If I remember correctly, he talked about that on Arsenio Hall. Something along the lines of he wanted to release an album when he had something cohesive.

Well, it ties in with his operation. My guess is pain. By the time he conquered the pain, he was on a slippery slope with painkillers him from 2013-16 .

Health, it seems is the reason.

In that time period, there was the hip, the operation, and what would seem to be a deteriation in health.

The 'comeback' of 3rdEyeGirl and then Art Official Age all seems to take place with a different mindset - he knew/sensed/felt he didn't have that long left. So there was a new urgency to his work. And then then the 'summations' that were Hit N Run 1 and 2.

Although 20Ten isn't a bad record, it kind of felt like he was either exhausted and/or had reached some kind of creative dead end... He'd gone back to the sound ofhis heyday and recreated it with some success.... although the end result was hardly a classic.

And then there was quiet, aside from the odd track thrown out here and there.

He had other concerns occupying his time and energy, followed by a rush of creative output as he realised he was reaching the end.

in 2011 he did the second part of the Welcome 2 America tour, then he came to europe
for Welcome 2 America Euro tour.

then he went on to do the Welcome 2 Canada tour and the Welcome 2 Australia tour.

there's an 11 month gap between Welcome 2 Australia and the Live Out Loud tours,

altho there were a dozen or so one off appearances/shows during that lull.

plus he was also working in the studio with Andy Allo to record and produce her LP.

he also released half a dozen or so rehearsals through Andy and Dr Funkenberry in
2012.

plus the odd studiotrack that somehow found it's way to us (like Hot Summer and
Rich Friends) etc.

all in all there was only a small gap of about 4 to 5 months when he was really out
of the picture.

so it seems to be a combination of all the things mentioned above. what he actually
said about it himself, on arsenio, coupled with his health, new projects he was just
thinking up/working out behind the scenes, recording with Andy (and probably a few
other artists), getting 3rdEyeGirl together, rehearsing and recording etc etc etc.

IstenSzek said:

in 2011 he did the second part of the Welcome 2 America tour, then he came to europe
for Welcome 2 America Euro tour.

then he went on to do the Welcome 2 Canada tour and the Welcome 2 Australia tour.

there's an 11 month gap between Welcome 2 Australia and the Live Out Loud tours,

altho there were a dozen or so one off appearances/shows during that lull.

plus he was also working in the studio with Andy Allo to record and produce her LP.

he also released half a dozen or so rehearsals through Andy and Dr Funkenberry in
2012.

plus the odd studiotrack that somehow found it's way to us (like Hot Summer and
Rich Friends) etc.

all in all there was only a small gap of about 4 to 5 months when he was really out
of the picture.

so it seems to be a combination of all the things mentioned above. what he actually
said about it himself, on arsenio, coupled with his health, new projects he was just
thinking up/working out behind the scenes, recording with Andy (and probably a few
other artists), getting 3rdEyeGirl together, rehearsing and recording etc etc etc.

Thank you. I was just going to say, he was playing live during this time. I saw him in Chicago in September of 2012 and again in May 2013 at the Myth in Minneapolis, which I believe was his warm-up for the shows he played in Europe that summer with 3rdeyegirl.

databank said:

Prince toured, recorded as much as ever, released a crapload of material online (streams and digital singles) as well as his collaboration album with Andy Allo, Superconductor, during these years. It never felt like he was retired or anything like this at the time: there was Prince news all the time if you followed him closely. My take is that he was just fed up with the decline of albums sales, i think he mentioned that in an interview at the time. It was his way of blackmailing us into buying records again

Right. Didn't he say something about how there was just no way to make money with recorded music, anymore?

databank said:

Prince toured, recorded as much as ever, released a crapload of material online (streams and digital singles) as well as his collaboration album with Andy Allo, Superconductor, during these years. It never felt like he was retired or anything like this at the time: there was Prince news all the time if you followed him closely. My take is that he was just fed up with the decline of albums sales, i think he mentioned that in an interview at the time. It was his way of blackmailing us into buying records again

I remember compiling several CDs of material released or streamed online over this time period. You had to be willing to do "the work" to put it all together, but overall it didn't feel like his output had slowed down at all.

He said when asked why he had a 'producer' for AoA, he responded 'well when things don't seem to work...' and that is probably what he was dealing with after LotusFlow3r - AoA

Genesia said:

Good question.

My guess would be a combination of things:

- Releasing music on traditional platforms was dead and there was no real way to monetize it anymore

- He wasn't playing the Spotify/Pandora/YouTube game nor was he real keen on record companies and hadn't entirely delivered on or figured out the whole "running your own website" thing either. And, as usual, wanted total control, which was becoming incredibly difficult as the internet exploded beyond his ability to control it. He declared the internet was dead but I think he meant as a revenue stream.

- I think he was adjusting to the modern model of music distribution which, to him, was not only chump change but, probably in his mind, almost beneath him. The sudden change in how music was delivered and sold must have baffled and challenged him.

- Possible health issues but who knows? He was probably feeling like he was getting old.

