i cant find the words to describe prince charging his fans to meet him.if he goes through with this he will be a laughing stock , is he that desperate for "the root of all evil " this is sad , the actions of a desperado me thinks.

meeting a celeb is all about the surprise ive never met prince , i have met levi,michael b, damon,kirk, tony m, morris hayes , tommy barberella.in 93 the whole band autographed my ticket except prince diamond and pearl, damon explained "prince just dont do autographs man". in 95 it was morris and tommy who told me where the aftershow was going to be that night in glasgow.i asked the guys to take my ticket back stage for prince to autograph they politely said it was more than their job was worth and prince would not sign anything for the fans !.ive twice been refused an autograph, but for 900.00 aussie $'s , we can finally meet him ! F**KIN UNBELIEVABLE !

what happens if you meet him in say sydney before the gig , do you say "hi prince ive always wanted to meet you hold on a second til i write you a cheque" !

why does prince continually f**k his fans over ?

and why do we f**kin put up with it ?

one last point. i met ice t and mooseman from the metal band body count , remember them ? cop killer etc. mooseman took me onto the tour bus he autographed my ticket (f**k the police mooseman) he took 5 minutes to say "hey man enjoy the gig ", "hope you like the new stuff" mooseman is dead now, killed in a drive by, but ive got that great memory from a great gig and it never cost me a penny .

You don't have to pay and you don't have to meet him.

Seems pretty simple.

NuPwrSoul said:

agreed, but do you think its its good for his credability to charge fans to meet him ?

NuPwrSoul said:

i believe there was a different point being made.

prince does have a nasty habit of NOT putting his money where his mouth is.

i remember a lot of preaching on the ONA tour about how aful clear channel is and how life is not about some cash.

True - we don't have to pay and we don't have to meet him.

When I was in college, my best friend and I were honored to be invited to hang out backstage with none other than Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz from Talking Heads/Tom Tom Club. I'd been a fan of Talking Heads for YEARS, and the evening was a dream come true - they were both friendly and chatty and it was like meeting new friends moreso than hanging out with celebrities. That was the vibe they were putting out, and it was on one hand a huge honor, and on the other hand just the way it should be between people. They knew we were fans, we knew they were just human beings - we were able to communicate and have fun keeping those things in mind.

Several years ago, I was invited to a dinner party by a very quirky friend of mine, who just so happened to be friends with a very famous New Yorker and also just so happened to forget to tell me this celebrity would be at the dinner party. After the initial shock wore off, I had a great evening talking to him about his experiences, listening to his story, and just hearing him bitch about things like any other NYC resident. I was in awe of being near someone so iconic to me, but I was even more in awe of the privilege I had, of being in an environment where I was able to interact with him like I would with any other person I'd meet at a dinner party.

I have nothing but respect for public figures who retain their humanity, and don't treat their very presence like a commodity. Even Andy Warhol engaged the boundary of conceptualization when he sold his own cult of personality as if it were his art, because it was.

Prince calls NPGMC members "family", yet he chooses to be conspicuously silent this year. Now that a thousand bucks is in the picture, he'll meet and he'll greet.

WhatfugginEVER.

take a look at a lot of performers and their practices...tori amos stands out in the rain and snow (and nice weather too ) in order to meet the people who come out to see her. lindsey buckingham not only took time to talk and sign autographs but he actually took requests and played what some people asked him to play. i've met and spoken with a lot of famous peeps and none of them ever relied on their celebrity to be the center of attention. they relied on their personality and the topics at hand.

perhaps that's the problem...maybe prince just doesn't have a personality...who knows? either way, his religious beliefs should be putting him firmly against the notion of celebrity, not increasing his cash flow and supporting the iconography that he should be disowning.

As far as commodifying his presence, that is certainly a valid way of looking at things. As far as the music business, music clubs, high profile concerts, etc. however the road to commodification starts way before a meet and greet.

Selling art began the process of commodification, performing in a large venue that necessitates a high profit margin in order to pay promoters, insurance, facilities, and other fees, continues the process of commodification. Making a living off of artistic experiences is commodification.

And so is consumption. Buy art, paying for concerts, etc. we are part of this chain of commodification. We are just as participatory as the artist.

Times like this, where we are posed with options to buy into more of the commodifying process present a space to negotiate between consumer and producer over how far we are willing to go.

That's why I said, don't pay and don't meet and greet. Prince has never really offered any opportunity to meet and greet, so this is a new space. We can help determine whether or not we are going to participate in the commodification of THAT experience, by simply not participating.

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

I don't know how easy it is to draw comparison with other artists such as Tori Amos. Does she get mobbed if she goes out by herself?

I have seen how people's behavior changes when Prince walks into a room. All activity stops and everyone gravitates to him, surrounding him, cornering him and not moving. He usually has to hide in order to have any privacy or security of self.

