Prince is doing fine this year. His concerts are selling out all over the country and he will

probably end up banking 20 million dollars. However, the days of the number one Prince

record are over. Of course, while it’s possible that sometime in the next twenty or so

years the man will release a record that will go number 1, he’s not going to

hold that spot for too long. The sad truth is that Prince is like the Rolling Stones – people

will pay to see him in concert, people respect him, people will continually show props,

but most people are not going to pay attention to the new material and buy the record.

Regardless of how Prince changes his image and/or music, he will not be able to break

free from Purple Rain and the 80’s. The only way Prince could retain his former popular

glory would be if young people start to listen to him. And that aint going to happen

because he has too many older fans. Most young people (14-21) don’t want to listen to

music their parents are jamming with.

Yes, but there's nothing wrong with that. I don't expect my niece to listen to P, although I would love for her to. I think every artist has a peak period. For MJ, it was "Thriller," for the eagles, it was "Hotel California," Fleetwood Mac, and so on. Every artist has their heyday, then will never recapture the magic they once had. Even Janet has had her time and with each consecutive release, the sales get worse and worse. The audience changes and then you're relegated to the contemporary adult category. There comes a time when you gotta start pleasing your own particular audience and most artists won't capture the imagination of the younger generation. The only way P can do this is to continue to inspire a younger generation of musicians who can then pass down his legacy to the kids. Outkast and Alicia Keys are doing this. They are introducing the youngsters to P's music. Now when my 15 year old niece [I am 33] asks who it is Tupac or Jay-Z is sampling, I'd say Prince. When someone says, oh, "Roses" is a good song, I respond by saying "oh, Prince did that 20 years ago...that's an imitation of him."

17ways69days said:

i Disagree if you go on the Mtv kiddie message boards you will find nothing but nice things said about Prince in there..one person didnt even know Prince was close to being 45

Prince will come very close to #1 this week on the billboard album charts so his #1 days arent over

BUT it seems the only people not giving Prince respect right now is the radio programmers ...Prince is being played on heavy rotation on MTV,VH1 BET Soul has been a hit on the talk shows, a hit on the grammys and a hit on the hall of fame induction & is on the cover of Entertainment Weekly and interviews in other mags YET radio is giving him the cold shoulder so far

hey-i've got no problem listening to some of the music my parents are into. It's awesome: hendrix, P, led zepplin, the police, etc. now, if only i could come up with some master plan to get more people my age into it. maybe this new album will? who knows? i think it could.

Let me add a comment to this. The fact that his concerts are selling out doesn't necessarily mean he's making a lot of money.

I actually disagree with ya .... at least 90% ... altho i feel what you are sayin ....

the fact is ---- his concerts are doin well ... and by doin well ... like this ... he is exposing a whole new generation to his FUNK ....

my lil niece was actually diggin the "new song on MTV" ... i was like ... damn i didnt even see the vid on MTV yet --- but she has .....

at the concert i attended ... alot of college age kids ... were there .... made me feel really old .... I chatted with a 22 yr old gal before the concert who didnt really know much about Prince ... but she got a discounted ticket ... and she heard so many cool things about him .... maybe a convert !!?? who knows ....

but as the album sells ... and gets good reviews ... and catches fire like it appears to have done .... the more younger people will catch on ... and buy his stuff too .... the one BIG thing that prince has goin for him ... in my opinion ... he is still young lookin .... and he wont detract from some of the youth who say "hes old " to mick jagger or madonna .... just my opinion ...

I agree. This kind of music just doesn't appeal to the younger crowds. He still has a market with the older folks, but no one's really that excited about his new material. I think overall, people miss the wild side of Prince, the side that was fun, exciting, and unpredictable. There's nothing in his new shit that has these qualities. He really needs to do a 360 and come out with something amazing if he wants to get a fresh buzz going on.

dagodfather said:

So true...my 9 and 11 yr old want to go to the concert. I am thinking about taking them since he just added a 3rd show in Detroit. They really like the song 'Musicology.' My 11 daughter is digging Prince a little more than my son. I had to give her my promo copy of 'Musicology' because she loves the title track, ICPC, WDUWMTD and Dear Mr Man. She even asked me to make her cd with some of his older songs, like SOTT.

I am rediscovering P myself. I was a fan from about 1979 until 1988, so I have 15 years of catching up to do. So my children were never really exposed to P, other than the "Hits" cd that I own.

My point is that Prince will probably never recapture the heydey of the 'Purple Rain' era, but I don't think he even expects to do that. He is passing the torch to the youth, which is a beautiful thing. Schools in session.....Musicology all the way baby....

J0eyC0c0 said:

..I think the fact that a T-shirt is 30 to 40 dollars...not to mention those $65 tamborines..means he's makin' plenty of dough at the shows...I couldn't believe t-shirts were so high...I couldn't believe I bought three....

roodboi said:

$65 Tamborines

I got mine for $15 when he came to my neck of the woods in 98'
[This message was edited Mon Apr 26 9:42:59 2004 by righteous1]

roodboi said:

It's not just about how much money's comin' in. There have been huge tours that didn't make the artists a lot of money.

J0eyC0c0 said:

Actually, it does mean that he's making money. A lot more than the usual artist on tour because Prince has no sponsors. He's paying for this tour himself, hence, he's pocketing a lot more than the standard artist. Artist make a large bulk of their money on tours. Sometimes, when their record sales are low, this is how they make money.

wyld1 said:

omg, sponsors actually provide money. How can you say a sponsor is actually a disadvantage.
[This message was edited Mon Apr 26 10:11:34 2004 by J0eyC0c0]

I won't be so bold as to say he'll never make the comeback we/I want, but I'll tell you that Musicology won't do it. It's an enjoyable listen for the most part but he took no risks with it. This album lacks personality. Some of the songs get a little preachy, which is nothing new, but the music isn't amazing here. I've got a teenage brother and sister and this album didn't catch their attentions at all. Hell, it barely caught mine. So who is he trying to appeal to? I guess the only people that will be interested in this album are the fams who like anything he does and MAYBE the over 30 crowd who had forgotten about him. (Yes there will be a few in each demographic that enjoy this).

I don't care if he ever appeals to the teens again. Afterall, he's much further evolved by now. However, great music is universal so anything is possible. Of course he'd have to get his ass out of cruise control, sequester himself and come up with something different to make a true "comeback". That has never been done in the history of modern music so we can't expect Prince to do it either.

Maybe he'll never make another 1999 or Purple Rain but he's certainly capable of making another SOTT or Parade (as evidenced by TRC). That's all I hope for. Musicology is simply a record to make cash. Nothing's wrong with that but I can do without it.

all i know is i went to the state college show in PA, and it was packed with kids.. and to my surprise everyone was buying t-shirts and shit... infact there was some drunk college girl in front of me who did'nt know a word and couldnt clap in time wearing a symbol necklace she just bought...
people were buying everything he had to sell... you are witnessing the greatest come back of all time.. and the best part is all those people walked out with NEW music... a critically acclaimed new prince cd that rocks... yeah some old orgers may be too bitter to enjoy anything new.. but a lot of non fans i know are grooving on it... i think we're all gonna be surprised how this ends...

man on earth said :

all i know is i went to the state college show in PA, and it was packed with kids.. and to my surprise everyone was buying t-shirts and shit... infact there was some drunk college girl in front of me who did'nt know a word and couldnt clap in time wearing a symbol necklace she just bought...
people were buying everything he had to sell... you are witnessing the greatest come back of all time.. and the best part is all those people walked out with NEW music... a critically acclaimed new prince cd that rocks... yeah some old orgers may be too bitter to enjoy anything new.. but a lot of non fans i know are grooving on it... i think we're all gonna be surprised how this ends...






altho i would never say this cd ROcks ...lol .... i must say ...you almost put my thoughts to words perfectly ... the cd is good ... and sometimes .... when u put out somethin good ... and the timing is right .... etc ... things catch fire ... and that is apparent ....

i too - was at the Penn State show ... and i was amazed at the ages that were there .... and i totally admit that it was the first Prince show that i totally walked by the merchandise for sale ... and went into the show !!! (but i certainly saw alot of young people there shoppin !!!)

