Prince was never a huge seller like other 80's artists, so it makes sense he isn't that big after his death. The "younger" generation know who Michael Jackson was, they don't know who Prince is and as this generation streams the most, its simple. His youtubechannel has 650K subscribers, MJ does have 14 million.

We on the org think the world is busy with Prince, but its not.

But who cares....we enjoy his music!

rdhull said:

rdhull said:

His legacy is large. Think! It aint illegal yet.

Oh, RD - never change.

nextedition said:

Prince was never a huge seller like other 80's artists, so it makes sense he isn't that big after his death. The "younger" generation know who Michael Jackson was, they don't know who Prince is and as this generation streams the most, its simple. His youtubechannel has 650K subscribers, MJ does have 14 million.

We on the org think the world is busy with Prince, but its not.

But who cares....we enjoy his music!

Exactly.

Regardless of his sales before or after his death, what matters most is if his music, his art, his performances made an impact on you or other people around the world.

Did he connect with you ?

Every concert I went to, I remember being surrounded by a few mainstream "hits" fans...but then there were far, far more diehard fans, who had every song, every album, bootlegs, and had seen him countless times before. The few times I briefly spoke with Prince (and yes I was very nervous) I didn't hesitate to tell him how much his music meant to me, my family, my friends ...and that his music brought people from all walks of life together. That's all that really matters, right?

Here is a famous lyric:

Hooray for Hollywood

Where you're terrific if you're even good

Where anyone at all from Shirley Temple

To Aimee Semple

Is equally understood

Aimee Semple in the 1920's was more popular than Elvis, MJ, and Monroe combined. Yet, nobody knows (for the most part) who she is or even exsisted. Historically speaking singers, sport stars, and actors aren't remembered as much as composers. So, in time-Prince's influence will be greater than MJ's. But in the scheme of all things it doesn't really matter. All you have to do is enjoy Prince's music for yourself.

pain said:

Prince died 3 years ago but it seems like he died 20 years ago because he is fading You can barely see his albums in the charts And his streaming numbers are very low When you compare his stats/numbers to some of his peers who are dead/still alive,you realise that his stats are very weak Prince deserves to have a bigger legacy

I'm not sure what your expecting. People have to go on with their daily lives regardless of what beloved artist dies...it's a sad fact. In my opinion his legacy looms large. He is universally considered one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, not alot of people can even be mentioned in the same breath with him as a complete musical force. Album sales of weak ass compilations aren't indicative of jack shit.

Trust me, Prince will NEVER be forgotten as long as humans play music.

pain said:

Strive said:

There's a documentary series from Netflix coming soon, the autobiography, the movie using his music from Universal that's getting fast tracked, the documentary about First Ave 83 from Apple. Relax purple fam. There's irons in the fire and his legacy with the mainstream will only grow with time. People need to relax with the idea that a new release has to sell a million copies or debut number one or that the Estate has to empty the Vault tomorrow to be "successful" [Edited 7/10/19 16:08pm]

This. It's admittedly frustrating that we haven't gotten much of his actual work in the last 3 years, but legal battles and the lack of a will certainly don't make it any easier. The releases will come eventually, and until then, we have plenty of people trying to keep his legacy alive and celebrating his art.

I imagine refusing to have his music on streaming services/YouTube/any platform that younger generations use put a major dent in his legacy.

A shame, but it was his choice. He never cared much about sales.

[Edited 7/10/19 17:15pm]

His legacy is and will be fine, as long as you enjoy the music that is the important part right?

Any lagging numbers one might see are merely a testament to the fact that he never sold out.

He is #1 for me, that is all that matters.

Doozer said:

He just had an album debut at #15 on Billboard. He’s twice as old and off the planet compared to #s 1-14.

... Dropped to #140 in the second week, and will most likely be out of the Top 200 in the 3rd, not even surpassing 30,000 in the USA making it selling less than N.E.W.S. in the USA.

nextedition said:

feeluupp said:

skywalker said:

pain said:

Prince died 3 years ago but it seems like he died 20 years ago because he is fading You can barely see his albums in the charts And his streaming numbers are very low When you compare his stats/numbers to some of his peers who are dead/still alive,you realise that his stats are very weak Prince deserves to have a bigger legacy

1. Prince is one of the largest selling musicians of all time around the world. - 2. He was his own worst enemy of preserving his legacy. - Another way to look at this is that he didn’t whore himself out (play the game)the way Michael Jackson, Madonna, and others did. Meaning, in 1985 he wasn’t doing Coke commercials even though easily could’ve gone this route many times throughout his career. More often than not, he did what he wanted to do rather than what was commercially viable. This will change over time as his estate is more traditional/commercially minded than he (usually) was. - 3. Prince is the one most famous/influential people/musicians to ever live. What more Do you want? He is one of THE titans of music. Check Bob Dylan’s legacy versus his chart success. How many #1 singles did Hendrix have? How many number one songs for Springsteen? - 4. Charts and streaming are all smoke and mirrors. What I mean by that is, yes it does show some organic/actual popularity. More often than not, they are controlled/shaped/influenced by corporations that want to sell you things. - 5. Fun exercise for perspective: Google image search the word “king”. Then, google image search the word “prince”. Now talk to me about his legacy. [Edited 7/10/19 16:13pm]

He was big in the 80s mainstream for like one full album of hits, one single a couple years later, and then he rode Batman for one final lap.

