Dear Mr. Nelson,

You don't know me, but I feel like you should. I'm 27 years old...white...male...and more than a little pissed. I don't feel that you owe me anything...other than respect. And asking me to send you things that I have purchased with my own money is not respecting me. Most of those releases you are asking for in your latest club e-mail were widely available in record stores...how were we to know they were "unofficial?" And why has it taken you this long to notice? As for bootlegs, just keep reading and I'll let you know how to end those once and for all...

Other than my family, the one thing that has been in my life longer than anything else is your music...almost 20 of my 27 years. The first album I ever purchased was "Purple Rain," and I was hooked immediately. Your music has literally been the soundtrack to my life...from my childhood, to adolescence, to college, and now to adulthood. Often, I remember things that have happened in my life through association with some of your songs. My first kiss ("Kiss")...my first school dance ("U Got The Look")...the death of my father ("Sometimes It Snows In April")...my first sexual experience ("Gett Off")...the first song I danced to with the woman who would become my wife ("1999"). All of these profound life experiences have been supplemented by your music. It seems as if it has always been there for me...like a friend who's always willing to talk.

Throughout my life, I have spent what I could afford...and in some cases more...on you and your music. It is literally in the thousands of dollars. And why that may not seem like much to someone like you, it is a considerable amount not only to myself but also to countless others who are also lifelong supporters of you and your music.

Perhaps you don't realize the lengths some of your fans...and yes I will be referring to them as fans...go to for you and your music. Let's start with your concerts. No one can obviously make it to every city, but your recent tour was pretty expansive. However, for those who did not live in or around those cities, it is not convenient to just pick up and drive a few hundred miles to see you (a) on a weeknight, (b) on short notice and (c) at $125 a pop. Yet more people than you know did this for you. Sometimes more than once.

Now let's move on to...yes...bootlegs. Make no mistake about it...I could care less who gets my money when I purchase a bootleg. I am not doing it to take money out of your pocket, nor to put it in the pockets of bootleggers. What I care about is the music. And if you can't provide it in a timely manner...if at all...I will look elsewhere for it. I literally want to hear everything you record...even if it's not up to your...or even my standards. The biggest problem I have with your bootleg request is this...it could have all been avoided.

For years, we waited patiently while you "freed" yourself from Warner Brothers so you could "free the music." Yet here we are almost seven years after the fact, and we now get less music than when you were with WB. I feel weird giving life advice to a 45 year old, but here's a little tip...it's OK to admit when you're wrong. Maybe leaving WB wasn't such a good idea afterall. And that's fine...but be strong enough to admit that. Don't forget...you were the one who signed the contract...and you knew what was involved when you did. So why act so surprised about the conditions of it? That never made sense to me...you sounded like the spoiled athletes of today..."holding out" for more money even though they have years left on their current deals. All of this while many Americans struggle every day to pay their bills and feed their children. Amazing...

And yet we still have heard only a fraction of your legendary "vault" material...why is that? Those songs, more than any other thing, are what us lifelong fans want to hear most. Why not start releasing these songs a few at a time to your club members? It can't be that hard to print up a few thousand CD's and charge us for them. It's money waiting to be made. Actually, let me take that back...apparently printing up a few thousand CD's for your fans and shipping them is difficult for you...i.e..."Crystal Ball" and "n.e.w.s."

It's also OK to admit that the name change fiasco not only wasn't a good idea, but also that it was for contractual purposes...not "spiritual" as you would've had us believe when you first announced it. You said so yourself at the press conference you held to announce your were now "Prince" again. Let me let you in on a little secret...it has never been easy to your fan. Especially being a white male. I've been called "gay," "weird," and countless other names for supporting your music...yet I stood by it. Throw in the name change, and it was damn near impossible. After that, I had a hard time trying to turn anyone else on to your music, and it seems like the public at large felt the same way. Again...it's OK to admit your mistake.

The same thing goes for the Arista deal...your great "comeback" attempt. Here's another secret...fans like myself don't care if you're ever "on top" again. We want you to make challenging, groundbreaking music...not flavor-of-the-moment pop tunes. Yet when the whole Rave project fizzled, all you could do was blame Clive Davis and Arista. Have you seen Clive's track record the past five years...funny how you were his only true "failed" project. I saw a stat the other day where his new label has several acts in the album charts already...and it's a brand new label.

And all I will say about your Jehovah Witness conversion is this...most of your fans are not of this faith, and we don't need to be preached to about "theocratic order" or any other JW ideal on record or in concert. You are entitled to your beliefs, but don't expect us as fans to blindly follow those beliefs. If we wanted to be witnessed to, we would go to church...not your concerts. It is very uncomfortable to be at your concert when you start talking about spirituality...and that's for a lifelong fan like me. I can't imaging what it would be like for a newbie...

