Well just when I thought everyone would stop this "if prince did this, he'd have a hit" talk, I read more of it. Now the new one is that if he would release tracks out of the Vault, stuff from the 80's that never made it, this would be a huge success. I got NEWS for everyone, it wouldnt be a success. It would still sell the usual 100,000 copies maybe more, just deal with it already. It doesnt matter if he releases the vault stuff from PR+ period, and if critics give him glwing reviews. He has gotten mostly favorable reviews for his last few releases and that hasnt help get any "new" fans or "chart success". So just accept the fact already that PRINCE will never have that "hit" again its not going to happen, sure maybe he will have a more popular release but dont expect Gold or platnum success on the charts anymore, Prince is 45 not 25, things that mattered to him then dont matter now, people change and grow up. Sure its cool to hold on to the memories of the past but u cant let the past dictate the future, or else U will just spend the days complaining about "why cant he just or why cant he release", lets face it as usual He is gonna do what he wants to, accept it or not.

lastdecember said:

say IT again!

He obviously doesn't want a hit.

He's been in the business a helluva long time, if he wanted a commercial record, he knows how to get one.

So it's apparent that as of now he seems content with releasing whatever he wants when he wants to the relative handful of people that will buy it regardless.

We all know his penchant for changing his mind, so who knows which record companies he'll be whoring his next album round - it's his perogative.

Prince is 45. He's a baby




1999 Tom Jones (59) releases Reload, the biggest hit of his career (more than 4 000 000 albums sold)

It's a hard boiled egg with a dusting of public hair on top.

Its not a question of whether he wants a hit or not. To have a hit "in these" days Prince would have to do some lame RB neptunes produced crap with a Rapper guesting on it. Is that what we want to be PRINCE's big comeback. Sure people can use Springsteen or Santana success as a point, but lets face it, Spingsteen as good as he is still has the loyal following he always had because he really never changed his sound or direction. And as for Santana it was just a Lucky thing that Supernatural album but honestly I dont wanna here Prince dueting with Michelle Branch.

There are other ways of having a hit - like the old fashioned way of blowing people's minds with something so out there and fantastic, that people just go "what the FUCK is that!"

I never say that any more when I listen to the radio - what a shame.

I just wish his music had the promotion it deserves. Something as simple as displaying posters in music stores of his new releases would at least make people aware he's still releasing music.

I shared NEWS with a co-worker who told me that they thought Prince had ended his career.

Tom jones is a little different to Prince. OK a lot different. he's an entertainer that pulls all the silly smiles for the girls and shit. so what. Prince is concerned with other stuff and i guess he's happy with it.
move on guys.

the reason why people who have been around as long as (or longer than) prince are still 'commercial" is because they've nevre chnaged their style. They're music is in the same style/genre of what they were doing when they first made it. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
They also aren't as anti-social as Prince is.

that's why michale, madonna, bruce, and maybe tom jones () are still commercial today.

so, that being said, will prince ever be commercial again? highly doubt it.
an dI'm sure he's just fine with that.

I don't care if Prince never has another hit. He is a has-been to me and I've discovered other musician/songwriters and bands who deliver a sorta continuation of what he used to do - music with an edge, so I'm getting music I like and am pleased with that.

As for Prince, I WOULD like him to release stuff from the vault - NOT because I expect it to become a hit and "put him back on top", but plain simply because *I* would like to have that stuff on CD and in good soundquality.

lovebizzare said:

Prince is not "anti-social". He has embraced the very societal values he used to be "anti-social" against.

lovebizzare said:

Madonna never changed her style?!

Romance1600 said:

Then why'd he do first single off albums that sounded like The Most Beautiful Girl In The World for years and years following The Most Beautiful Girl In The World?

Bugger's dyin for a hit.

lovebizzare said:

Being commercial is only important for making money; not art

Romance1600 said:

No, he don't. Why'd you think he was so eager to do an album resembling Santana's comeback-album, featuring lotsa guest-artist (that actually were popular) and replacing good rock tunes with mainstream R&B stuff, for 1999's Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic just at the say-so of a record business executive - the very kind of man he used to refuse to listen to?

Bugger was dyin' for a comeback.

scififilmnerd said:

He did that because Warners was preventing him from doing it. He got Bellmark to release it and it went to the top of the charts WITHOUT the Warners Bros corp machine behind it. Prince proved a point. That is why he did it. Know the history first

Romance1600 said:

But the oppostite IS apparent. He is in it for THE MONEY. He has made that very clear throughout several interviews ever since he broke up with Warners. It's all about how much money he can earn. Why do you think prices are so high in his internet music store? And on concert tickets? And why is N.E.W.S. available at major internet stores? Because the more copies he sells, the more he earns. The more popular he is, the more copies he sells.

Bugger is dyin' for a major distribution. Which brings me to my next reply...

Romance1600 said:

But record companies don't wanna touch him. Why would they? Ther last two who gave him a shot got majorly burned AND Prince blamed them for not doing their work properly - OF COURSE it wasn't the product he delivered that was just plain mediocre!

