SquirrelMeat said:

Yes, it is entirely right.

Anyone who bought into NPGMC on the basis of the music remaining "exclusive" forever really needs a dose of reality. You got the music you paid for, and you got it "exclusively" (at the time it was not available elsewhere) before anyone else. Done deal.

Tell me why, 2-3 years later, it matters to you that Prince chooses to make the most out of his intellectual property and reissues it? It is his work, his assets, his business, and he can do whatever the fuck he wants to do with it. There isn't a record company in the world that would sell you music under the proviso that it would never be reissued in the future. That just isn't reality. Record companies factor in reissues, greatest hits packages, licensing deals, and lots of other things as a way to recoup production costs down the line. It's a fundamental part of the business model. Similar rules apply in other industries such as the movie industry and the videogame industry. If you could buy genuinely exclusive access to some Prince music (effectively preventing Prince from further profiting from his work years down the line) believe me that your paltry membership of $100 would need several zeroes added to the end.

Throw around semantics all you like, and cut and paste dictionary definitions all you like, but if you really thought you were getting exclusive access to the music forever and ever, you were being utterly naive and unrealistic.

softandwet said:

I think you are misunderstanding my meaning.

I don't mean buying everything for re-issue sake. I'm talking about original, new material.

A lot of people did not get CNOTE offered as a download. These people will have to buy 7 CDs, just to get one. And those very same people are the ones who have already spent $200 to get the other 6 discs worth of material.

For some of those loyal members, it smacks of exploitation.

Year one never mentioned anything about getting the music first, before it comes out on CD.

They could avoid this so simply. Make the discs individual. Give an extra disc to the members of year one and two (NOT ONA!).

Some of y'all love to get worked over nothing.

If you already have the music, great. If you don't, now you have another chance to buy it. What is the problem here, precisely?

The only negative aspect I can think of is that personally I don't think the NPGMC material was (overall) good enough for a proper "album" release. But I can appreciate that Prince wants to capitalise on his IP from the previous years of NPGMC, and I can appreciate that there is probably a (small) market for it. So, everyone's happy.

By the NPGMC not allowing people to pick and choose out of the 7 discs, they are forcing many people to buy the whole set, for possibly one or two discs they need. CNOTE is a good example. This only went to selected members, so a great many would want that disc. But do we really want or need yet another copy of ONA?

[...]

They could avoid this so simply. Make the discs individual. Give an extra disc to the members of year one and two (NOT ONA!). They could have kept many more people happy. But yet again, they seem to be acting in the interest of money only.

$200 for 6 CDs? Where? The first year with the audio shows, the singles, and the videos was more then 6 CDs alone. I know - I downloaded and burned everything on CD-Rs.

ian said:

In-frigging-credible. So much besides the point that I wonder if you actually READ the post:

SquirrelMeat said:

His main objection (and that of many others) is that they're forced top either pay a lot of money for a bloated 7 CD package that isn't gonna be worth the hefty price tag, especially not when you consider the insane shipping & handling costs and the taxes that non-US fans will pay on it due to customs seizing the package and punishing the recipiant for daring to order this (and those taxes ain't coming cheap, since they're also on the s&h costs!).

Why not have INDIVIDUAL CD releases? Why not have a "High" CD that includes the album plus a bunch of extra tracks (like both versions of Vavoom)? Why not allow their CUSTOMERS to pick whatever they want? Because that way the undoubtedly lame as hell "mix CD" isn't gonna sell more than a handful of copies?

Why always the need for these ridiculous multi-CD packages that satisfy no-one except Prince's bank manager? WTF is wrong with simply offering individual copies of the albums?

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Aww, I thought you figured that out being a moderater and all now.

I hope cborgman reads this so he'll stop assuming that it was EllisDee.
[This message was edited Fri Oct 17 16:28:26 PDT 2003 by psykosoul]

SquirrelMeat said:

not really. they always pop up whenever a new project gets put out and folks give their about it...after the fires die down they're pretty much incognito.