As we're already seeing releases being pushed back and Amazon not taking in any more non-essential inventory at this point (incl. records), what are the chances, that we'll get to see Prince releases during the year? Warner Bros still has rights, so they'll want to put out the much-rumoured Times or Parade box, but how likely is that now, given the situation (and I'm not even mentioning millions of people loosing jobs, making expensive music box-set acquisitions less likely)?

Hmmm, you both make some good points...

Doozer said:

I have no information outside my opinion, which is that more people stuck at home would actually bode WELL for music releases

This is my thinking too.

It's a double edge sword.... people will be cautious with their expendable incomes, depending on how long this goes on, but they won't be spending money on mediocre dining out, or going to see live music.

It's going to be a better time to market reissues and a name like Prince instead of breaking a new artist.

Doozer said:

I have no information outside my opinion, which is that more people stuck at home would actually bode WELL for music releases, unlike movie releases which rely a lot on theater ticket sales. Music can be an inexpensive piece of social distancing and doesn’t require large gatherings to enjoy or sell. It’s not like there is a tour that would have to be cancelled or postponed.

Great point actually.

The estate (and fans) shunning digital-only releases in favor of dense physical releases with an emphasis on packaging/presentation would decrease the likelihood due to physical supply chain / priority of physical supplies I'd imagine... they also seem to approach every release like they're potentially going to hit Purple Rain numbers, so I'd assume like movies they'd want a release date/month where there's ample promotion / focus that doesn't get drowned out by topical news bulletins.

Both these perspectives are wholly irrelevant / atavistic in 2020, I'm just trying to get into the mindset as presented thus far.

800 people died in Italy within the last 24 hours. Who cares about another album-release at the moment?

To release, or no to release:

https://news.yahoo.com/re...03746.html

nonesuch said:

800 people died in Italy within the last 24 hours. Who cares about another album-release at the moment?

Clearly every other poster in this thread.

When the world wasn't ending people would yearn for more releases because we "aren't getting any younger." Does it not stand to reason while everyone is a panic'd and anxious fury the same people might want a few tracks of solace to maybe partition out an hour or two of the day that isn't yet another cataclysmic HD hyper-zoom lens on topical reality?

But you do you, guy... but speaking from within that framework of this perspective you advocate... why are you here, question man? Why do you care? This is essential wasted time you could be mashing your refresh button at all your doomsday newsfeeds like whack-a-mole, no?

WhisperingDandelions said:

nonesuch said:

800 people died in Italy within the last 24 hours. Who cares about another album-release at the moment?

Clearly every other poster in this thread.

When the world wasn't ending people would yearn for more releases because we "aren't getting any younger." Does it not stand to reason while everyone is a panic'd and anxious fury the same people might want a few tracks of solace to maybe partition out an hour or two of the day that isn't yet another cataclysmic HD hyper-zoom lens on topical reality?

But you do you, guy... but speaking from within that framework of this perspective you advocate... why are you here, question man? Why do you care? This is essential wasted time you could be mashing your refresh button at all your doomsday newsfeeds like whack-a-mole, no?

Does your inflated ego feel better now?

nonesuch said:

nonesuch said:

800 people died in Italy within the last 24 hours. Who cares about another album-release at the moment?

Who cares, people you don't know and never will.

Doozer said:

nonesuch said:

800 people died in Italy within the last 24 hours. Who cares about another album-release at the moment?

To be fair, 150,000 people die on earth every day. That’s not to belittle present-day tragedies or the seriousness of a global pandemic, but this isn’t Coronavirus.org and the question by the OP is indeed an interesting one worthy of discussion.

This thread is actually explicitly talking about „releases in CORONAVIRUS year“, dear.

nonesuch said:

slyjackson said:

nonesuch said:

800 people died in Italy within the last 24 hours. Who cares about another album-release at the moment?

Who cares, people you don't know and never will.

Wow.

nonesuch said:

800 people died in Italy within the last 24 hours. Who cares about another album-release at the moment?

People who have better things to do than waste time on some dead folks...
People die every fucking day and I don't see you whine about them so leave your pretentious and fake sympathy out of this topic and don't tell people what they should or shouldn't care about on a "Prince" fan website regarding off-topic drivel...
If you really care so much go to fucking Italy and support the families of every single corpse there...

On-topic: It would have been cool if The Estate would post some free concerts or whatever like some other big name artists are doing now...

Neversin.

Doozer said:

I have no information outside my opinion, which is that more people stuck at home would actually bode WELL for music releases, unlike movie releases which rely a lot on theater ticket sales. Music can be an inexpensive piece of social distancing and doesn’t require large gatherings to enjoy or sell. It’s not like there is a tour that would have to be cancelled or postponed.

If only there was a tour to be postponed...

Waht would be happy with that...

While releases during a pandemic would absolutely be popular for those seeking some enjoyment stuck in their homes, it just doesn't make sense from a financial standpoint.

We all know there's not a lot of money to be made releasing albums. For all the artists who are still alive and in relatively good health, touring is where the money is. That's why so many bands and musicians are constantly touring, it's a lot more profitable than album sales.

Right now there's not many who have a lot of disposable income.

Many people have lost their job, or had their hours drastically reduced, or have lost the opportunity to make money on tips and commissions, or are afraid of losing their job in the future.