Is this his doing? How responsible is he for how people react to him? And I'm not talking only about "fan" events. I'm talking about other industry and non-industry things I have seen where he walks into the room and gets mobbed. Expecting him to stand out in the rain and greet people is therefore unrealistic as far as I see it.

NuPwrSoul said:

i've been to many events where prince was in attendance and no fuss was made. believe it or not, he is not all that important to many people outside of the prince world.

and yes, when he puts himself on a pedestal so high that he charges people just to meet him, he is perpetuating that treatment.

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

Well we have seen different things. Nonetheless, the fact that he risks getting mobbed is sufficient reason to err on the side of caution.



This is true. But we (or those who regard him in such a way) are collaborators in this process, and are just as responsible.

This culture is a celebrity driven culture. It's the reason why JLo and Ben's on again off again marriage have interested more people than Pres. Bush's shenanigans. America's chief viable commodity is entertainment and celebrity drives that. Celebrities are highly overpaid and their salaries continue to skyrocket. But like I said we are part and parcel of this problem.

I'm simply not satisfied with pinning this all on Prince. We are all responsible for this; and as such have the choice to participate or not, and to whatever degree we deem appropriate.

NuPwrSoul said:

i don't get the err on the side of caution bit...he just simply shouldn't charge people to say hello to him. nobody should, this is not reserved to prince.

as for the collaborators statement...yes, you are right. but it doesn't change the fact that prince is creating the situation. period. it wouldn't even be up for discussion if he wasn't involved in this outrageous scheme. i understand what you're saying but i have to say, while it is all of our responsibility to control the matter, the final say is in prince's hands. we would have nothing to say no to if prince wasn't dangling his own celebrity status in fans' faces.

and, the bottom line is, it goes against all he's ever said and done. it is the ultimate act of hypocrisy as far as prince is concerned.

I would be happy to continue this conversation with you all on a more personal basis.

Being, however, that I am a published writer and a produced playwright, I will be imposing the following charges for any correspondance:

6.99 per orgnote, 10.99 per e-mail - cheap!!!

I accept PayPal.

NuPwrSoul said:

That is something peculiar to Prince, isn't it? There are celebrities in this world currently more popular and larger in the media's eye than Prince, who wouldn't get anything like that reaction. What is it about Prince that leads people to react like that? It's probably a mixture of several things, not the least being his long-standing distance from the media and the fans and the enigma that that brings.

If we put somebody like Kylie in the same situation, though she is hugely popular, I doubt people would react so weirdly to her presence. The difference is that her career hasn't been behind a shroud of enigma and silence.

Anxiety said:

sweetie, i'd rather pay you than prince anyday!

Anxiety said:

No offense, but 0.01 would be too much because there's principle invovled. I once had the good fortune of meeting one of my favourite bands, in the band room after their concert. If the security had tried charging me a measly $5 I would have turned away the opportunity, complained to my friends and perhaps stopped listening to their music. Instead, due to their good will (and because I love their music), I now run their main web site.

As I said in another forum, considering that we've never been given any indication that Prince either likes his fans or is interested in meeting them, paying cash for a meeting is prostitution.

my cousin neil and a friend met the singer/songwriter from the blue nile going into a coffee shop neil said to him "i'd just like to say your albums are fantastic thanks for some great music". the guys response was to sit down and chat for a couple of hours trying to put the world to rights , neil's friend asked about a particular song the guy wrote down the guitar part on the back of a letter so neils friend could try to learn it as he was learning to play guitar at the time.

thats the way i think it should be spontanious and free !

imagine going to work on a monday morning and saying to your friends "i met prince at the weekend" their response i'm sure would be "great where did you meet him ?"

"oh i payed 900 bucks to say hello at a gig"

NO CREDABILITY IN THIS AT ALL FOR PRINCE OR THE FANS !

danielboon said:

Again, with all due respect to Blue Nile. Please can we be honest and acknowledge that they do not have the same level of celebrity as Prince (regardless of who is responsible for it).

NuPwrSoul said:

r u serious ? i've been in princes company twice the fans behaved impeccably no one approached or harrassed him at all because the fans know he deserves to enjoy a night out. oh and we were told by his minders not to speak to him or he would leave . the fans knowing what he is like adhered to the advice.

prince hasnt had a celebrity staus on a megastar level for 10 years i'm not sure he'd get mobbed nowaday's.

so if you are right in what you are saying prince is now after 25 years quite happy to be mobbed , but , only if the mob are paying $$$

and lets not forget prince goes out a lot with the mrs. no mob scene. just a couple out for a night. prince has handed out watchtowers. no mob scene. people only know he's around when he makes his presence known.

if madonna can do it, so can prince. (not the watchtower bit, just the out and about bit )
[This message was edited Thu Sep 25 22:06:10 PDT 2003 by imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty]

Here is the situation.