So I have a proposition for you. I want you to think about what all the fans like myself have done for you and your lifestyle the past 20 years. Think about where you would be without us...the ones that have stood by you through thick and thin, high and low, weird and weirder. Think about the number of people who show up at your studio on a days notice in hopes of a live performance. Think about the fans who followed you from city to city on your last tour, and the sacrifices they made to do so. Think about the way you live, the houses you own, the cars you drive...and remember that none of that would've been possible without us.

Finished? Good...now figure out a way to thank us. Simply post a message on your website...tell us at your concerts (and no..."thank you and goodnight" doesn't count)...do something for us instead of yourself for a change. Look at what other artists are doing with their online clubs for their fans...and then do better than that. You, more than any other artist, have the resources (outtakes, demos, shear talent) to do it...just make it happen. Put a webcam in your studio so we can watch you create music...release the vault material (without remixes of songs we already have)...release CD's and DVD's of your FULL concerts...every show. Trust me...more than a few of us would buy it all. Or better yet...make them all available for download...that's what an online music club is all about, right?

That would be a nice first step in stopping the bootlegging, don't you think?

Sincerely,

Matthew McBride

Damn good...damn good

Wow! Hello, Matthew. My name is Ivy and I am very happy to meet you.

stymie said:

you've just been fallin in love with everybody...

and this letter...oh, it makes me feel all warm n'fuzzy...




standin ovation

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

I'm just the Org whore, I guess.

stymie said:

Have you sent this letter to the club?

You make a good point especially at the end. If he were to begin releasing all of his vault material, full length live shows on dvd, and that idea about the webcam he would probably gain a lot of new fans, and regain a lot of the ones he lost due to all the insanity over the years. Then he really would be #1 at the bank.

Prince, think about it. Seriously think about it.

DAMN RIGHT!!

TheEnglishGent said:

That was my question. I'd fold it, stuff it in an envelope and mail it. Maybe one of his purple cronies will read it.

No disrespect, because I empathize with you to an extent. But as a consumer of these products. You had the option to send them or not to send them. It's that simple. He didn't ask you to sign your soul over to him. If you don't want to comply, you don't have to.



This makes it seem like Prince owes you something. You spent thousands of dollars hopefully because you bought product that you liked and not out of obligation.



Once again, this is a matter of choice. Whoever chooses to drive out of their way for a concert should do so because they want to and not out of obligation. If one knows the costs and expenses of going to a concert, not just Prince, then they should grown enough to handle their own finances and act accordingly.

As for the rest, Prince is a grown man who doesn't have to comply with the request of his fans. It isn't up to anyone to decide whether Prince's decision are good ideas except God, Prince and Londell. Whether Prince was signed with a major label or not, if you as a consumer were unsatisfied with Prince's output post-Warner years, you should have stopped buying the material. It doesn't mean you aren't a fan of some of Prince's music.

A fan of an artist, is simply a fan of an artist. It doesn't mean friend. If you want thanks, look at your liner notes in your Prince albums. He gives all of the thanks he needs to give in most of them. Like you, I would love to have an opportunity to hear all of the material in the Vault. I would also love to win the Powerball lottery. But if it doesn't happen, it just doesn't happen. Prince has never had business sense. Look in your Purple Cliff Notes (anything written by Per Nilsen and Dave Hill's A Pop Life). It should have been obvious that once he was free from contracts, the eccentric business behaviour would see the light of day from behind corporate doors. The day you were unsatisfied with the results is the day you should have stopped purchasing Prince product.

Good letter. Too bad Prince will never get it. And even if he did it, he's discard it.

I feel you on this.

Very well written piece.

StinkyWeaselTeats said:

NUFF SAID!!

Matthew, that was amazing.

You'd have to be missing some serious heart and soul to walk away from that letter without feeling something.

Bravo.

Well said StinkyWeaselTeats. Prince is a person who makes music. He releases whatever he wants whenever he wants. If we don't like that then stiff cheddar! He doesn't owe us a damn thing, not the vault, not the recording of last night's concert. It's his music, he created it, he owns it. He provides what he wants and it's up to us to either take it or leave it.

As far as releasing every concert goes. Perhaps he simply doesn't want the recording out there? Isn't it his choice?

A lot of fans seem to be screwed up about what is whose and what should be available. Sorry, but Prince makes the music and he sells it how he sees fit. If you don't like how he does it then tough luck. Just because you love his stuff doesn't mean you have a right to everything else he ever does and doesn't compel the guy to thank you.

