To me, it's hard to imagine tracks by dead artists making much noise on charts. Obviously if something's released right after the passing, there's interest. But after years go by, I mean....It's just not in the cards. Charts are about youth, new sounds, and more pretentiously, celebrating life. Some exceptions just prove the rule: the novelty of hearing a "new" Beatles song, or Elvis singing in front of a dance beat. Nina Simone revisited (did any of these chart?) Dead artists get box sets, you know? Retrospectives with liner notes and pictures. Pretty museum stuff.

NorthC said:

Why are folks here so obsessed with chart success and record sales?

.

It's just an easy measure of validation, like getting an A or having a six pack. Everyone likes validation. Even artists seem obsessed. But Prince is such a strong (and often weird) flavor, I don't know why it weighs so heavily amongst his fans either. Maybe because of the forever-rivalry between him and Michael? Or because he's so associated with Purple Rain, and it's millions of sales? I can't imagine fans of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, or Jimi Hendrix, plotting out chart success.

NorthC said:

Why are folks here so obsessed with chart success and record sales?

Here, here!

I've said it before, and I'll say it here: Prince fans would do anything Prince does, just because he did it. They changed their beliefs with birthdays, religion, music business - whatever. Prince said charts don't matter, and fans ran with that. Until they didn't, and they turned on a dime and are now barking (even in other threads about how much PR did or didn't sell, calling it "a flop", and calling for the demise of Piano and a Microphone already) about charts and radio, etc. It's hypocritical.

Personally, I don't care about charts. In 1984, only 5 or 6 artists had #1 albums. That shows immense power of music, buying power of the public, and promotion. These days, there is a different #1 every other day. And what constitutes a #1? Streams? Downloads? Almost anyone can have a #1 on some chart these days.

What fans fail to realize, as Prince said in 1999, is that this ain't 1984 up in this mutha. The business has changed, drastically. Albums don't sell 1M, or 2M copies anymore. Major names like Prince, Mariah, Madonna, Janet, Bruce, Timberlake, Rihanna - whoever is considered the hottest of the hot aren't even pushing 250K sometimes in physical sales, or combined sales overall. As if illegal downloading didn't cut into revenue enough, services like Spotify, Apple Music, Prime Music, etc. have cut into it even more. How the RIAA hasn't adjusted what is considered Gold or Platinum is pretty amazing in 2018.

"Noise on radio" - that's the whole truth right there.

Mintchip said:

jaawwnn said:

A duet with a current star. Hey, you asked. He's still gonna be the Purple Rain guy though. [Edited 6/10/18 9:24am]

"Come Elektra Tuesday", a duet with Shawn Mendes, featuring Cardi B. (Jill Jones clearly heard in the mix, but still uncredited.)

.

This is one of those jokes you write out and then get scared because it's 2018 and worse things have happened.

jaawwnn said:

A duet with a current star. Hey, you asked. He's still gonna be the Purple Rain guy though. [Edited 6/10/18 9:24am]

Or pull out his version(s) of "Bad" and "Like A Prayer", if they exist.

I don't think anything is going to make much noise on the charts at this point. I'll probably get torn to shreds for saying this, but to most people, Prince is kind of a relic of a bygone era. Especially to the kind of audience that dictates what is popular on the charts today. Whoever said that more emphasis should be placed on securing Prince's legacy as a classic genius artist, they're correct. If some unreleased Prince song from the past even managed to make it onto the charts, I guarantee it wouldn't last long. As long his older work is put into circulation so that younger folks (and older folks out of the loop) have a chance to discover it and realize how prolific and consistently talented Prince was, that's all that truly matters. I became a fan of Prince because I was fortunate enough to have access to some of his CDs that my dad owned, but it became so much easier to work through his discography once it became available on Spotify and various places online. It's more about accessibility to the world than fleeting moments of mainstream buzz.

not what would make the charts..but something that would make the general population go ...WOW!!

luvsexy4all said:

not what would make the charts..but something that would make the general population go ...WOW!!

like those aftershows

disch said:

Prince wasn’t “charting” with his singles in his last years of life, let alone after his death. The whole nature of music charts is so different then in his heyday anyway that it’s hard to even use that word. - I completely agree that hearing his tunes sandwiched between Cardi b’s something is completely unrealistic and should not be the measure. The goal now should be establishing his work in the pop/rock canon along side acts like the Beatles as Led Zeppelin — stuff that anyone who claims literacy in pop music would be expected to know.

speak!

