In a recent interview with UK’s Daily Mirror, Prince discusses why his newest album, 20Ten, will not be available for download and declares the Internet’s death.
“The internet’s completely over,” he explained. “I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it, and then they get angry when they can’t get it.
“The internet’s like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers, and that can’t be good for you.” [Daily Mirror]
No, Prince Androgynous Nelson, men dressing like Lisa Bonet from the ’80s is what’s over. I’m well aware that he’s always had a hate for the Net but now I’m afraid he’s losing his last grasp on reality (I already had a strong feeling about that given his sartorial choices). Don’t worry my favorite little purple loon, I wasn’t downloading your album anyways.
Read the rest at The Daily Mirror.
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Well, it will be on the internet for download, one way or another. So, yeah… Sorry Prince.
I heard that AC/DC won’t put their songs on iTunes either, in order to stop piracy, and they made beaucoup amounts of money last year.
Takes me back to an episode of the office when Michael drove into a lake because the navigation system told him to. lol Maybe the old way is the better way…
I respect his musical genius and business sense (leaving WB… turning to the Internet to push his music at a time when no one was utilizing it, and everyone else was thinking he was foolish to do so) to say anything negative.
This comment is the key here:
“I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it, and then they get angry when they can’t get it.”
Hmmm. Interesting. Very interesting.©TRA
Truth be told, he’s always been ahead of the curve so you’re right there TRA. But I’m just not sure about declaring the ‘net dead. What’s going to take its place?
The internet is not dead *Ed Lover face- (Come on Son). Prince is good but that just sounds like the jehovah Witness influence rite there
The internet may not be dead, but the way music is distributed on it may be changing if record companies keep seeing their profits decrease. After all, can anyone explain why the middle man (iTunes) is making the most money?
He might not have picked the right words, but I see where he’s coming from.
see how over it is when he googles the name of his new album + mediafire
us (i do it) artists need to come out of out boxes and see the world for what it is EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE (just every so often – cause yawl crazy….we ain’t – you think we are and vice versa….but the Normal World” is crazy and I don’t wanna be normal)
just saying that its good to take a survey on what normal is before presenting a product to the general public
My question is why does he have to get paid in advance for it, when nothing is pressed up for it?
Canseco — I’m not doubting his ability to thrive financially. His concerts, with their $80 tix, constantly selling well prove he doesn’t need anything typical to support him in the past or now.
I think I’m more awed w/his distaste for the net after it did help sustain him for a while. He’s been wild in his pursuit on YouTube infringement and downloading. Almost too fanatical about it.
“But does Prince need to be on iTunes? Do the Rolling Stones? Does U2? Do Elvis’/MJ’s/Luter Vandross’ estate? Do countless of other similar living artists need the web?”
==================
Eventually, yes. With retailers closing up shop daily, you can’t fully depend on bricks and mortar establishments. And with the costs of cds, I would wager that not every online outlet can/will continue to stock their back catalogs.
Or maybe they will.
So maybe it is dead to Prince, but not to a lot of the current, younger generation who’ve never owned a CD in their lives.
Gotty/TRA,
I actually agree with Prince—with the following caveat:
The Internet is over—for artists who don’t need it.
When you look at Prince (craziness aside) you gotta recognize where he’s at:
1) He’s got a catalog longer than expectations of LeBron.
2) He’s incredible live.
3)He’s self-contained, meaning: a) He can write (like REALLY WRITE SONGS). b) He can play at least 8 instruments better than most studio musicians can play one.
4)He developed a fanbase independent of the web.
5)His fanbase doesn’t need the web either.
For Prince and artists like him, the Internet is only as relevant as they want it to be. Traditional retailers will still stock their albums, venues will sill book them, fans will still come.
They’ll always work.
Will smart use of the web only help them? yeah. in so as much as their core audience goes online.
But does Prince need to be on iTunes? Do the Rolling Stones? Does U2? Do Elvis’/MJ’s/Luter Vandross’ estate? Do countless of other similar living artists need the web?
Uh, not really.
I think, for Prince. it’s an issue of “Is what I’m selling off-setting what’s being downloaded/leaked?”
Probably not.
He’ll live.
Prince raises another point that it’s still hard for us all to grapple with:
“If I make new music and you’re bent on listening to it without my permission/compensation, why should I keep putting it out?”
