Earplug is a fortnightly e-mail newsletter dedicated to electronic music. Their latest mail out has this little snippet on Prince. There's nothing radical or surprising in here but it'sa positve piece:-


New Purple Reign
After musical wunderkind Prince very publicly split with his long-time label Warner Brothers, changing his name and then launching his own online fan club to sell his releases in the process, many wrote him off as a disgruntled, past-his-prime star struggling for continued relevance. But the Minneapolis maverick may prove to be as much of a visionary in the business world as he is in the recording studio if his Musicology album, tour, and boutique download store propel him back to the forefront of public consciousness. Earlier this month, Prince was inducted into the staid Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and his jaw-dropping solos for the ceremony's finale on George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" felt like a national homecoming. His full-scale arena tour — where he's performing his older hits for the final time, in completely reworked versions — kicked off last week.

Its debut show in Los Angeles was simulcast in movie theaters around the country, and venues have been selling out in record time, prompting the addition of multiple dates in several cities. And while it might seem like something of an about-face that he inked a deal with Sony's to distribute his latest album, Prince has promised that each ticket sold for the tour will include a free copy, and he's chosen to forgo digital distribution services like Napster and iTunes. Instead, his NPG Music Club website launched a new download service earlier this week, offering nine Prince albums (including Musicology and several recordings previously available only to fan club members) for $0.99 per track and $9.99 per album. NPG Music Club members, who get a discount on the downloads, early cracks at the concert tickets, and an ever-changing choice of videos and music to preview, are seeing their ranks swell as the club finally moves from the fringes to the mainstream. (DJP)


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