Prince hasnt been here for 11 years... and that was the only time he has ever been here.

He is taking advantage of the fact taht australians know he will never come back here... do you really think he would charge those prices in the US? He tours there so much... i doubt that anyone would pay that sort of money.. but again.. the typical 2 sided gemini shows us he is full of shit.

Its not about the music or the fams... its all about the money and that is all there is to it.

I hope this tour pays off for him... cos he has pissed a lot of people off and i dont think he will be welcomed here in Melbourne again after this tour is over and done with.

I missed out on tickets ... i was trying to call the hotline for over 4 hours... it was constantly engaged. When i got thorugh they said that it was sold out.

I cant believe I have been waiting this long... supported him through memberships etc... and now its sold out.

Im so furious! And Im over his GREED!

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

Aw, shucks. For YOU, the first rant is on the house, then.

tori amos stands out in the rain and snow (and nice weather too ) in order to meet the people who come out to see her Tori

I don't wanna comment without knowing all the facts; How much is Prince charging the promoter per show? Is Prince only coming to Oz because he was going to be in Hong Kong and the promoter begged him to come and promised big $$$? Did Prince seek out the promoter and suggest a tour of Oz as he'd be in HK? Did Prince suggest the meet and greet or the promoter?

All these business questions need to be answered before ppl start jacking off. The whole 'meet & greet' thing just has promoter written all over it to me...what if Prince is pissed off that day? We've all seen it...there will be 1 song at soundcheck and he'll storm off (God-forbid). Only after the show will know what we have paid $$$ for!

Bottem line - I'd rather be in the worst seat in the house and se him live than not at all (but I'm in the front 15 rows and getting a soundcheck so It's not all bad for me).

NuPwrSoul said:

Well put. And we should all remember that, at least IMO, Prince does genuinely love playing, performing, recording and composing music. With that said, if he was just in it for the money, he would be making albums duplicating the sound of Purple Rain, time and time again. But he's not - we all know this. And this would obviously be the easiest way, musically, to make $$$. Yet recently, he's been into jazz-fusion of all styles. This type of music doesn't sell shit! Prince and we the fans know this. But I agree that he has now "sold out" in terms of what he's said and done in the past, hence now supposedly becoming a hypocrite and charging fans capital, in exchange to meet him. But remember, he hasn't "sold out" musically though. I believe there's a difference.

I think we all can agree that he's a tough one to figure out, that Prince. To tell you the truth, I've never been more confused about him as I am right know and I deeply feel that he can't afford to lose anymore fans, which is a major possibility because of this...

In other words: what the fuck is he thinking?

TheGoldExperience said:

It is possible that some brave souls at the Aussie shows should bring this up to him. He probably is aware of the backlast already by reading the posts on his site, which even if censored still contained enough indignation that he would notice.

Last year, people complained about the ticketing process when it was handled by ticketmaster.com, and after that the NPGMC took over the NPGMC member ticket process totally.

Perhaps there will be some Aussie members who will bring it up. Otherwise, we'll never know.

I do agree that the whole VIP package is dripping with promoter interests.

.


The soundcheck at the appollo, Prince sat in the audience talking with myself for about 10 minutes.
I also met him at the after party. and it didn't cost me anything.
Apart from the entry ticket, no extra to meet him.

900 Aussie dollars? That's nearly 400 quid! For that kind of money, I'd expect him to blow me!

What a ding-dong!

It is up to everyone to decide what to do. For me, no money can justify a meet and greet in person with anybody, certainly not Prince.

But if he is willing to pay US$500 to meet and greet me, my account number is 600-8872.

Other artist charge more money for vip tickets. If you don't want to pay it, than don't pay it.Prince has the right to do this, you just have to make a choice. He's finally, after all these years, giving his fans the chance to meet him, he would obvious charge more. He can't meet everyone that comes to the show.

The fans are going to complain so much, maybe someday we won't have anything.

Get off your high horse dude. Yes Prince is a hypocrite, so am I, and so are u. He's human like the rest of us. A mix of high ideas and common desire just like the next man. Brother wants to (needs to) get paid. Got to maintain a lifestyle and business. Nobody has his back. As an independant legend he's on the highwire without a net. Are u going to save him if he falls? Why u act like you're on crack and he's the dealer? The pusherman rasied the price and u bitch. I just shrug my shoulders and groove to N.E.W.S. If he charges 2 dollars are 2 million, i still groove. My money's in my pocket and the bank. The addicts are mad because their craving is so strong. And they are desperate for the fix. He's not a God and he don't belong to u. He's just an incredibly gifted musician with a mixed up mind just like any other true genius. Pay if u want to meet the genius, life is short. Probably the memory of the meeting will be with u till the grave,money comes and goes. In the end its your CHOICE!!! Stop the sceaming crack fiends.