JorisE73 said:

RODSERLING said:

I have this on vinyl. WB/Prince should have released a more comprehensive box Set or séparateur box-set including all the B-sides, 12' and remixes. It didn't need Prince permission. Something liké that in the early 2000's would have made easy money.

It was planned to release all his singles and remixes and b-sides on CD-singles in the 90s but Prince argued against it and won, so Prince still did have some say

Did I dream this or were we actually able to order those singles, but they were then cancelled?

olb99 said:

JorisE73 said:

It was planned to release all his singles and remixes and b-sides on CD-singles in the 90s but Prince argued against it and won, so Prince still did have some say

Did I dream this or were we actually able to order those singles, but they were then cancelled?

yes, I ordered the Japanese versions and therre were posts here and everywhere of people preordering them and then they were all canceled. That hurt

JorisE73 said:

olb99 said:

Did I dream this or were we actually able to order those singles, but they were then cancelled?

yes, I ordered the Japanese versions and therre were posts here and everywhere of people preordering them and then they were all canceled. That hurt

Yeah, I think I still have PTSD from that.

olb99 said:

JorisE73 said:

yes, I ordered the Japanese versions and therre were posts here and everywhere of people preordering them and then they were all canceled. That hurt

Yeah, I think I still have PTSD from that.

I thought it was the most ecxiting releases since forever back then, so of course it had to be canceled

lurker316 said:

JorisE73 said:

It was planned to release all his singles and remixes and b-sides on CD-singles in the 90s but Prince argued against it and won, so Prince still did have some say

What was his rationale for opposing its release?

.
I guess he wanted creative control and he also wanted to get paid. He hated the fact that Warners had the right to come out with new editions of singles in any combination and artwork they saw fit. He hated the Japanese CDs that paired material from different singles and that were produced without his approval. I don't think he was paid royalties on those releases either, apart from the standard income stream as the writer/composer.

.

Also, he had a creative mind focusing on creating new material, not a mind of an archivist who would be interested in cataloging and curating archival releases. Making sure his fans had access to every single recording he ever put out was the least of his concern – in fact he most probably preferred we didn't.

Kares said:

lurker316 said:

What was his rationale for opposing its release?

.
I guess he wanted creative control and he also wanted to get paid. He hated the fact that Warners had the right to come out with new editions of singles in any combination and artwork they saw fit. He hated the Japanese CDs that paired material from different singles and that were produced without his approval. I don't think he was paid royalties on those releases either, apart from the standard income stream as the writer/composer.

.

Also, he had a creative mind focusing on creating new material, not a mind of an archivist who would be interested in cataloging and curating archival releases. Making sure his fans had access to every single recording he ever put out was the least of his concern – in fact he most probably preferred we didn't.

Rumor back then was that Prince had his own plans with his new masters and these CD-singles were a way of WB to interfere with his plans or something and he was annoyed by them

JorisE73 said:

RODSERLING said:

JorisE73 said:

It was planned to release all his singles and remixes and b-sides on CD-singles in the 90s but Prince argued against it and won, so Prince still did have some say

From the moment there are no New material on a release, it's hard to believe an artist has a word to Say about it.

.
Just because a label has the right to do something, it doesn't mean they would want to risk the relationship with one of their most important artists.

Kares said:

Omg the music video is so awesome! I like the outfits

JorisE73 said:

olb99 said:

Did I dream this or were we actually able to order those singles, but they were then cancelled?

yes, I ordered the Japanese versions and therre were posts here and everywhere of people preordering them and then they were all canceled. That hurt

Wasn't that more in the 2000s? It very vaguely rings a bell but I'd have thought it was later.

Regarding WB was or wasn't capable of doing without Prince's approval, I'm still not clear on this. The fact that he was asked to approve of the Ultimate tracklist and that its release date was moved to accomodate 3121's release suggests WB at least didn't want to upset him any more than he already was by rereleasing stuff without his approval. Same with the fact that they let him get away with releasing some WB-era vault material for a few years before (apparently) discreetly asking him to stop doing it circa 2001, or using WB samples on Musicology without asking him to licence them. It appears they really wanted to avoid reigniting the public fight they had in the mid-90s.

Kares said:

lurker316 said:

What was his rationale for opposing its release?

.
I guess he wanted creative control and he also wanted to get paid. He hated the fact that Warners had the right to come out with new editions of singles in any combination and artwork they saw fit. He hated the Japanese CDs that paired material from different singles and that were produced without his approval. I don't think he was paid royalties on those releases either, apart from the standard income stream as the writer/composer.

.

Also, he had a creative mind focusing on creating new material, not a mind of an archivist who would be interested in cataloging and curating archival releases. Making sure his fans had access to every single recording he ever put out was the least of his concern – in fact he most probably preferred we didn't.

Which CDs are you talking about? I can't think of any.

.

[Edited 1/31/25 4:30am]

databank said:

databank said:

Kares said:

.
I guess he wanted creative control and he also wanted to get paid. He hated the fact that Warners had the right to come out with new editions of singles in any combination and artwork they saw fit. He hated the Japanese CDs that paired material from different singles and that were produced without his approval. I don't think he was paid royalties on those releases either, apart from the standard income stream as the writer/composer.

