". Dude, a lot of them are exercising common sense. Despite the Paisley Park Purple Rain remaster having been delivered in 2015, the official release date was still pushed back. So imagine the time the estate will need to put together something as carefully curated like Dylan's bootleg series when they're still at square one. I'm pretty confident that eventually they'll get to that point and we'll get to hear everything in the vault that we've always mythologized, but they need time. If the heading to this thread was "pick two things from the vault you'd save if it was going to detonate in five minutes", I don't think I'd make the two suggestions that I did, but they want the next two releases. The vault will probably outlive many of us.

[Edited 8/14/17 20:38pm]

[Edited 8/14/17 20:39pm]

[Edited 8/14/17 20:41pm]

kindofblue said:

Sorry to enter into the discussion so late, but I am really disappointed by the suggestions made in this thread. We are asked what we want to see released from the mythological vault - and all you can think of is a cd/dvd-set of the 1st Ave gig from 1983, or the Piano & A Microphone Shows from Paisley Park?

Who if not Prince should at least match if not top the latest archive releases from fellow legendary artists like Bob Dylan or The Greatful Dead. I said this before, but Dylan's latest release was a 36 CD set of all his recorded live shows from 1966 (very affordably priced, btw), and before that came a 6 CD set of all his home recordings from 1967. That's what we need from Prince!

And Grateful Dead fans were treated to a 80 CD set containing 30 previously unreleased live concerts last year. Not for streaming, not from some small record company, but from Rhino. Wonderful to look at, including a 288 page book, and for those who want their music as files only (I surely don't!!!) also including a USB stick with all files in flac format.

As far as I'm concerned that's what we should talk about here! Let's make it big and comprehensive. Let's talk about sets containing 40 or 80 CDs, covering whole eras in a comprehensive way. The 1986 Box Set that was discussed here two years ago would be a nice way to start. 20+ CDs with all the Studio Sessions and canceled releases from that year (incl. The Flesh, Dream Factory, Camille) plus key concerts and rehearsals.

Less then that just won't do. Thanks for listening!

I like the "go big" approach, but given that Sharon said the estate will "consider" it, I thought it was more practical to go with something that the estate might be likely to see through. I also understood the request to be for the next two releases, not the only two.

Having a 20+ CD set put together given legal issues around the work would take quite some time, IMO, though I'd obviously love something like that to eventuate once the dust settles.

CDinwiddie said:

Am I the only one around here thinking that this poll should be a little more "multiple choice" or a little more "scientific." I'm concerned that the big broad question "what do you want?" and the free form answers aren't the right approach.

I'm not coming from a place of criticism, just wanted to share one man's opinion. I'm super grateful to those that organized this interview in the first place.

Look at Peach & Black Podcast's "more scientific" poll about the contents and quality of the PR Remaster. Once the poll closed, there were actual statistics about the fan community's reaction to the set. Shouldn't this poll be similar??? In fact, from where I sit, the answer to the "what should the Estate release next?" and "what are fans willing to pay?" and "how would fans like to consume/receive the content?" are questions that are FAR more important than feedback on the PR Remaster. That horse has already left the barn. We are now talking about the future.

If we believe that there is a meaningful opportunity to provide this feedback and that the estate will inform its decisions, in part, based on this feedback... shouldn't we do this in a way that really gives them the information (read, data) that the need to make a BUSINESS decision.

After all, as it relates to the estate, "This is a business! And you ain't too far gone to see that yet!" (sorry, couldn't help it)

I also have thought about how the poll could be possibly more informative. Some of the poll choices are fairly vague: what exactly is someone voting for if they select a SOTT deluxe + DVD or Paisley Park performance collection CD and DVD?

Also, it might be worth having a poll run where users can vote on all of the nominated choices, by selecting how they feel about the release. It could be set up like this:

Release 1 (see full details on ThreadXXXX): How likely would you be to buy this?

-Very Likely
-Somewhat Likely
-Unsure

-Somewhat Unlikely
-Very Unlikely

How much priority do you feel this release should be given over other candidate releases?

-High Priority

-Medium Priority

-Low Priority

-No Priority

Release 2 (see full details on ThreadXXXX): How likely would you be to buy this?

-Very Likely
-Somewhat Likely
-Unsure

-Somewhat Unlikely
-Very Unlikely

How much priority do you feel this release should be given over other candidate releases?

-High Priority

-Medium Priority

-Low Priority

-No Priority

Such a poll could be set up as a Google Doc and be linked from the front page.

it's vague indeed. A 'new' album a la some MJ album i dont know??? What's that supposed to mean?

On one side it's good to see crystal balls set winning, on other side that's horror cause the first one sucked balls and many songs what were to be on regular albums were there, thus raping the possible regular albums a la the real CB.

Seeing as next year is the 30th anniversary and to reflect Prince's spiritual beliefs and reference to the afterlife, I think it would make sense for the next release to be a

LOVESEXY SPECIAL EDITION FOR 2018, inc some new outtakes.

The original RAVE UN2 THE JOY FANTASTIC album as planned from 1988.

CRYSTAL BALL PART II - a 3cd box set of new outtakes.

PIANO AND MICROPHONE LIVE

As to other remasters, my pref would be:

CONTROVERSY special edition (with outtakes too like Hard To Get '81 / She's Just a Baby)

1999 special edition (NO CALL U, Yah, U know, Baby You're a Trip, Lust u Always etc etc)

[Edited 8/15/17 8:28am]

Moonbeam said:

CDinwiddie said:

Am I the only one around here thinking that this poll should be a little more "multiple choice" or a little more "scientific." I'm concerned that the big broad question "what do you want?" and the free form answers aren't the right approach.

