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RAVE ONLY SOLD 5,000?! IS THIS TRUE?! Read this:
Rock and Pop April 16, 2004 Album: A sign o' the old times from Prince By David Sinclair 3/5 PRINCE Musicology (NPG/Columbia) SINCE losing his way in the corporate jungle sometime in the 1990s, Prince has arrived at a tumultuous juncture of his life. He has divorced, remarried, lost both his parents and become an active member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, all in the past four years. At the age of 45, he is a mid-life crisis on high heels. The last album he formally released in this country, Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, in 1999, sold a mere 5,000 copies, since when he has conducted his business through the internet. But on Monday he rejoins the race when Musicology becomes his first album on a major label for five years. Yet his music remains stuck inside a familiar comfort zone that he clearly has no intention of abandoning at this stage of the game. Bearing the time-honoured legend “Produced, arranged, composed and per4med by Prince”, Musicology is a sleek, groove-rich experience governed for long stretches by the 11th commandment: Thou shalt not forget to party. The opening two tracks — Musicology and Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance — set the tone with their sparse funk rhythms, high-maintenance vocal harmonies and abrupt horn-section punctuations: “Let’s groove, September/ Earth, Wind and Fire/ Hot pants by James/ Sly’s gonna take you higher.” It’s a blast, albeit an unapologetically nostalgic blast. There are references in several songs to how much better things used to be “back in the day” and little reminders of his old hits — If I Was Your Girlfriend, Kiss, Sign o’ the Times — sneak in surreptitiously, as if being tuned in on an old radio between the tracks. The ballads are similarly moulded to the highest of standards while sticking to the most reliable of formats. On the Couch finds him in falsetto mode pleading for a bit of nookie with a succession of outrageous chat-up lines: “It’s undignified to sleep alone”, indeed. Elsewhere he does attempt to provide a more pertinent commentary on the goings-on in the world and his current preoccupations. Cinnamon Girl, the only rock track, looks at the social fallout from the 9/11 atrocities. But talk of a “big ol’ hole in the ozone” in Dear Mr Man sounds a little dated for a current-affairs commentary. The album is being heralded as something of a new beginning for the star who dominated the 1980s more than any other. And it certainly finds Prince making a more considered effort than he has for many years to woo the mass audience. But like other artists who have bequeathed a similarly influential legacy — David Bowie, Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones — Prince doesn’t really have anything particularly new or startling to add to the musical story. Maybe thats UK only sales but i doesnt sound true? | |
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TheFreakerFantastic said: At the age of 45, he is a mid-life crisis on high heels. 
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I was shocked at that too. How is that possible? Didn't even NEWS sell close to 100,000 copies? How the hell could Rave only sell 5000?! The world is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel.
"You still wanna take me to prison...just because I won't trade humanity for patriotism." | |
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I think it means 5,000 in the UK. I'd still be surprised though if eventhat were true - it must have sold more.
It's probably old data, just from certain shops - if it excludes say those of us who bought it via the internet, then it's possible. | |
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If it were true, surely all the Brits here would have seen pristine copies of the album piled up in bargain bins across the country.
I had to buy mine second hand - I didn't buy it at the time as I had drifted from the Purple Path. I've never seen a new copy on a record store shelf in the last couple of years. | |
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Rave was certified gold in the US, for sales of nearly 500,000 copies. |
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Prince is claiming that it only sold 5,000 so that he doesn't have to pay as much royalty to Chuck D, Gwen Stefani, Eve and Sheryl Crowe. If prince.org were to be made idiot proof, someone would just invent a better idiot. | |
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me thoughts it was around 50'000 
"...because no-one gets there alone." - "...I like the floor. It's the only thing that seems real." | |
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I've just found it for £8.49 at a UK website called www.cdjungle.com - I paid about £13.00 for a second-hand copy! 
They've also got The Gold Expperience brand new for £7.99 if anybody's interested. That's about $12.00. | |
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NO F. WAY!!!