.

Also, he had a creative mind focusing on creating new material, not a mind of an archivist who would be interested in cataloging and curating archival releases. Making sure his fans had access to every single recording he ever put out was the least of his concern – in fact he most probably preferred we didn't.

Which CDs are you talking about? I can't think of any.

.

[Edited 1/31/25 4:30am]

.
These Japan-only "EPs":
– Gett Off Remix EP (+ Cream)
– New Power Generation Funky Weapon Remix (+ Thieves In The Temple)
– My Name Is Prince EP (+ Sexy MF)
– The Scandalous Sex Suite EP (+ Partyman)

databank said:

JorisE73 said:

yes, I ordered the Japanese versions and therre were posts here and everywhere of people preordering them and then they were all canceled. That hurt

Wasn't that more in the 2000s? It very vaguely rings a bell but I'd have thought it was later.

Regarding WB was or wasn't capable of doing without Prince's approval, I'm still not clear on this. The fact that he was asked to approve of the Ultimate tracklist and that its release date was moved to accomodate 3121's release suggests WB at least didn't want to upset him any more than he already was by rereleasing stuff without his approval. Same with the fact that they let him get away with releasing some WB-era vault material for a few years before (apparently) discreetly asking him to stop doing it circa 2001, or using WB samples on Musicology without asking him to licence them. It appears they really wanted to avoid reigniting the public fight they had in the mid-90s.

.
I agree. No matter what Warners had the right to do, an artist of Prince's caliber always had the option of going public about any disagreements between them, and even when he wasn't selling millions of records anymore, he could still reach millions of fans through the media. (In fact he could've came up with a brilliant diss-track any day and release it the next.) The signed agreements are always confidential by nature, so it would've been difficult for Warners to defend themselves publicly so I guess it was wiser of them to try not to piss P off unless it was something far more important than rereleasing a few old singles.

databank said:

JorisE73 said:

yes, I ordered the Japanese versions and therre were posts here and everywhere of people preordering them and then they were all canceled. That hurt

Wasn't that more in the 2000s? It very vaguely rings a bell but I'd have thought it was later.

Those reissues are mentioned in this a.m.p. post, for example:

https://groups.google.com...0CdXNLWT4J

So they would have been released in October 1997.

I also found an email from early 1998 mentioning the "recent cancellation" of those singles.

[Edited 1/31/25 8:17am]

Kares said:

databank said:

Which CDs are you talking about? I can't think of any.

.

[Edited 1/31/25 4:30am]

.
These Japan-only "EPs":
– Gett Off Remix EP (+ Cream)
– New Power Generation Funky Weapon Remix (+ Thieves In The Temple)
– My Name Is Prince EP (+ Sexy MF)
– The Scandalous Sex Suite EP (+ Partyman)

Ah yes, I'd completely forgotten about those!

Do you know for a fact that he hated those (and if so, how?) or is it just speculation?

databank said:

Kares said:

.
These Japan-only "EPs":
– Gett Off Remix EP (+ Cream)
– New Power Generation Funky Weapon Remix (+ Thieves In The Temple)
– My Name Is Prince EP (+ Sexy MF)
– The Scandalous Sex Suite EP (+ Partyman)

Ah yes, I'd completely forgotten about those!

Do you know for a fact that he hated those (and if so, how?) or is it just speculation?

Also the '89 CD singkles of Let's Go Crazy, Erotic City, Kiss and When Doves Cry


Prince – Let's Go Crazy... | Discogs

Prince – When Doves Cry... | Discogs

Prince – Kiss – CD (WME Pressing, Single, Reissue, Repress), [r669959] | Discogs

Prince – Erotic City – CD (Single, Reissue), [r7031782] | Discogs

He posted a rant on NPGMC regarding these releases and how these were practically bootlegs/pirates that WB released without his approval.

RODSERLING said:

Kares said:

.
Just because a label has the right to do something, it doesn't mean they would want to risk the relationship with one of their most important artists.

That relationship was already dead, apart the fact Prince made his old catalogue living by performing it on stage. My point was that contractually, nothing prevented WB to do a lot of money out of the already released material ( with maybe an additionnal check), liké thé Very Best Of. Beside, of course, a simple courtesy toward the artist. I think the main reason why WB didn't do that, was because they didn't see these singles material that valuable

That';s not true, he posted himslef that from '96 till he got his name back in early 2000s that he was still was weekly/monthly negociating terms regarding his back catalog with WB's accountants and lawyers advising him to do remasters (that WB couldn't do without his approval and him not knowing that if they did do those remasters his masters and the remastrs would revert back to him and WB would have to negociate with him to keep them) but he wanted to do his New Masters instead and wanted his masters back. This was explained back then by someone who was around during this whole fiasco and actually knew what was in the contract(s) (including the $100 million) and whatnot.

nayroo2002 said:

JorisE73 said:

Kares said: