RSO Records? At the time,they were riding high with the Bee Gees.I bet they later regretted their decision to not sign Prince.

SoulAlive said:

Thanks.

SoulAlive said:

-

They also refused U2.

[Edited 3/2/26 7:15am]

databank said:

SoulAlive said:

RSO Records? At the time,they were riding high with the Bee Gees.I bet they later regretted their decision to not sign Prince.

IDK. Signing Prince was one thing. Supporting and promoting him the right was was another. On all accounts, WB did everything right until at least the mid-80s. The story we know may have turned out very, very differently had Prince signed with any other label.

.

Exactly. He spent his three-record advance on his first album, and Warners just let him continue. (His manager recently claimed that was part of the deal, but it's not like a record company can't make things very hard.) There are plenty of one-album artists in the 70s and 80s that never got a second chance. Not saying they're all as talented as Prince, but who knows what we missed out on.

.

Just look at someone like Shuggie Otis, who got plenty of chances yet basically disappeared after his 1974 album until he got some new appreciation twenty years later.

.

Prince signing with another label, spending a large amount of money on his first album and then getting dropped after it flops and never getting another chance is a very real alternate scenario.

bizzie said:

databank said:

SoulAlive said: IDK. Signing Prince was one thing. Supporting and promoting him the right was was another. On all accounts, WB did everything right until at least the mid-80s. The story we know may have turned out very, very differently had Prince signed with any other label.

.

Exactly. He spent his three-record advance on his first album, and Warners just let him continue. (His manager recently claimed that was part of the deal, but it's not like a record company can't make things very hard.) There are plenty of one-album artists in the 70s and 80s that never got a second chance. Not saying they're all as talented as Prince, but who knows what we missed out on.

.

Just look at someone like Shuggie Otis, who got plenty of chances yet basically disappeared after his 1974 album until he got some new appreciation twenty years later.

.

Prince signing with another label, spending a large amount of money on his first album and then getting dropped after it flops and never getting another chance is a very real alternate scenario.

.
Prince was part of the last generation of artists who had the chance of working under the great record label bosses such as Mo Ostin, before the lawyers and accountants took control and ruined everything. So while I understand that many of his grievances were valid, P was lucky to be born at the right time that allowed his intergalactic career path.
.

Not that his incredible mix of skills and talents wouldn't have found their way to an audience otherwise, but it is certain that he would've had a much harder time becoming a star in the '90s.

.
Speaking of Shuggie Otis:
it's true that he owes a lot to David Byrne for his 'second coming', but his case is also proof that with the right marketing, P could have a career-resurgence too.

Kares said:

bizzie said:

.

Exactly. He spent his three-record advance on his first album, and Warners just let him continue. (His manager recently claimed that was part of the deal, but it's not like a record company can't make things very hard.) There are plenty of one-album artists in the 70s and 80s that never got a second chance. Not saying they're all as talented as Prince, but who knows what we missed out on.

.

Just look at someone like Shuggie Otis, who got plenty of chances yet basically disappeared after his 1974 album until he got some new appreciation twenty years later.

.

Prince signing with another label, spending a large amount of money on his first album and then getting dropped after it flops and never getting another chance is a very real alternate scenario.

.
Prince was part of the last generation of artists who had the chance of working under the great record label bosses such as Mo Ostin, before the lawyers and accountants took control and ruined everything. So while I understand that many of his grievances were valid, P was lucky to be born at the right time that allowed his intergalactic career path.
.

Not that his incredible mix of skills and talents wouldn't have found their way to an audience otherwise, but it is certain that he would've had a much harder time becoming a star in the '90s.

.
Speaking of Shuggie Otis:
it's true that he owes a lot to David Byrne for his 'second coming', but his case is also proof that with the right marketing, P could have a career-resurgence too.

I think he definitely did from 2004 onwards. Nothing like 1984-1993, I'll give you that, but probably way more than Shuggie Otis (whose name remain relatively unknown).

In the end Prince wasn't off the radars for very long, barely a decade at most (depending on the territory).

I think we just overdramatized it as fans, because we (irrealistically) hoped he'd remain at the center of the conversation and on top of the charts forever.

bizzie said:

databank said:

SoulAlive said: IDK. Signing Prince was one thing. Supporting and promoting him the right was was another. On all accounts, WB did everything right until at least the mid-80s. The story we know may have turned out very, very differently had Prince signed with any other label.

.

Exactly. He spent his three-record advance on his first album, and Warners just let him continue. (His manager recently claimed that was part of the deal, but it's not like a record company can't make things very hard.) There are plenty of one-album artists in the 70s and 80s that never got a second chance. Not saying they're all as talented as Prince, but who knows what we missed out on.

.

Just look at someone like Shuggie Otis, who got plenty of chances yet basically disappeared after his 1974 album until he got some new appreciation twenty years later.

.

Prince signing with another label, spending a large amount of money on his first album and then getting dropped after it flops and never getting another chance is a very real alternate scenario.