- I highly doubt it had much to do with wanting to wait until he had "really killer material". Didn't seem to stop him before a lot of times. Truthfully, he BURIED a lot of his best material many times

Was he or was he not touring heavily during this time?

2010, 2011 and 2012 he spent touring extensively! I was even surprised how long he spent on the Welcome 2 shows, and his body really didn't seem to show any signs of wearing down even up to the last show in Chicago.

-

We can't discount that just because the releases were sporadic at the time, he was most likely recording music at the same pace. A lot of the material eventually got released one way or another.

-

By the time we got to AOA I think it became more about his body.

Genesia said:

djThunderfunk said:

databank said:

djThunderfunk said:

I remember compiling several CDs of material released or streamed online over this time period. You had to be willing to do "the work" to put it all together, but overall it didn't feel like his output had slowed down at all.

If you look at 2013 on my site, it's actually one of the busiest years, if not the busiest, in his career in terms of official material made available, but most of it was hit and run and hide and seek indeed.

It seemed like every couple of weeks there was some new site I had to go to to download or stream from. He was trying a bunch of different options to see what worked, for sure.

databank said:

databank said:

Phase3 said:

databank said:

Phase3 said:

I love your site! I have it bookmarked now.Great job,I know it took a lot of work

Thx, I appreciate it I still have so much work to do on it to perfect it, proofreading, corrections...

Was 2013 the year?

At the end of 2012, beginning of 2013, is that when they kept saying "2013 is going to be huge" or something like that. If so, it was. Even without an album.

djThunderfunk said:

I think the start of that coincided with him saying he wasn't going to release records because the indusry was going through something they needed to work out first.

Then he started doing tours playing the hits, and seeking out a lot of young artists and as others mentioned, put out a bunch of records.

I think some of the time that can't be accounted for invoves the period he was dating Misty Copeland, and she was based out of New York.

I was hoping to see the direct quote but I remember it being a semi-big story about him "quitting" albums, giving one of his trademark cryptic quotes, right after 20Ten.

Right after this quote 2011 had the "Extraloveable" iTunes single, 2013 had a large number of 3rdEyeGirl digital singles.

But I did used to wonder why there was no recorded material in 2012.

Genesia said:

databank said:

Prince toured, recorded as much as ever, released a crapload of material online (streams and digital singles) as well as his collaboration album with Andy Allo, Superconductor, during these years. It never felt like he was retired or anything like this at the time: there was Prince news all the time if you followed him closely. My take is that he was just fed up with the decline of albums sales, i think he mentioned that in an interview at the time. It was his way of blackmailing us into buying records again

Right. Didn't he say something about how there was just no way to make money with recorded music, anymore?

From the 'lost' Rolling Stone interview from 2014:

--------------------------------

Prince famously liberated himself from his record deal with Warner Bros. in 1996, and it apparently took him years to realize that his freedom extended to not releasing music. “I write more than I record now, and I also play live a lot more than I record,” he says. “I used to record something every day. I always tease that I have to go to studio rehab.

.

“I’m a very in-the-moment person,” he continues. “I do what feels good in the moment. … I’m not on a schedule, and I don’t have any sort of contractual ties. I don’t know in history if there’s been any musicians that have been self-sufficient like that, not beholden. I have giant bills, large payrolls, so I do have to do tours. … But there’s no need to record anymore.” He makes a direct connection between fasting, celibacy and his abstention from recording. “After four days, you don’t want food anymore. … It’s like this thing that says, ‘Feed me, feed me.’ When it realizes it’s not going to get fed, it goes away. … It’s the same with music. I had to see what it’s like to stop making albums. And then you go, ‘Oh, wait a minute, I don’t feel the need to do that anymore.'”

--------------------------------------------

WhisperingDandelions said:

I was hoping to see the direct quote but I remember it being a semi-big story about him "quitting" albums, giving one of his trademark cryptic quotes, right after 20Ten.

Right after this quote 2011 had the "Extraloveable" iTunes single, 2013 had a large number of 3rdEyeGirl digital singles.

But I did used to wonder why there was no recorded material in 2012.

Yeah, not a lot from 2012 but finishing up the Welcome 2 tour and seemed focused on his Andy Allo relationship/recordings that year might be why
.
Ain't Gonna Miss U When U're Gone Prince: 3rdEyeGirl.com download 2012
Angel Wish - 2012
Boyfriend Prince: 3rdEyeGirl.com download 2012
Breakdown Prince: Art Official Age 2012 2014
Breakfast Can Wait Prince: Art Official Age 2012 2013
Check The Record Welcome 2 America 2012
Dream Of Fire Ana Moura: Desfado 2012 2012
Givin Em What They Love Janelle Monáe: The Electric Lady 2012
Groovy Potential Prince: Hitnrun Phase Two 2012
Live Out Loud 3rdEyeGirl: 3rdEyeGirl.com website 2012
Rocknroll Loveaffair Prince: Hitnrun Phase Two 2012
Screwdriver Prince: Hitnrun Phase Two 2012

RODSERLING said: