ShellyMcG said:

If Neversin's claims are true then that goes beyond incompetence and into pure stupidity.

But that is exactly what it is and has been from day 1.

ShellyMcG said:

ShellyMcG said:

peedub said:

ShellyMcG said:

I don't know who Neversin is but he or she seems to know his stuff. One thing kind of bugs me about what he's saying there though. "From their point of view the interest isn't there". That's an astonishingly stupid conclusion for them to make. Baffling, really. And I don't mean Neversin. Like I said, that guy (or girl) knows his (or her) stuff. I'm talking about the estate. If they feel like the interest isn't there among Prince fans to hear unreleased Prince music then they're even worse than I thought. And I already had a low opinion of them. But I just put the lack of releases down to a combination of legal issues and incompetence. But if they really can't understand that Prince fans want to hear unreleased Prince music then I just don't know what to say. And they're basing this off the lack of questions at a "Celebration" event attended by less than 0.00000001% of the fanbase. If Neversin's claims are true then that goes beyond incompetence and into pure stupidity.

Exactly. Read the comments section of any of their social media pap. Purple rain nostalgia junkies that attend a short event for exorbitant admission fees are not accurately representative of prince fandom as a whole.

My guess is that they see these people as the only "positive" fans they want and us as a bunch of whining and feeling entitled to everything Prince did idiots lol.
It sseems enough money is flowing in steadily from everything they do except releasing music so why give us what we want and just release smaller releases like this ATWIAD one?
Its Lonny and Spicer there so they probably milk every release as long a s possible:
ATWIAD Deluxe with only the album and singles remastered
then 10 years later a 50 year edition (even tho they claim they don't want anniversary releases) with a new remaster, singles, 2 outtakes and a live sampler or something on audio only so we have to buy it again.
then 10 years later another set ommiting the previous 2 outtakes and adding 1 new one and no live show etc. etc.

ShellyMcG said:

they're basing this off the lack of questions at a "Celebration" event attended by less than 0.00000001% of the fanbase

More like 0.2% of the fanbase.

I'm fine with this (ONLY by assuming Parade SDE is coming next year). I wanted a PR SDE but I understand why no SDE here. Mayve they'll save that vault material for the inevitable PR SDE

olb99 said:

MIRvmn1 said:

WhenFansCry said:

With hindsight, we had no reason to expect something big in 2025.

2023 had been announced as a big year by Charles Spicer and we got the D&P deluxe.

2024, no big year.

2025, no big year either.

I think the 'big year' is the clue telling us something new from the vault is going to be released.

Fingers crossed 2026 will be announced as a BIG YEAR!

I don't know. I don't really trust the estate anymore, so my expectations are low. I fear we might only get a Parade Deluxe next year without any vault tracks.

I can understand ATWIAD just being a deluxe edition (disappointing as it is) but Parade HAS to be an SDE in my mind.

homesquid said:

I'm fine with this (ONLY by assuming Parade SDE is coming next year). I wanted a PR SDE but I understand why no SDE here. Mayve they'll save that vault material for the inevitable PR SDE

It's not gonna happen, might as well save yourself from future disappointment.

whodknee said:

MIRvmn1 said:

WhenFansCry said: I don't know. I don't really trust the estate anymore, so my expectations are low. I fear we might only get a Parade Deluxe next year without any vault tracks.

I can understand ATWIAD just being a deluxe edition (disappointing as it is) but Parade HAS to be an SDE in my mind.

Maybe, if folks keep on expressing their frustration with this set and sales reflect so, they throw in a DVD next time. But wouldn't be surprised if Parade gets the same treatment as ATWIAD next year - remastered album and edits and extended versions of the singles (in fact that could be a very neat 2LP or 2CD set). I wish I'd be more optimistic, but I just can't see them putting together a SDE like SOTT anymore.

ShellyMcG said:

olb99 said:

More like 0.2% of the fanbase.

Maths was never my strong suit

I guess it depends on how many people you can call "fans" in 2025, but we're definitely not "three million strong" anymore.

psyche2 said:

The tracks from the album are labeled "2025 Remaster." I'm not 100% sure if they are, I'm listening on cheapie headphones on a pc. But its just the album and the few songs that have come out already.

Also, I was today years old when I realized that the orchestration on the intro to "The Ladder" is the same as "Our Destiny."

Anyway, I'm disappointed there isn't more to this deluxe set, but it's better than nothing.

olb99 said:

Chas218 said:

JorisE73 said:

JoeyCococo said:

Well, unhappy that there is no vault or live material..but, will definitely buy the remaster… to have this album in superior sound is critical. Condition of the Heart deserves each subtlety to be heard. Very excited.

So Lonny/Spicder lied again regarding having videos on there releases, will not spend money on this but will download it for free and I urge every9one to do that, just don't give them money fdor these lacking releases

[Edited 9/11/25 13:50pm]

I'm gonna download it for free too.

Not that I think it would gain them less income. Like I said before, they probably get more money from Prince's back catalogue played all over the world. Not merch, not new releases (I think). Merch is there to keep the vibe alive for Prince lovers(*), but not for us real fans and collectors.

I'll wait again a year or so, to buy this new release in sales, like i did with several previous releases.

And it worked. I'm patient. In the meantime I enjoy the music anyway.