I'm not coming from a place of criticism, just wanted to share one man's opinion. I'm super grateful to those that organized this interview in the first place.

Look at Peach & Black Podcast's "more scientific" poll about the contents and quality of the PR Remaster. Once the poll closed, there were actual statistics about the fan community's reaction to the set. Shouldn't this poll be similar??? In fact, from where I sit, the answer to the "what should the Estate release next?" and "what are fans willing to pay?" and "how would fans like to consume/receive the content?" are questions that are FAR more important than feedback on the PR Remaster. That horse has already left the barn. We are now talking about the future.

If we believe that there is a meaningful opportunity to provide this feedback and that the estate will inform its decisions, in part, based on this feedback... shouldn't we do this in a way that really gives them the information (read, data) that the need to make a BUSINESS decision.

After all, as it relates to the estate, "This is a business! And you ain't too far gone to see that yet!" (sorry, couldn't help it)

I also have thought about how the poll could be possibly more informative. Some of the poll choices are fairly vague: what exactly is someone voting for if they select a SOTT deluxe + DVD or Paisley Park performance collection CD and DVD?

Also, it might be worth having a poll run where users can vote on all of the nominated choices, by selecting how they feel about the release. It could be set up like this:

Release 1 (see full details on ThreadXXXX): How likely would you be to buy this?

-Very Likely
-Somewhat Likely
-Unsure

-Somewhat Unlikely
-Very Unlikely

How much priority do you feel this release should be given over other candidate releases?

-High Priority

-Medium Priority

-Low Priority

-No Priority

Release 2 (see full details on ThreadXXXX): How likely would you be to buy this?

-Very Likely
-Somewhat Likely
-Unsure

-Somewhat Unlikely
-Very Unlikely

How much priority do you feel this release should be given over other candidate releases?

-High Priority

-Medium Priority

-Low Priority

-No Priority

Such a poll could be set up as a Google Doc and be linked from the front page.

I agree with Moonbeam...

I wonder if meaningful poll results could be be gleaned if we the questions were posed as follows...

1. Rank, in priority order, the era of material you are most interested in (list all eras that people can rank according to their preference):

• Pre For You (e.g. 94 East)
• For You
• Prince
• Dirty Mind
• etc

2. Independant of the era, rank the kind of content type that you are most interested in (list of the types of content that people can rank according to their preference), e.g.:

• Resmasters of content already officially released
• Studio outtakes
• Live recordings
• Live performance video
• Music video
• TV Appearances
• etc

3. Independant of the era and content type, how would you most like to consume this content, e.g. (list the available content formats):

• Physical release
• Streaming
• Download
• etc

4. What do you think is the most approprirate compensation model, e.g.:

• Physically released audio, per song = $ ____, per album = $____
• Physically released video, per song = $ ____, per album = $____
• Streaming of

Should we provide the esate with this kind of meaningful AND ACTIONABLE data? Isn't this the kind of market demand information that any business needs in order to determine where they invest time and resources to serve the market???

Prince.org moderators: PLEASE provide some leadership here! Right now, the community seems to be just shouting and I think that you play a critically important role in aggregating this market demand on behalf of the community and presenting something ACTIONABLE to the estate. We can do better than this.

My $.02

next: pretty please.....


For You 1978 > Lovesexy 1988, a 10 albums-boxset..

remaster, with a bonus disc for each album and includes,

outtakes,
ext versions ,
b-sides.....

+ a Blu-Ray with "all known" Prince musicvideos...

plus, with a few from the Vaults?

If the Estate releases anything, it will have to be something that is legally "cleared". Anything that is tied to a contract or has a hint of contract restraints, most likely will not see the light of day till the Estate is settled (just my opinion). I would imagine if this is this case, almost all the WB era stuff is restrained from release unless the heirs can negotiate the release.

I would imagine video would be hard to release unless it has been edited and is in releasable form.

Hopefully, with the interview and polling of what to release, the heirs will include the fans (org members) into future endeavors.

Picking the two next releases might be a convenient way to keep suggestions manageable but outlining a release strategy first is wiser. I wouldn't be surprised if the powers that be would conclude that releasing special editions of already released 1980s albums would be most profitable in the near term by appealing to mass audiences.

To echo another person's idea, I suggest there be two releases a year: One mass audience-oriented and one fan-targeted. The mass audience releases would be Purple Rain Deluxe-style releases for the remaining 80s (and eventually later periods) albums - SOTT, 1999, Parade, etc. These releases would be similar to PR Deluxe - remastered album, outtakes disc (but not using songs that could be featured on unreleased albums), b-sides, and a live show DVD/CD. The fan releases (which of course would still have mass audience potential) would be more eratic in style, covering unreleased albums, live shows, video collections etc.

Here's one possible release schedule (I echo the general sentiment to first release for the fan releases Prince's last unreleased album and Piano & A Microphone):

2018

1999 Deluxe

Black is the New Black

2019

SOTT Deluxe (using modern technology, the main album might be now squeezed onto one disc)

Piano & A Microphone boxset

2020

Parade Deluxe

Video collection 1979-1990 (released and previously unreleased videos; releasing all videos from Prince's whole career at once would be too much material)

2021

Dirty Mind Deluxe

Unreleased 1990s album