Forget "radio" and "charts". There is no one place for listening.

.

NOW, if you're talking "increase awareness" -- how does that happen now?
Through visual means and social media.

.

What about releasing a late-period concert FILM online on the Prince official YouTube channel that could be streamed online AND SHARED? Not Purple Rain era. One of those great concerts he did in 2010-2012, where people can SEE and HEAR the genius? Preferably a bright, exciting, outdoor show OR a compendium of several.

OperatingThetan said:

Charts are irrelevant. Chart positions haven't mattered to Prince's music for over 20 years. A premium service needs to be established to serve later unreleased material to hardcore fans. The more casual fans can be catered for by selective wider releases. Without this kind of model, much of Prince's vault material will be wasted.

I agree...

we're not the wrong demo. There's no radio station that's going to put a 20- or 30-year-old song by an artist who died 2 years ago at the age of 57, and who hadn't had a hit single in decades, into their rotation. And do people even discover new music based on radio play anyway? Isn't it all about streaming playlists and youtube nowadays?

jdcxc said:

We are the wrong demographic for this question (I’m guessing lol) I was shocked that Moonbeam Levels didn’t get any radio play on my local indy channel. WB didn’t even try tho

[Edited 6/10/18 20:51pm]

wreckasto said:

To me the last missed opertunity at a “current” single for AirPlay was Hard Rock Lover. This was classic Prince screams , guitar solo’s with a fresh vibe. I always felt this song could of done well on the charts.

yeh..during the lost era of music airplay

As others have said, it would have to be a duet on a Rihanna or Drake single, like how MJ's "Love Never Felt So Good" made the top ten thanks to Justin Timberlake. Otherwise, the only charts he could even have a hope of doing well on are the album charts. Vault releases can make the top 40 or even top ten there, and that will further push him up the all-time most successful album artists list. Otherwise, just enjoy the music that gets released in the future and accept the sad fact that Prince's career, especially as a hit-maker, is past tense.

renfield said:

As others have said, it would have to be a duet on a Rihanna or Drake single, like how MJ's "Love Never Felt So Good" made the top ten thanks to Justin Timberlake. Otherwise, the only charts he could even have a hope of doing well on are the album charts. Vault releases can make the top 40 or even top ten there, and that will further push him up the all-time most successful album artists list. Otherwise, just enjoy the music that gets released in the future and accept the sad fact that Prince's career, especially as a hit-maker, is past tense.

if they release those duets with an ipecac

I cannot see ANY Prince song on today's radio. Sure, the hits are played frequently on the oldies stations, but thats it. New music has a very different formula. Someone not "current" and without todays "image" is never going to make it. I would say that even Sting, Bono & U2, or Bruce Springstein have been passed by. They all have die hard adult fans, and they could put out pure gold songs, but they do not appeal to the mainstream anymore. when was Madonna's last hit? She held out for longer than most, but her time is done as well.

I'd love to see Prince get airplay, but I just can't see it happening. I'm pretty current with all the leaked boot songs, and a great as some of it is, there is nothing I've heard that would have a chance in hell of mainstream radio play. In my opinion at least.

Also...

I absolutely LOVE "If It'll Make U Happy". Possibly my favorite unreleased track of all time. It's very accessable to casual fans in my opinion. My girlfriend likes Prince's hits, but isn't into the "deeper" tracks.

I played "If It'll Make U Happy" to her expecting that she would like it. Her response: "eh, it's ok. nothing special."

Transformed1 said:

Also...

I absolutely LOVE "If It'll Make U Happy". Possibly my favorite unreleased track of all time. It's very accessable to casual fans in my opinion. My girlfriend likes Prince's hits, but isn't into the "deeper" tracks.

I played "If It'll Make U Happy" to her expecting that she would like it. Her response: "eh, it's ok. nothing special."

You forgot to put "ex" in front of "girlfriend" lol. "If It'll Make U Happy" is definitely special, I can't wait to hear the full version someday!

disch said:

we're not the wrong demo. There's no radio station that's going to put a 20- or 30-year-old song by an artist who died 2 years ago at the age of 57, and who hadn't had a hit single in decades, into their rotation. And do people even discover new music based on radio play anyway? Isn't it all about streaming playlists and youtube nowadays?

"Coco Boys"

and/or

"In A Large Room With No Light"