https://www.reddit.com/r/...s_manager/

Here's every question and answer regarding Prince.

Q: Seems to me like most superstars lose a connection to their roots, yet Prince repped Minnesota throughout his career. Can you speak more to how and why Prince remained a die-hard midwesterner?

A: Prince loved Minneapolis. My belief is that he loved the isolation that the town gave him to work versus living and working in Los Angeles or New York. Its no secret, and even Prince has mentioned this, that the cold Minneapolis weather kept riff-raff out of the town. Minneapolis is a wonderful town and a peaceful place to live. (in the summer) But the cold is a great creative taskmaster as it keeps you indoors practicing your craft.

Q: Hi Owen! Huge Prince fan ever since my parents introduced his music to me when I was a little one. I'm curious, what is your opinion on the music industry today compared to the time where artist like Prince and Michael Jackson were at their prime?

A: In a word, it sucks.

There is no real true artist development at the record labels today. Labels want everything handed to them on a silver platter. When the bean counters took over the passion left and if your first album does not sell a certain amount, you're dropped by the label. In the early days, Warner Brothers took great care in nurturing a young Prince. I seriously doubt that Prince would have had 1/10th of the development today that he received over 40 years ago by WB. This is a topic of discussion in my book, Famous People Who've Met Me, if you're interested in reading more on this

Q: Hey Owen! Thanks for doing this.

I'm curious, what was your first impression of Prince? Did any aspects of that impression end up being particularly true or false as you got to know him?

A: The first impression I had was of Prince's great intellect and his ability to absorb information at lightning speed. I have never seen this before or after meeting Prince. Also, his work ethic and dedication to his craft.

This became evident after being in the studio with David Z recording his demos. I noticed that Prince didn't just pick up one or two aspects of being in the studio but he rapidly grew to understand how an entire recording session worked from tracking to EQ to the process of mixing music.

Q: Is he really that good at basketball and is that thing with Charlie Murphy true?

A: Yes he is that good at basketball. I once saw him face a basketball net with a wall behind him. He threw the ball behind his head, it banked off the wall behind him, and bounced into net in front of him... SWISH!

Q: Do you feel his rejection of Youtube etc hurt his career in later years and particullary in the early to mid 2000's?

A: I don't want to speak for what he was thinking, but I can only give my opinion.

It seemed like Prince was highly protective of his art and I understood his reasoning and even his battle with Warner Brothers. I have great respect for Warner Brothers and what they did in the early days to help him get on the map. If you're a modern day Mozart, you want to protect your hard work as much as possible.

Q: Was Prince really that good at writing lyrics? Some of his lyrics just blow me away. What type of stuff did he like to read in his spare time? What stuff did he like to when he wasn't in the studio?

A: During the time I was with him, Prince was either writing music, playing music, performing music, or recording music. He took very little time off. Most of the time I was with him perhaps we would go to a movie or go out to eat and then it was back to work. Part of being a great songwriter is being a great lyricist. In my opinion it never seemed like it was a problem for him to write lyrics and seemed to come very naturally. And that is a rare gift. Oddly enough Paul McCartney talked about having that same talent with regard to himself writing lyrics.

Q: What was the toughest line item to negotiate in that first Warner Bros. record deal?

A: Keeping Prince's publishing for himself and getting him to be his own producer when he had never made a full album before. There more on the negotiation with Warner Brothers in my book.

Q: Hey Owen!

While you were working with Prince, was there a specific moment when you knew that he would be one of the all time greats?

A: Truth be told, I recognized the potential the first time studio owner Chris Moon played me an early demo and then when David Z completed the first professional demo at Sound 80 studios in Minneapolis just before leaving for Los Angeles to get a record deal.

Also, Prince would record on my home tape recorder and leave cassettes for me to listen to that would blow me away. No one has ever heard these recordings and I keep them under tight wraps.

Q: Is there any chance these cassette recordings will ever be released commercially?

A: Sadly, there are many rights issues, but I would like to find a way to release them legally because its the best example of Prince's talent as a teenager.

Q: You and your wife lived with Prince after he was signed to Warner Bros. What was he like to live with? What is something about his character that wasn't revealed through his public persona?

A: Prince has a terrific sense of humor. We played a ton of practical jokes on people to break the tension of recording.

He was also great at sports and could beat the hell out of anyone at ping pong.

Q: The public knows Prince as a very shy, timid guy. When you hung out with him, was he the opposite? Was he talkative & the life of the party? Was he great at picking up girls? Was he always out at the club?

I just remember celebrities & band members say he is really humorous and fun, yet in interviews he's totally mysterious & quiet. And in his music, it seems like he's a big flirt with the women, but could that just be a persona? Do you know why he wanted to appear one way in public but act totally different in private? Did he tell you why he acted so mysterious?

A: Prince was definitely not the life of the party, unless he was on stage.

However, he had an excellent sense of humor and was quite talkative once he knew and trusted you. Prince could be so warm and charming that he never had to worry about picking up girls. Mostly they were attracted to him, and that makes me very jealous.

As far as Price being mysterious, thats who he really was. To me he was very private but played his life out on stage. People like Prince are never one dimensional, they are like a diamond with many facets to their personality. Just when you thought you had Prince pigeon holed, he would surprise you with another dimension of his personality. Truly hard to define.

Q: What's your favorite Prince song?

A: I really like so many Prince songs but the ones that come to mind are "Baby," "Sign O' The Times" and "Sometimes It Snows in April," but there are so many it is almost impossible for me to list them.

Q: Hi Owen - looking forward to reading your book. Prince’s life’s work in and out of the studio (e.g. philanthropy) reached and impacted people’s lives in many ways. From your experiences with him, is there something you’d like to share (and see more of) with/from future generations of artists?

A: What I liked about his philanthropy was that he never boasted about it. Many of his philanthropic actions were kept pretty secret and that is really cool. I would like to see more artists give back to their communities either in funding for education, the arts or the underprivileged. Once of the ways i have personally given back is by teaching "The Basics of the Business of Music" at UCLA. You don't get rich doing this but its my way of giving back to the only business I've ever been in since I was 16 years old.

Q: What is your fondest memory of working with/watching Prince Perform?

A: Watching him play all the instruments in the studio and build a track like it was 6 different people, not just one. That was an astounding thing to see.

Q: Hi Owen, What do you think changed the most in Prince's musical growth starting from when you first heard him to his passing?

And what did you think of him as a visual artist? Did you ever foresee the guy with the Afro and bell bottom jeans wearing some of the things he did over the years? Especially those riske outfits?

A: What I really like about Prince and all great artists is their ability to take you on a journey from their first album forward. Think of the Beatle's "I want to hold your hand," all the way to Sgt Pepper's. What struck me the most, but did not surprise, me was the growth and sophistication of his writing as the years went by. When I saw him at the forum in LA (3 times out of 21 shows) I was blown away with the level of his performance and the sheer artistic magnitude of his writing. To be truthful, he went far beyond what I thought he would become even though I knew he would have an incredible career.

With regard to the outfits, really, he surprised us all with the fashion sense since the afro and bell bottom jeans days. its just another example of Prince's uncanny ability to absorb the world around him and take it to the next step. Sorry to sound this way but thats what we call "undefinable magic" you can read more about this aspect in my book.

Q: Hi Owen! Were you there when Kevin Smith met Prince? And if so, have any stories?

A: No but I know the story. And there is a lot of truth to that story.

Q: Hey, I went by paisely park shortly after prine died when people were covering the fence with purple balloons and ribbons. Then biked past last fall and the fence was completely bare. What happened to those? Did they just get thrown out was something special done with them. Also what is happening at paisly park now? Is it just shut down or is something else going on there?

A: From my understanding, the things that were on the fence were all kept and preserved somewhere, but I don't know where. Paisely is still very much in operation today with tours and there is a big Prince fan event going on all tis week.

Q: Hey Owen, ive respected Prince as an artist since i was young and thank you for your management, but I have a question. How in the hell do i get my wife to like/enjoy Prince? She cannot stand his music and throws a fit when I throw on any of his records. Luckily my daughter has good taste and enjoys the musical stylings of Prince.

A: Lock her in a room and start out with some of the earlier music on the first album like "Baby" and "So Blue" and perhaps his more sensitive writing like "Sometimes it Snows in April" because thats the most accessible. Don't plop her down in the middle, take her on the journey!

Then put on some of his funkier shit and go in the room and dance with her.

Q: How much trickle down booty did Prince pass along to you?

A: No trickle down, they were not there to see me!

Q: Is there a ton of unreleased music that is to be released?

A: Yes. Most people know about the extent of unreleased music that he stored in his vault over the years. There are hundreds if not thousands of recordings. Prince was the most prolific music artist of our time. Look for it to be released over the coming years from his estate.

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[Edited 4/18/18 15:46pm]

THank you for that Dandan