20,000 to 25,000 seated arenas... i hope prince knows what he is doing, i mean he hasn't had a hit in 8 years and your average music fan has the attention span of a goldfish so lets hope it doesn't all go pearshaped.

he needs to get this single out a couple of weeks before the album and make sure he plays the media game right this time, no more half arsed promotion.

Contrary to popular belief, Prince is probably smarter than anyone at prince.org about music and the music business. He knows what he is doing. Fans just want him to do what they expect
(or what they think he should do) and when he doesn't they get bent outta shape.

David Bowie hasn't had a "hit" in years and he is still doing the arena thing. Don't worry about Prince, his legend has been set since 1988. Anything since is icing on the cake.

The Stones and Springsteen sell out arenas on all of their tours. They are as hit-less as Purps.

squirrelgrease said:

Springsteen had a number one album just last year.

skywalker said:

I don't think Prince has a clue about the music "business". Hence why he thinks he can fill or sell out the arenas scheduled on his upcoming tour.

skywalker said:

Not true. Bowie's had hits for years and has only started playing arenas again in the past year or two. For example, Black Tie White Noise (1993), 1.Outside (1995), Earthling (1997) & Heathen (2002) all have each sold between 1-2 million worldwide. And add that to the fact the Bowie hasn't played many of the hits from his most successful period (the mid-eighties) in a very long time and he's playing them on his current A Reality tour. Hence the reason why Bowie can play arenas again...

Prince on the other hand, always plays his hits.

The Stones, Springsteen, etc., all have had many hits and continue to sell today...
[This message was edited Wed Feb 25 16:54:54 2004 by TheGoldExperience]
[This message was edited Wed Feb 25 16:58:37 2004 by TheGoldExperience]

I am talkin' hits that the masses buy. Springsteen and David Bowie's charting albums are due to their massive fan bases consisting seemingly of baby boomers who have loved them since the mid 70's.

And another thing-

Prince didn't play "the hits" on the "One Nite Alone" tour or the tour for "The Gold Experience."

skywalker said:

Is that a joke? Of course he did!

The masses qualify as fans - Springsteen and Bowie still have hits.

skywalker said:

1) The Gold Experience tour only occurred in Europe, Japan and Hawaii. There was no domestic US tour... precisely because Prince knew he couldn't draw a crowd for it.

2) The hits were worn out until you couldn't take them no more on the '97 L4OA, '97-'98 JOTY, '98 Larry G/Chaka, and '00 Hit N Run tours.

Prince should keep playing small intimate settings where his audience allows him to be free. Playing large arenas compromises his artistic integrity since he does not have the guts to forego the hits. I don't want another JOTY tour... ever.

lovemachine said:

I thought we were talking singles. My bad...

BanishedBrian said:

Hey. I responding to the statement that Prince had never done a tour without playing the hits. The fact is-he has no matter the reasoning.

TheGoldExperience said:

Name a "hit" ie top 10 song that he consistently played on ONA besides "Raspberry Beret."

TheGoldExperience said:

Define "hits".

skywalker said:

You must be a joker or something...:

Diamonds & Pearls
Take Me With U
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Adore
Nothing Compares To U
The Beautiful Ones
How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore
Alphabet Street
Do Me, Baby


Who say it hits have to be consistently played to be a hit? And who says it has to be top 10 to be a hit?

skywalker said:

You're a joker alright!

A hit is obviously a song that sells well, charts at least fairly well or is very well known.

skywalker said:

I agree with that.

But then I think of 1996 (Emancipation) and 1999 (Rave) - and I wonder.

Lotsa people saw the grammy's thing right, they're saying, "yeah I LOVE Prince, he had that song Cream, it would be great to see him in concert". So he'll fill these arena and the back rows are going "where's Cream? Gett Off? 7?" and the front half of the seats are going crazy because he's playing "Joy in Repetition" etc and they are LOVING it.

He will sell out here in NYC for sure. Don't u peeps see,, this is his comeback tour, for the masses. Charlottegelin,, i agree with u.

You must be a joker or something...:

Diamonds & Pearls
Take Me With U
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Adore
Nothing Compares To U
The Beautiful Ones
How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore
Alphabet Street
Do Me, Baby


Who say it hits have to be consistently played to be a hit? And who says it has to be top 10 to be a hit?


Okay 2 things:

1. Ask a casual fan to name any of the above songs and they'll name "Diamonds and Pearls" and "Nothing Compares 2 U" and maybe "I wanna b UR lover". The others are "hits" for Prince fans only. There are on 2 Top 10 songs on your list.

2. Michael Jackson's "Invincible" was a # 1 album. However, NOT a hit. Find a positive article about it being a "hit". It's a relative term.

The ONA live tour had some hits, but they were done very differently in general, as part of the piano medley The setlist was definetely heavier on the newer songs and lesser known, older songs. The Hit n Run tour was definitely a GH showcase. The difference is that this time, Prince has a kick ass band and the arrangements are substantially different. Musically, the Hit n Run tour was a low point for Prince as a performer, as he seemed to be going through the motions, playing his old songs with not much conviction with the Kirky J. Npg. This time, it looks like he's going to enjoy playing some of the hits again, and if everything goes right, he could pull off arenas -- he's going to need some good promo though. I agree it's risky to try larger venues but even the lacklustre Hit n Run tour wasn't a total financial disaster with very little promo. With good marketing, and this year being PR 20th anniversary, I say it's a fairly well calculated risk.
[This message was edited Wed Feb 25 18:59:29 2004 by Aerogram]

Anyway, just GO, get yourselves tickets and ENJOY it you lucky people over there!!!!!

By the way your buddy Jesus rocks. Shows your "Passion".

He doesn't have to sell out the concerts to make millions of dollars in profit from the tour.

The difference is that Prince has afforded himself the position to not have to worry what people think if he doesnt sell out an arena. Those other rock stars have to worry about it because they work for someone else. Sure, Prince doesnt sell as many records - he also makes more per record than they do. He really can do must anything that he wants. That is why he's Prince.

NPGLOVER said:

And another thing- 2 or 3 years ago the band "Yes" came to MPLS and sold out the Target Center (a large arena) in the round. Anywayz, not to offend Yes fans but if they can do it, Prince isn't sweatin' shit.

skywalker said:

You can't be serious! I don't agree at all. You're not answering my questions. Just because a song isn't top 10 doesn't necessarily mean it's not a hit. All the above are hits and have charted well; mostly in the top 40 and a few in the top 100.

skywalker said:

So, you think Invincible isn't a hit, even though it sold 8 million copies worldwide?
[This message was edited Wed Feb 25 20:33:07 2004 by TheGoldExperience]

skywalker said:

LOL! Man, you've got to get your facts straight! Yes haven't played the Target Center in ten years - and it was no where near sold out! They've played the State and Orpheum Theater since then.

But I agree that Prince can sell out the Target Center - I feel he could sell it out twice on this tour, possible even a third time. Currently, Minneapolis is his largest US market.
[This message was edited Wed Feb 25 20:31:03 2004 by TheGoldExperience]

well since he sold out his Aussie dates in record time....
i think it will b a huge flop!

TheGoldExperience said:

Okay my memory failed me. YES was in 1994. Point is that YES wasn't exactly on fire in 1994 but they did the Target Center in the round with no problems.

questions: What was "The Beautiful Ones" highest chart position?

Was the album "Dirty Mind" a hit?

Why does MJ go on a rampage about Sony sabotaging "Invincible" since it was a
worldwide hit? Regardless of numbers.

Again, what is the definition of a hit?

It was said Prince never did a tour w/o the hits. I said BS "One Nite Alone"
and The Gold Experience Tour was virtually "hit free".

skywalker said:

No problem, meaning what?

skywalker said:

It was a very well known song, off of one the biggest selling albums ever.

skywalker said:

It went Gold. I'll leave that up to you whether or not you think that's a hit.

skywalker said:

He talking about monetary issues, not record sales with that argument. MJ was pissed because even though he sunk 30 million dollars into the production of that album, he didn't make a profit from it because it was so expensive to create in the first place. But it still sold 8 Million copies.

skywalker said:

LOL!

skywalker said:

Wrong.