His legacy is what it always was, which is considered among the greats within musician/super music nerd/music historian communities.... buuut, mainstream Joe 6-pack type fans always ask what's the big deal, tout "MJ was better" and can only name 1, or 2, maybe 3 pop hits, unless they were around in '84.

Blame the Purple Rain -> Around the World in a Day transition for the loss of the mainstream. Personally, I thank that transition for why I became a lifelong fan. A silly move for one looking to ca$h out and/or $ellout, total bawse move for an artist.

[Edited 7/10/19 21:03pm]

skywalker said:

pain said:

Prince died 3 years ago but it seems like he died 20 years ago because he is fading You can barely see his albums in the charts And his streaming numbers are very low When you compare his stats/numbers to some of his peers who are dead/still alive,you realise that his stats are very weak Prince deserves to have a bigger legacy

1. Prince is one of the largest selling musicians of all time around the world. - 2. He was his own worst enemy of preserving his legacy. - Another way to look at this is that he didn’t whore himself out (play the game)the way Michael Jackson, Madonna, and others did. Meaning, in 1985 he wasn’t doing Coke commercials even though easily could’ve gone this route many times throughout his career. More often than not, he did what he wanted to do rather than what was commercially viable. This will change over time as his estate is more traditional/commercially minded than he (usually) was. - 3. Prince is the one most famous/influential people/musicians to ever live. What more Do you want? He is one of THE titans of music. Check Bob Dylan’s legacy versus his chart success. How many #1 singles did Hendrix have? How many number one songs for Springsteen? - 4. Charts and streaming are all smoke and mirrors. What I mean by that is, yes it does show some organic/actual popularity. More often than not, they are controlled/shaped/influenced by corporations that want to sell you things. - 5. Fun exercise for perspective: Google image search the word “king”. Then, google image search the word “prince”. Now talk to me about his legacy. [Edited 7/10/19 16:13pm]

Great Response skywalker...

and SO Satisfying that Google Image search...

Prince will get more and more famous as the years go by..

we just wont get to hear about it...

BlueShakooo said:

rdhull said:

His legacy is large. Think! It aint illegal yet.

Hey! Where are all the people who always complain about Bart's comments?

Prince has an amazing legacy.He will always be considered one of the greatest artists of all time.

skywalker said:

pain said:

Who cares?

I know about him, and that's all that concerns me. I don't need anyone else's validation to make me feel better about my love for him and his music.

Because in many ways Prince fought too hard against himself and his past

kewlschool said:

Here is a famous lyric:

Hooray for Hollywood

Where you're terrific if you're even good

Where anyone at all from Shirley Temple

To Aimee Semple

Is equally understood

Aimee Semple in the 1920's was more popular than Elvis, MJ, and Monroe combined. Yet, nobody knows (for the most part) who she is or even exsisted. Historically speaking singers, sport stars, and actors aren't remembered as much as composers. So, in time-Prince's influence will be greater than MJ's. But in the scheme of all things it doesn't really matter. All you have to do is enjoy Prince's music for yourself.

I have made a similar argument.

100 years from now MJ will be remembered for his commerical success and cultural influence.

100 years from now Prince will be remember for his music.

kewlschool said:

Historically speaking singers, sport stars, and actors aren't remembered as much as composers. So, in time-Prince's influence will be greater than MJ's.

That might be more so in the past. But anyone born past 1980 has grown up with hip hop as mainstream pop music, not composers as much. So I guess that is what music writers in the future will focus on more. It's at the point today that the Sugarhill Gang is the equivalent of going by 1984, when Thriller & Purple Rain was hot, of an performer popular in the 1940s. Hip hop has probably invaded mainstream culture & music in the USA more than any other genre before it. Some orchestras are using hip hop elements, the Black Panther score does that. Dr. Dre became a billionaire because of Beats headphones and It's Hard To Be A Pimp won an Oscar. The Fresh Prince, Queen Latifah, Ice T, LL Cool J, & Ice Cube are really popular in movies & TV. Even Ice Cube's son is starting to become a well known actor, when Madonna's acting career mostly failed. Rock was primarily popular with white audiences, and more male with sub genres like heavy metal, prog, & punk rock. But hip hop has become a thing with many ethnicities. There's the popular Rap Battles Of History videos, The Roots are the Tonight Show band, Warren Beatty made a rap movie (Bulworth), Willie Nelson made a record with Snoop Dogg, plus the success of Hamilton on Broadway. Weird Al's most successful parody is White And Nerdy, not Eat It or Fat. Notice the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame has inducted several hip hop acts as soon as they were eligible, but mostly ignored metal bands and inducted acts like Chicago, Paul Butterfield, & Journey decades after they were eligible. Missy Elliott has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame & Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer. I think he's the only music artist besides Bob Dylan that's not classical or jazz to get one.

[Edited 7/11/19 21:37pm]