Many people have lost a ton of money on the stock market, IRA, pension, 401k, etc.

Many people are dealing with massive medical bills from being infected, or are afraid of that happening in the future.

Amazon and other online merchants are overburdened trying to process orders and have them delivered with so many people buying from home during this crisis.

So unless the estate suddenly decides to start caring more about the fans and less about making a profit, I don't foresee more releases until things get back to normal ... whenever that will be.

nonesuch said:

Doozer said:

Let’s look at what Prince did in tragic times in America: 9/11: Proceeded with the release of TRC through NPGMC and physical CDs and vinyl in Sept / Oct Katrina, New Orleans, August 2005: Released SST and Brand New Orleans single There is a bit of a precedent set already.

Okay now let's look at the facts.

The Rainbow Children recording was completed by June 19, 2001.

He then immediately began "A Celebration" road tour which was supposed to go through August, and did not include any TRC songs, but canceled the remainder of the tour after just 4 June shows (no reason given by PrinceVault).

The original plan was to begin the ONA tour in support of TRC album release, 9/11 pushed that tour back to March 1, 2002.

So those are the two reasons why TRC was released November 20, 2011. Because the album was already in the can and ready to go, and because it needed to be released before the start of the tour that was supporting it.

As for Katrina, that's not really applicable because it didn't impact the entire country lilke Coronavirus did. It impacted just a very small area.

Pokeno4Money said:

Doozer said:

Pokeno4Money said:

Okay now let's look at the facts.

The Rainbow Children recording was completed by June 19, 2001.

He then immediately began "A Celebration" road tour which was supposed to go through August, and did not include any TRC songs, but canceled the remainder of the tour after just 4 June shows (no reason given by PrinceVault).

The original plan was to begin the ONA tour in support of TRC album release, 9/11 pushed that tour back to March 1, 2002.

So those are the two reasons why TRC was released November 20, 2011. Because the album was already in the can and ready to go, and because it needed to be released before the start of the tour that was supporting it.

As for Katrina, that's not really applicable because it didn't impact the entire country lilke Coronavirus did. It impacted just a very small area.

You are making my point for me. Anything released this year will have been “in the can” for a minimum of 4 years at this point. Both examples I cited are applicable as they clearly show Prince felt music was a healing power in times of need. He may have slightly altered plans to accommodate reality (i.e. the logistics of a tour and traveling) but he was far more likely to cancel a project because of creative reasons than world events. If the point of reference is meant to be “what would Prince do?” then the answer would be keep recording and releasing music. He left no instructions but did leave almost 4 decades of examples.

I think you missed the point about TRC needing to be released prior to the start of the tour supporting it.

Pokeno4Money said:

He then immediately began "A Celebration" road tour which was supposed to go through August, and did not include any TRC songs, but canceled the remainder of the tour after just 4 June shows (no reason given by PrinceVault).

All signs point to him having issues with his pain and being disappointed at the reaction TRC recieved at A Celebration.

Which explains why he went from a "best of" setlist with A Celebration to the defiant ONA tour we ended up getting.

But Prince was very much a person who tried to use music as a healer. Same with Baltimore when that happened. Saying it affected a "very small area" is kind of discounting how deeply those events affected the black community.

That said, I don't know how much Originals 2 or Sign Deluxe would be a healer. Great for fans but it wouldn't be a direct statement like Prince was able to make when he was still here. This would really be the time for the Estate to pull a unreleased song or live track out of the vault and release it as a digital single.

[Edited 3/22/20 10:42am]

Pokeno4Money said:

Strive said:

All signs point to him having issues with his pain and being disappointed at the reaction TRC recieved at A Celebration.

Which explains why he went from a "best of" setlist with A Celebration to the defiant ONA tour we ended up getting.

I had already looked at the setlists for each of the six Celebration shows, including the two in St Paul, and I didn't see any TRC songs in any of the setlists.

Soooo ... not sure what you mean by "reaction TRC received at A Celebration"??

There will be no delay, any release can be done without any human to human contact, and as someone else pointed out, we are all sitting here at home so it is the perfect time to appeal to a captured audience.

Just wipe down the prince cd when it arrives, we want it funky, but not THAT funky.

Pokeno4Money said:

I had already looked at the setlists for each of the six Celebration shows, including the two in St Paul, and I didn't see any TRC songs in any of the setlists.

Soooo ... not sure what you mean by "reaction TRC received at A Celebration"??

The 2001 A Celebration at Paisley is where he did TRC listening parties that were filmed by Kevin Smith. (I think)

From all accounts, he wasn't expecting the type of reaction he got.

[Edited 3/22/20 11:51am]

Additionally, there seems to be no delay in moving forward with Sony Legacy reissues of The Rainbow Children, One Nite Alone…, and the ONA live box set.

Strive said:

Pokeno4Money said:

I had already looked at the setlists for each of the six Celebration shows, including the two in St Paul, and I didn't see any TRC songs in any of the setlists.

Soooo ... not sure what you mean by "reaction TRC received at A Celebration"??

The 2001 A Celebration at Paisley is where he did TRC listening parties that were filmed by Kevin Smith. (I think)

From all accounts, he wasn't expecting the type of reaction he got.

[Edited 3/22/20 11:51am]

Okay gotcha, thanks.