jaypotton said:

LOL, I'm trying to cut down on my spending. I don't need this temptation!

I might buy the regular, 2 disc version of the remaster and download the material from other discs. But €80 is ridiculous.

Se7en said:

The problem is that people (especially when it comes to music) are dishonest.

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No denying.

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The minute that "exclusive" Vault material is made available, it will be all over the Internet. For free. Which eventually causes sales to plummet for the Estate.

So they jack up the price on stuff like Piano & Microphone, purple vinyl, 1999 Deluxe to hopefully offset that.

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They do?

I mean: jacking up the price is easy but with that exact reason?

The price difference wil be bigger so more reason to go for the leaks.

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The Estate could do some really amazing things if people weren't so dishonest (I'm lumping myself in there too - I have plenty of bootlegs).

Imagine a $500 exclusive listening party at Paisley Park of dozens of legitimately unreleased tracks? Then for that price you get FLAC files of everything you've heard?

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Those FLACs would be released to a b00tleggar by someone the minute they get their sweaty palms on these tracks.

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Disclaimer: I will not travel to the USSA for this listening party for political reasons; only after the revolution I might consider.

Second: I do own a sizable stack of b00tz and sometimes even enjoy them.

EmmaMcG said:

jaypotton said:

Yeah but that box will look sooooo nice on the shelf. You know you want it really. You do, you do!

LOL, I'm trying to cut down on my spending. I don't need this temptation! I might buy the regular, 2 disc version of the remaster and download the material from other discs. But €80 is ridiculous.

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Where did you check?

See e.g. this. €64.99 for the deluxe version.

Your response shows the limits of the premium market for vault material are quite close.

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Now imagine you would like the vinyl version of the Deluxe set. €215.

For that purpose I would suggest you wait a few months and see the price drop a bit to slightly more reasonable levels. €215 suggests we pay €10 for each vinyl and €15 for the video but I see bol.com not list this explicitly here, only 6 discs of which the 6th disc appears to be the live video disc.

But they do specify 10 LPs....

udo said:

Tower Records. But even €65 is far too much as far as I'm concerned. And I'm a fan! With that kind of pricing, they're limiting their audience to hardcore fans and collectors. Casual fans and curious lapsed fans are not going to be shelling out that kind of money. €40 for the super deluxe edition would have been just about within reason for what they're offering.

jaypotton said:

I do! Just not in the budget. I’ll get the CD package though.

EmmaMcG said:

Personally, I don't see any future Prince release reaching a wide audience. It took too long for the estate to get things together and by the time music got released it was underwhelming from a casual fan's perspective. Like, Piano And A Microphone? Seriously? So, as far as appealing to the masses goes, that ship has sailed. The other method you mention of high price releases aimed at his hardcore fanbase is a risky proposition. Sure, some people will be willing to pay premium prices for unreleased vault material. But I wouldn't. I could easily afford such a subscription service but the problem is that I just don't see it as value for money. And I don't think I'd be alone in that. Besides, his hardcore fanbase isn't as big as it was so I'm sure his estate won't want to alienate a big percentage of what's left. What I think would be their best option at this point would be to set up an online store, upload every single recording from the vault and charge $1 per song, $10 per live show and $5 for any unreleased full albums.

I’ve always favoured the expensive, deluxe physical boxset model, largely based on my experience with the Miles Davis sets. I spent silly money on those, but they’re among my most prized possessions. Personally I feel that Prince deserves similar treatment and that 1999 Deluxe is a step in the right direction, but I see what you're saying. Call me old school, but I still like physical releases.

The other nice thing about genuinely deluxe releases is that they often retain or increase their value. Copies of "The Complete On The Corner Sessions" frequently sell for double or even triple what I paid for it new.

[Edited 9/14/19 18:07pm]

EmmaMcG said:

Personally, I don't see any future Prince release reaching a wide audience. It took too long for the estate to get things together and by the time music got released it was underwhelming from a casual fan's perspective. Like, Piano And A Microphone? Seriously? So, as far as appealing to the masses goes, that ship has sailed. The other method you mention of high price releases aimed at his hardcore fanbase is a risky proposition. Sure, some people will be willing to pay premium prices for unreleased vault material. But I wouldn't. I could easily afford such a subscription service but the problem is that I just don't see it as value for money. And I don't think I'd be alone in that. Besides, his hardcore fanbase isn't as big as it was so I'm sure his estate won't want to alienate a big percentage of what's left. What I think would be their best option at this point would be to set up an online store, upload every single recording from the vault and charge $1 per song, $10 per live show and $5 for any unreleased full albums.

Box sets sales are the best way to get money back at this time. (I don't think the intention is to release every live version of a song.)

They better hurry up and do live concerts videos sets. Before that market disapears.

kewlschool said:

They better hurry up and do live concerts videos sets. Before that market disapears.

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