Some artists don’t care. They see downloading as promotion and part of the game. Prince gets pissed about this. He’d rather not release music than release it and not be compensated.
He’s probably never gonna change on that.
Prince is also from an era where people paid to hear his music; not because it was better or “back then” but because they paid. Now he’s waking up to a marketplace that’s telling him: “We’ll pay for your music–if we feel like it.”
Some artists are cool with that arrangement. He’s not.
I see everyone’s side of it. but i can’t be mad at Prince for making it clear that he doesn’t want his music leaked and meaning it.
@MZ
Why not though? He has that kind of power.
As an independent (and most do not know this because none of the new cats who cannot push units if their lives depended upon it – especially in Rap/Hip-Hop where indie music dominates because most rappers are so terrible it is their only route), if you have a name and do numbers, you either get an advance (from distributors) or are paid C.O.D. from distributors, one-stops, and record stores once they take hold of your work. In other words, you deliver your physical product (CD), and they cash you out.
You do not wait for a single disc to be sold.
Prince has a point. Music is music. No matter how distributed, you still end up with a product once paid for.
So why the difference for digital sales? He has the name. They know he is going to do the numbers. I am just upset I did not think of this method first lol
The Internet is not dead, however, how it works currently is about to drastically change.
@BC
Agreed on every single point. He does not need the Internet. Why? Because the ones who download his albums/work for free… were not going to pay for it anyway.
(Were you… you Thieves in the Temple ;)
He will be fine.
Also to add MZ…
It is what we hear (the music) that we pay for…
Not what it is placed on – would you not agree?
And although we must place a worth on the medium itself (we simply have to when delivered as a product)… really, who can truly place a price on such an art form at its core?
I can understand physical copies being C.O.D., because they’re pressed up & sent out. But I can’t see too much having to be done for digital.
You buy something digital & all they have to do is make a copy of the master copy (so I assume). I’m not really a big fan of paying for digital music anyway & have have only done so on maybe 5 or 6 occasions. But new models, new rules imo.
TRA,
Prince has one of the most loyal fanbases this side of MJ. Prince announce could do a 50 city tour on Monday and it’d be sold out by Thursday.
And you wouldn’t have to sell a single tix online.
I wouldn’t be surprised if prince stays exclusively with Target/Walmart and offline retailers. Or does something weird where you can only get new music at his concerts.
I am surprised that Prince has such negative thoughts on the internet; during his battles with WB the net keep him afloat.
Gotty,
Yeah, I think Prince being the control freak he is, is content bailing on the web as it’s bigger than his thumbprint now.
But I can’t front, if you’re were down with his little web community that he had going in from about 99-04, it was something special.
It was like a tight-knit cult with like real content. Exclusive remixes, back catalog stuff, dude was leaking stuff and actually talking with people online. I mean, you could actually chat with Prince.
then I think some of the members started leaking music to “outsiders” and he got pissed and bounced.
But i dunno Gotty. If you’re a U2 type of act and can own your masters/publishing, you can cut some deals and work with a target or a hot retailer. or do the POD–Print On Demand thing TRA was talking about.
Or does something weird where you can only get new music at his concerts.
==================
He already did that kinda, where every ticket came with a CD & it counted toward his Soundscan.
The internet is dead as a way to profitably distributing music as far Prince is concerned
Prince is an Artist in every sense of the word and I Think he feels like his art is being diminished/devalued by internet users
also because as its been said a few times he doesn’t need it, he doesn’t need $$$.
“He already did that kinda, where every ticket came with a CD & it counted toward his Soundscan.”
——————
I have one of the discs. Prince’s people treated me like I was the one who was royalty that day – front row seats, invite to the after party. The disc from that concert is still in the shrink wrap (I already had a few copies of the retail – “Musicology”)
The man was a genius for that innovative idea as well (so much so that Soundscan placed a new rule to stop other acts from following suit). While most felt it was in support of his chart performance, he was actually rewarding his fans in the greatest way – you pay so much for a ticket, why not throw in the new album with the price of that ticket?