The bugger has dug himself into a hole with a reputation of being troublesome AND a source of losing money. No sane record company executive would sign him.

So, no... That is certainly not his perogative. He wishes.

LaMont said:

I do. Read my post again. It has no relation to what you're talking about - only to what followed because of that one, lone hit.

I'm not concerned with Prince having another monster hit, but at the same time I've learned to never say "never" when it comes to the music industry...and a lot of other things.

But the fans here who seem to think that a "hit" only takes good material - or more precisely what they deem good material, are sadly mistaken. The music business defies that very "logic" year after year when mediocre recordings are released that becomes huge hits. There are also many examples of great material that never registers on the pop charts. Some folks here act as if the friggin pop charts validate them and their musical tastes. It's insecurity.

There's nothing wrong with you wanting your favorite recording artist to be successful in the mainstream. I think that's human nature. But keep things in perspective: being supported by a major label is part of the battle, half of the battle. Independents don't have the sort of monetary muscle to be played on payola radio, i.e. mainstream radio with any sort of consistency. And it's very rare when an album or single gets little to no airplay while achieving platinum status. Now, why in God's name would anyone want to see Prince's name on the charts alongside 50 Cent and others of his ilk if the music might be compromised?

If people REALLY think "good music" is all it takes for a hit they need to look into Music Business 101 and be ready for a rude awakening.

scififilmnerd said:

You did take what I said out of context though, he doesn't want a hit *now* (with NEWS) - I said he's prone to changing his mind on a whim - But like you said he has tried to emulate the success of MBGITW with every album since upto Rave.

Which is his fatal mistake I think. Releasing R&B ballads as first singles isn't even rousing the audience he's going for (Black), never mind the wider audience.

Baby Knows, 319, Interactive, Acknowledge Me, Sleep Around, Pheremone, Loose!, Dolphin, The Same December, I Like It There, New World, So Far, So Pleased - there were so many single-worthy songs outside the R&B crooner mold he could have released during the years when he was trying to have a hit - if only he had a few less 'yes people' around him.

Oh well, at least we heard the music.

scififilmnerd said:

I think there's a difference between *knowing* and *doing*

Prince had a hit with D&P, and I think that was largely due to picking commercial singles (shock factor, fresh sound at the time - although dated now), and that all important promotion - high quality promo videos, 5 singles, TV promotion and appearances, his most far reaching world tour (Oz, Scotland yadda, yadda), and the industry shows, I remember reading in Uptown that he did industry shows to promote D&P before it's release - greasing the wheels, I don't think you can under-estimate getting along with the people who make you have a hit - the record industry, they can make or break.

He also tried the same technique of high promotion with Emancipation, the campaign for that was thwarted as we know by that arm of EMI folding.

So he knows how to have a hit, and what sort of work one needs to do in order to produce one, but it was the pandering to commerciality that produced the whole name-change thing, he felt like a product. So he wants his cake, and to eat it too, which has, upto now, meant he hasn't wanted to put the work in, and then he's blamed other factors on the lack of success of each release.

So when I say, he doesn't want a hit, that's what I mean, he doesn't seem prepared to put in the work in order to get a hit - the promotional work.

We all know how he never used to do interviews, be totally media shy, yadda, yadda - I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.
[This message was edited Sat Sep 6 15:19:51 PDT 2003 by Romance1600]

Romance1600 said:

i agree his problem for me is he is surrounded with yes men , if only he had someone to answer to , someone to tell him you cant release blah blah as it is shit ! or it wont sell !

danielboon said:

isn't that what wendy and lisa did?
maybe he does need them back

Supernova said:

very well written

supernova, right on...

i honestly could care less if ol' boy had another hit. i don't listen to radio as it is, save for kfai every once in a while. and other folks shouldn't be worryin themselves half to death thinkin that he should have one, so he can be in the mainstream.

bein sammiched in between the likes of today's acts is a uh-uh.

Romance1600 said:

Too true. But he's a stubborn one...

Romance1600 said:

Yeah, there's some truth in there too, I think. But also, advertising campaigns are expensive and Prince may know what needs to be done but maybe he just can't afford it without a record company backing him up financially?

And I also think his reluctance to do interviews now is because he doesn't want to be asked about his Jehova views expressed on TRC, because I think he is aware that they are not "mainstream/politically correct" views and would not help him gain popularity - but maybe they'd make him unpopular, so better to be quiet, right?

lastdecember said:

The time came and went for that Vault stuff to be released. I'm bored with all my bootlegs, and can care less if they ever come out officially.

lastdecember said:

Spoken like somebody that's never listened to Springsteen. Each album is a unique and distinct vision, filled with exquisite musicianship. He has a loyal following because those fans know they can consistently expect an excellent album with each release. Check his track record - there's not an New Power Soul in the bunch.

I Can't Take Springsteen at all. I had free tickets and I just POO-POOED at the Thought. His Voice is so GRAVELY! Bruce well I just am NOT into his STYLE of MUSIC! Prince just needs Muffy Sex and he'd Forget bout being 45. He could even wear a Costume .