:O

sabaisabai said:

Your opinion...although I still feel Prince owes us his respect. And the whole catalyst for my letter was bootlegs...if he doesn't give us the vault or last night's concert...someone else will. So if Prince won't give it to us, he has no right to bitch. We know he has the means to do so...he's just gotta step up to the plate.



True...but if that's the case, I don't want to hear Prince bitch about songs or videos that he could've put out, but didn't. And of course it doesn't compel him to thank us...but that doesn't mean he shouldn't do so in some way. I never asked that he call me up and thank me...just appreciate what his fans do for him

StinkyWeaselTeats said:

Agreed...but even though it's just CD's, I'm not in the habit of sending my belongings to millionaires.



I bought the product because I wanted it...not because I was obligated. And I feel like Prince owes us more respect than he shows us...especially after all we've done to support him in the lean years.



I agree...I'm not saying they couldn't afford it. I'm saying that I believe Prince is so far out of touch with reality that he can't appreciate the amount of time and money most of this fans spend on him.



Just because you don't have to do something doesn't mean shouldn't...I'm not saying he has to do everything his fans (including myself) want, but he should at least be open to our suggestions. And trust me...even God thought that e-mail was a bad idea.

I never said I was unsatisfied with his output after Warner's...only that we are getting less material now. I actually quite enjoy a lot of his recent stuff. But just think of the DVD we would be getting next month if he had WB behind him.



Hold on...according to Princespeak, I am his friend...remember "that best you can be is my friend, I don't need another fan?" And I haven't looked at my Prince liner notes lately, but the most I ever remember him saying about his fans is..."Prince would like thank yadda, yadda, yadda...and U". Hardly heartfelt methinks.



I agree...and I don't expect anything to change because of my letter. But at some point, I would think a grown man would finally realize the error of his ways...and look to someone besides "yes men" for help.

mattmcbr said:

mattmcbr said:

I disagree. Let's say I refuse to give out my wedding photos. Somebody else gives them out without my authorisation. Why does that put me in the wrong for deciding not to give them out? It's distorted logic.

I think by now you should realise that Prince doesn't talk outside his music. Not once in the years of the music club (as far as I can remember) has he made a public statement about the club, the music or the fans. Why should he thank us anyway? We like the music, we pay for it. If he reads half this stuff he wouldn't want to anyway.

mattmcbr, if you choose to follow Prince, that is your choice. Prince does not need to comply with, take responsibility for or provide thanks to his fans for the choices they make. If you like the music, that's cool, but Prince really doesn't owe you anything at all.

mattmcbr said:

I think he is somewhat responsive to our suggestions. There were a million posts here last year about how "the NPGMC was too expensive" and "wouldn't a concert DVD be great!" shopping on NPGMC sucks!" Guess what, this year the NPGMC is alot less expensive, a DVD is coming and they've got a much better, although not perfect, company handling the music sales. Of course there's always room for improvement.

How exactly are we getting less material now? I don't know about you but I got at least 5 CD's worth of officially released music just last year, oh and I got 5th row concert seats. I never got that much official access to his music in the WB days. Granted, we don't see as many lame-ass Prince videos on MTV anymore, and there's no sequel to Graffiti Bridge in the works.


.
[This message was edited Fri Jul 25 12:04:38 PDT 2003 by Universaluv]

Well...no one wants your wedding photos...and lots of people want Prince's concerts.



Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I think that if millions of people bought something from me...and put me in the position so that I could do that for the rest of my life...I would do something a little more personal than keep making things for them to buy.

True...but only two of those (ONA and Xpectation)...were original. And they probably could've been combined to fit on one disc. We still get material, but admit it...it's nothing like we thought it'd be when he would go on and on about how much stuff he was waiting to release...but WB wouldn't let him.

Now's your chance, Prince. Flood the market. Or was WB right about that as well?

mattmcbr said:

What if sabaisabai were Ben Affleck and people did want his wedding photos? (No offense sabai ) Would that make it ok for someone to give them out without his authorization?

mattmcbr said:

That doesn't have anything to do with it. If the owner of those photos or live recordings doesn't want them out there then just because somebody else puts them out there doesn't mean that the ownder should. Geesh!

That's your choice. You're not Prince. He doesn't send out thank-you letters. If you don't like it then stick it. It's your hand that pulls out your wallet to pay for his subsequent music.
[This message was edited Fri Jul 25 12:17:41 PDT 2003 by sabaisabai]
[This message was edited Fri Jul 25 12:18:11 PDT 2003 by sabaisabai]