IMPOSSIBLE Ain't that a bitch? | |
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Well, after a lot of extensive surfing, I can confirm the following...
The British Phonographic Institute (B.P.I.) certifies albums thus: Silver = 60,000 Gold = 100,000 Platinum = 300,000 Singles are certified as: Silver = 200,000 Gold = 400,000 Platinum = 600,000 Here's the figures from the B.P.I. website... Prince - Controversy (Album) Silver on November 17th, 1989 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=24467 Prince - 1999 (Album) Silver on February 5th, 1985 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=24458 Prince - 1999 (Single) Silver on January 1st, 1985 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=19962 Prince & The Revolution - When Doves Cry (Single) Silver on Wednesday August 1st, 1984 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=19961 Prince & The Revolution - Purple Rain (Album) Double Platinum on May 1st 1990 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...&r_id=4972 Prince & The Revolution - Around The World In A Day (Album) Gold on April 22nd, 1985 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=24460 Prince & The Revolution - Parade (Album) Platinum on March 1st, 1992 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...&r_id=4117 Prince - Sign O' The Times (Album) Platinum on September 1st, 1990 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...&r_id=3899 Prince - Lovesexy (Album) Platinum on August 23rd, 1989 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=24463 Prince - Batman (Album) Platinum on November 1st, 1989 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=24466 Prince - Batdance (Single) Silver on July 1st, 1989 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=19963 Prince - Graffiti Bridge (Album) Gold on August 21st, 1990 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...&r_id=2782 Prince & The New Power Generation - Diamonds And Pearls (Album) Platinum on December 1st, 1991 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...&r_id=4037 Prince & The New Power Generation -  (Album) Platinum on May 1st, 1993
http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...&r_id=4170 Prince - The Hits I (Album) Platinum on June 1st, 1995 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=19791 Prince - The Hits II (Album) Platinum on June 1st, 1995 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=19792 Prince - The Hits/The B-Sides (Album) Silver on June 1st, 1995 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=19798 Prince - Come (Album) Gold on August 1st, 1994 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...&r_id=3282 - The Most Beautiful Girl In The World (Single) Silver on April 1st, 1994
http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=18001 - The Gold Experience (Album) Gold on October 1st, 1995
http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=20625 Prince - The Very Best Of Prince (Album) Platinum on January 23rd, 2004 http://www.bpi.co.uk/plat...r_id=31432 ...and that is all there is. Subsequently, any album not listed as being certified by the B.P.I. has never sold at least 60,000 copies and any single not listed has never sold at least 200,000 copies. These figures are very interesting indeed. | |
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Cheers for the list Binary.
 There's a helluva lot of stuff that didn't sell well then.
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thebumpsquad said: Cheers for the list Binary.
There's a helluva lot of stuff that didn't sell well then.
I think the most interesting thing about those figures is how long it took for those albums to reach certification. I mean - it took Controversy EIGHT YEARS to sell 60,000 copies! | |
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What this proves more than anything is that Prince doesn't need to sell a ridiculous amount t get mentioned on TV or in the paper. He has already proved himself as an above competent artist. | |
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squirrelgrease said: Prince is claiming that it only sold 5,000 so that he doesn't have to pay as much royalty to Chuck D, Gwen Stefani, Eve and Sheryl Crowe.
And let's not forget Mayte's never-ending divorce settlement  The message you're about to hear is not meant for transmission
Should only be accessed in the privacy of your mind The words are intense so my dear if you dare to listen Take off your clothes Meet me between the lines | |
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Binary Justin.....THANX AND WELL DONE
Im amazed that u only have to sell 300,000 to be platinum (i thought it had to be like 1 mill), but then again im sure the amounts r different for the US as there r more ppl, so the rates would be higher. I once read a great article with all Prince's worldwide album sales listed on here, i wonder if its still around. Ill post it if i find it! | |
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it's 5000 in the UK. this article has been posted previously, with the source citation and all. "Awards are like hemorrhoids. Sooner or later, every asshole gets one." | |
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