Why Prince Is Giving His Music Away

[DudeAsInCool]

Controversy is still raging in England over Prince giving away his cd via newspapers. A spokesman provided a statement:

...A spokesman for Prince said: 'Prince feels that charts are just music industry constructions and have little or no relevance to fans or even artists today. Prince's only aim is to get music direct to those what want to hear it. Prince famously took a stand against Warner Records in the Nineties when he went on strike and appeared with the world "slave" drawn on his cheek. Subsequently, he regained control of the publishing right to his work and broke down the existing system through his innovation.'

Read More

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

Maybe it's just so bad, he doesn't even want it.

[DudeAsInCool]

Maybe it's just so bad, he doesn't even want it.

He makes all his money off concerts, not the cd... so its good business sense to give away the music to spur interest

[method77]

Prince was always against the big music companies

[CTC Command]

Because. They all suck.

[DudeAsInCool]

Columbia Records will release the cd in the states - apparently, stateside isnt ready for free giveaways.

[DudeAsInCool]

Ars Technica reviews the Prince promotion and asks whether the album as we know it is finished.

[slum_goddess]

Columbia Records will release the cd in the states - apparently, stateside isnt ready for free giveaways.

why am i not surprised? bah...Stateside's not ready for free anything e.g., it still kills me to see the very old/young here and in EU, all w/cellphones which, IMO, have become a necessity for safety's sake these days. but over here, just like w/landlines, only the caller pays for airtime. my mother called me at the airport from her cell to say goodbye --- my charge for that 4 minute call was 20$. then again, my provider's in the UK but still. her charge? like 5$. disgusting.

[DudeAsInCool]

The NY Times takes a look at Prince's business strategy and his new album, Planet Earth:

"Prince, as usual, is a one-man studio band — drums, keyboards, guitars, vocals — joined here and there by a horn section or a cooing female voice. This time he leans toward rock rather than funk. Serious songs begin and end the album. It starts with “Planet Earth,” an earnest environmental piano anthem with an orchestral buildup, and winds up with the devout “Lion of Judah” and with “Resolution,” an antiwar song. In between, Prince flirts a lot, playing hard-to-get as he rocks through “Guitar” (“I love you baby, but not like I love my guitar”) and promising sensual delights in the upbeat “One U Wanna C” and the slow-grinding “Mr. Goodnight.” There’s also a catchy, nutty song about a model, “Chelsea Rodgers,” who’s both hard-partying and erudite; Prince sings that she knows about how “Rome was chillin’ in Carthage in 33 B.C.E.”

Although Columbia probably thinks otherwise, how the album fares commercially is almost incidental. With or without the CD business, Prince gets to keep making music: in arenas, in clubs, in the studio. Fans buy concert tickets, companies rent his panache, pleasure is shared. It’s a party that can go on a long time."

Read More

[rainbowdemon]

This time he leans toward rock rather than funk.

I have to admit I kind of like him when he does that. Might have to give this one a listen!!