I wonder why they put the entire thing on there for free, right when they just released it?

Phase3 said:

Just another way to make a profit

And there's nothing wrong with that.

To the OP:
YouTube is the biggest music service in the world. That's not hyperbole, it's a fact. Bigger than Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, whatever. That's why it's there. All Prince albums (mostly) are on YouTube. Music is pulled into Youtube and you can stream full albums (albeit mostly one track at a time, not one album per video as with 1999 SDE).

And yes, they make a profit. The estate isn't going to survive on a fan's posting on the Org or their Instagram fan account, or our unadulterated adoration of all things Prince. The court ordered the estate to monetize itself, which is exactly what they're doing. Y'all act like someone making a dollar is a fucking crime. Prince made tons of cash, and it shows. Why can't his estate do the same thing?

It's like asking "Why is the album on Spotify for free?" Well, it's not free. You're either sitting through ads on Spotify, which is how folks get paid, or you're paying for Spotify premium to skip ads. I mean, I thought this basic concept in 2019 was pretty clear for any artist or fan to understand.

TrivialPursuit said:

Phase3 said:

Just another way to make a profit

And there's nothing wrong with that.

To the OP:
YouTube is the biggest music service in the world. That's not hyperbole, it's a fact. Bigger than Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, whatever. That's why it's there. All Prince albums (mostly) are on YouTube. Music is pulled into Youtube and you can stream full albums (albeit mostly one track at a time, not one album per video as with 1999 SDE).

And yes, they make a profit. The estate isn't going to survive on a fan's posting on the Org or their Instagram fan account, or our unadulterated adoration of all things Prince. The court ordered the estate to monetize itself, which is exactly what they're doing. Y'all act like someone making a dollar is a fucking crime. Prince made tons of cash, and it shows. Why can't his estate do the same thing?

It's like asking "Why is the album on Spotify for free?" Well, it's not free. You're either sitting through ads on Spotify, which is how folks get paid, or you're paying for Spotify premium to skip ads. I mean, I thought this basic concept in 2019 was pretty clear for any artist or fan to understand.

.

Of coure the question is how much does free viewing on Youtube cannabalize the sales of a newly released album/compilation. Yes, the Estate does make a little money from all those views, but not that much, if you look at the actual numbers

.

And it is free on Youtube. I don't see any advertisements before or during the tracks. Maybe those without adblockers get more, but doesn't change the fact that it is free for myself and many others.

.

Spotify is not Youtube, as you point out, so not sure why you bring it up.

[Edited 12/3/19 12:23pm]

TrivialPursuit said:

https://prince.org/msg/7/461512