-

(*) How many 20 yo and younger i see with (so called vintage) Prince t-shirts. And when I ask them if they know who he is, and what music he playes, they don't know what to say. Well, makes sense, they were born after 2005. Whatever... Or, their parents were big fans, then they know a one or two songs by title.

-

Londell and Spicer are to blame for not keeping the legacy alive. What do they acutally do? Nothing.

No communication, no promotion, no buzz, no new ways of promoting his legacy, no new technologies, internet, nothing.

Both are nearly as old as we are. Seems like they also lost feeling with the 'modern' much younger approach of music industry. While other big names somehow know how to get much more out there. Whatever (bis).

ShellyMcG said:

olb99 said:

I guess it depends on how many people you can call "fans" in 2025, but we're definitely not "three million strong" anymore.

I have to believe that there are at least 3 million people in the whole world who, when asked, would say that they are fans of Prince's music. I don't use Spotify or any of that shit but doesn't it have a "monthly listeners" thing on there? I'd guess Prince would have at least 3 million.

People who like Prince and know 5-10 of his songs can call themselves fans, of course. I'm not sure I would agree. It's a question of definition, as I said.

Let's put it another way: how many people care about what the Estate releases or not? Certainly not millions. 10'000? 50'000?

olb99 said:

ShellyMcG said:

olb99 said:

People who like Prince and know 5-10 of his songs can call themselves fans, of course. I'm not sure I would agree. It's a question of definition, as I said.

Let's put it another way: how many people care about what the Estate releases or not? Certainly not millions. 10'000? 50'000?

True. Though another question would be how many people even know when the estate releases anything? I sometimes see this guy at work and we talk sometimes about movies, music, games, etc. He would be a very casual fan of Prince. He owns 2 or 3 Prince albums on CD and I think he owns a vinyl or two as well. I can't remember exactly what he's got but my point is that he likes Prince enough to have bought some of his music. When I asked him if he'd heard Welcome 2 America he looked at me like I had 10 heads. Didn't have a clue what I was talking about. I asked if he could name any Prince release since his death and he knew of exactly one of them. The Originals album. Upon my recommendation, he said he was going to get Welcome 2 America and Hit'nRun Phase Two. I don't know if he actually got them. We haven't talked about it since. And I don't see him that often. To make a long story short, here's this guy who would probably buy new Prince releases but the problem is that he doesn't know they exist. So maybe Prince would have more fans if the estate were to actually promote this stuff properly instead of holding dance parties or whatever for the die hard fans who happen to live near the venue

Or maybe we just have to accept that some fans are just happy to listen to the same 5-10 Prince songs. Or the same 2-3 Prince albums, like your colleague. They will never listen to the rest of Prince's discography. And they're certainly not interested in previously unreleased material.

So I'm back to this idea that it doesn't make any sense to listen to those casual fans when it comes to deciding what to release next. Because they probably won't buy anything anyway. And there are millions of them, apparently: 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify, according to ElGorillos. My guess is that they're not listening to "N.E.W.S."...

I stand by my initial estimate: there are probably way less than 100'000 non-casual fans who would buy a new Prince release.

Anyway, your point was that there was only a few hundreds fans present at the Vault & Future Plans Panel and that they didn't represent fans in general. That's true even if there is only 10'000 fans still buying releases.

My main problem with that panel is not who was or wasn't present, but that it was simply bad. Nothing clear was communicated. They couldn't even explain clearly what they were going to release next (the ATWIAD "deluxe" edition).

olb99 said:

Anyway, your point was that there was only a few hundreds fans present at the Vault & Future Plans Panel and that they didn't represent fans in general. That's true even if there is only 10'000 fans still buying releases.

My main problem with that panel is not who was or wasn't present, but that it was simply bad. Nothing clear was communicated. They couldn't even explain clearly what they were going to release next (the ATWIAD "deluxe" edition).

Yes, the Estate did not go in with a presentation of their plans and then the fans could ask questions about that. Instead, it was more like "we're completely unprepared and expect the fans to dig our plans out of us with questions."

[Edited 9/25/25 9:55am]

olb99 said:

FrankieCoco1 said:

ShellyMcG said: In fairness, NOBODY is listening to N.E.W.S. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to it but your quote has made me want to listen to it again, which I’ll do over the next few days. There’s one section I particularly enjoyed at the time of release (all of it, probably not so much but often going back to something of Prince’s music reveals something else enjoyable). Thanks for the prompt.

Currently listening to "East". It's a great track.

FrankieCoco1 said:

ShellyMcG said: In fairness, NOBODY is listening to N.E.W.S. It’s been a while since I’ve listened to it but your quote has made me want to listen to it again, which I’ll do over the next few days. There’s one section I particularly enjoyed at the time of release (all of it, probably not so much but often going back to something of Prince’s music reveals something else enjoyable). Thanks for the prompt.

I reckon N.E.W.S. ain't the most joyous thing to listen to. But I appreciate the progression from TRC -> ONA -> Xpectation. Musicology following next felt like an embarrassment

.

LOL

ShellyMcG said:

I beg your pardon, gentlemen. There are 3 people listening to N.E.W.S.

MIRvmn1 said:

ShellyMcG said:

I beg your pardon, gentlemen. There are 3 people listening to N.E.W.S.

I'm glad there are two more people besides me listening to N.E.W.S.

Speaking of which, I'd gladly buy a N.E.W.S. suitcase.

Official N.E.W.S. Sundial.