EvilWhiteMale said:

U mean a 180

manonearth said:

love your outlook on this. Makes a change to see a positive post in here!

One word about this: Santana. End of story. Anything is possible. If Santana can get kids to buy his records and have a significant pop hit in his later days then why can't Prince? All the raw materials are certainly there.

Will he be able to pull it off? Who knows...

Personally, I don't care if he's successful in the mainstream. I remember reading in an interview with him one time that he felt each album was successful as soon as he had a copy of it. That's the way to be. Do the work. If the masses dig it so much the better.

But it really doesn't matter to me. I'll always check out whatever he's doing regardless.

17ways69days said:

This has been said time and time again, and I agree with your opinion.

It's just the natural evolution of pop music.

JAMIESTARR said:

Nah, he needs an extra spin.

EvilWhiteMale said:

I got a chuckle outta that one.

EvilWhiteMale said:

man I hate this guy.

Alot of people said the same thing about Prince in 1990 after Graffiti Bridge fiasco (movie). and then a year later he sells 7 million LP has a #1 song, #3 song, and a platinum club single (Gett Off) oh yeah and gets offered a $60-100million contract. (We all know how that turned out don't we Prince? I mean former "SLAVE" WTF)

EvilWhiteMale

lmas said:

Well at least D&P had some good songs on it.

By the way, F U 2 MF

Carlos Santana seemed to have a good time of it over the past few years. Not that Prince has had his Santana "Supernatural" moment this year, but hey - weirder things could happen.

EvilWhiteMale said:

well, i'm 27. my boyfriend is 24. i work with 21 year olds. all of the above dig prince and his new record. judging from the teens at the shows i've been to so far, i'd say his appeal is generally across the board. people just need to HEAR about him again. this seems even more obvious since his shows are selling out after being on tv and awards shows. hmmm, coincidence?

the comment about no one being excited about the new material? funny, a lot of magazine reviews seem to be excited about it. viacom seems to be excited about it. sony seems to be excited by it. most of the people on these boards seem to be excited by it. the 17,000 people at each sold out arena seem to be excited about it. all of the consumers that are making this a top 5 on the charts seem to be very excited about it. what more do you need?
[This message was edited Mon Apr 26 19:32:22 2004 by SassyBritches]

Just read over the post reporting sales 250g Musicology sales over this past week. That’s

better than I expected but let’s keep all this in perspective. Usher, lame-ass Usher, sold

1.2 million in one week. As for all the little kids desperate for Prince, well shit I hope

I’m wrong but that’s definitely not what I’m seeing. And all the merchandise that’s

selling at the shows – well think about the Rstones. More people have their shirts than

their newest records. Just cause you sell some symbol necklaces and shirts does not

mean people are going to buy all the new records. If anything they are paying tribute to a

memory. I have this secret hope that P’s got this master plan with Musicology. Record

this light, airy, accessible pop record that makes people yearn for the 80’s P and then,

once you got everybody’s attention with the concert giveaways and Sony promotion –

now that you’re back on the public consciousness drop some serious new shit. Cutting

edge and raw. Drop a switch up the game record. But folks I have to pinch myself cause

that shit aint happening. That record was Musicology.

17ways69days said:

well, honestly, you have to know about it before you can be desperate for it. p is getting mad press and praise lately. when was the last time he was in the news/media this heavily? suddenly these kids, who have been listening to outkast and alicia keys and god knows who else rave about how much of an influence Prince has been, are finding out just WHO prince is. i don't think its odd that kids are at the shows and are suddenly interested. if you wanna see some kids desperate for prince's return, go to a music school and talk to some young musicians and singers.

EvilWhiteMale said:

nice come back 4 real. it was as with merit too, but still...

17ways69days said:

So what that Usher sold 1.2 million in a week...Prince has sold over 100 million records in 25 years. Do you think that Usher will having the staying power to accomplish that? You are going to find your self very disappointed if your are waiting on P to recapture the 'Purple Rain' era. He has already peaked, but he is doing a lot better than a lot of his peers. When was the last time Madonna, MJ and other artist that were out in the 80's, move any decent amount of units.