Now, while I am a fan and have supported him over the years, the one thing I never did… was join his fan club. A friend of mine (who is as about as diehard as they come) paid I forget how much to access his earliest online fan club (I want to say it ranged from $200-$400 for the year). Keep in mind that this is during dial-up days. But she said that you would get an email out of the middle of nowhere, people would be selected, and Prince would perform somewhere live (sometimes at Paisley Park) for his members. If you were not selected, you could still watch the performance online. Said it would happen often. He also would giveaway new music that he recorded; you would get first dibs at tickets to shows, new albums released, etc. She felt it was more than worth the price she paid over the years (she only cancelled her membership once he shut it down).
So yes, the man has the most loyal fans.
This was very forward-thinking stuff… especially given the fact that, again, it was probably 95% that were on dial-up at the time.
“He already did that kinda, where every ticket came with a CD & it counted toward his Soundscan.”
——————
I have one of the discs. Prince’s people treated me like I was the one who was royalty that day – front row seats, invite to the after party. The disc from that concert is still in the shrink wrap (I already had a few copies of the retail – “Musicology”)
The man was a genius for that innovative idea as well (so much so that Soundscan placed a new rule to stop other acts from following suit). While most felt it was in support of his chart performance, he was actually rewarding his fans in the greatest way – you pay so much for a ticket, why not throw in the new album with the price of that ticket?
Now, while I am a fan and have supported him over the years, the one thing I never did… was join his fan club. A friend of mine (who is as about as diehard as they come) paid I forget how much to access his earliest online fan club (I want to say it ranged from $200-$400 for the year). Keep in mind that this is during dial-up days. But she said that you would get an email out of the middle of nowhere, people would be selected, and Prince would perform somewhere live (sometimes at Paisley Park) for his members. If you were not selected, you could still watch the performance online. Said it would happen often. He also would giveaway new music that he recorded; you would get first dibs at tickets to shows, new albums released, etc. She felt it was more than worth the price she paid over the years (she only canceled her membership once he shut it down).
So yes, the man has the most loyal fans.
This was very forward-thinking stuff… especially given the fact that, again, it was probably 95% that were on dial-up at the time.
I wonder if Eminem could do this?
Don’t the writer of this article feel dumb for bashing prince for his more than accurate statement. Musicians do not make music to be given to u for free.
giving away the cd as part of the ticket price is GENIUS. They should do that instead cuz as much as I hate to say it niggas aint buying shit.
It’s a tragedy too. I buy shit because I was not raised to get free shit without paying for it. It’s called stealing. A cd is 10 dollars so I preview the shit first and if it’s jamming it’s get purchased.
I’m also not a fan of digital purchases. I need to be able to hold the shit If i buy it with money. That’s just a personal thing. I’ve purchased a few mp3′s and few digital eps but that’s about it. Never an album.
I’m not even old I’m 24. People don’t work for free period so purchase the album if for nothing but recognition that its a great album. And it’s not like artists don’t give away albums worth of material anyway. Damn can they get a purchase when the album comes out? That’s not much to ask.
rant over
I love you Prince!!
@TRA,
Prince’s fan club was bananas. You’d get announcements that he was playing in Chicago–I thought the announcements were jokes. But he’d show up. Him and like 5000 mofos fans in purple blooses and hair that been fried died and laid to the side like 1984 never left.
Dude was a genius online.
Him and Ani DiFranco were like 10 years ahead of the game.
Somebody name the last Prince album you actually enjoyed.
I’ll wait.
By the way, when did Prince become Rihanna?
I’m just saying….
Prince fans will buy his stuff no matter what. So therefore he doesn’t need the internet.
@Amp
I actually really dug Lotusflow3r and MPLSound (Elixer I listened to once and never again).
I actually really dug Lotusflow3r and MPLSound (Elixer I listened to once and never again).
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I didn’t even bother with none of them. The idea of downloading them and actually owning them were two different things. Musicology was probably the last worthwhile album but there was plenty of garbo in between that and the Crystal Ball one
I’m a diehard Prince fan and I haven’t revisited either of those albums since I DL’d them. Last album I really dug from Prince was Musicology but Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic is the most recent Prince album I own.
Dude can go Gold with his rabid fanbase alone and good thing he can, cause for the most part, he’s been irrelevant for the better part of the 00′s.
Its dead hes right,cuz people with zero musical talent get on the net and complain and criticize….(looking at YOU)
oh yeah my bad i forgot…complain,VALIDATE,and criticize,that completes my statement..
this statement brought forth for you by Corona.
La Cerveza Mas Fina
Lotusflow3r is my shit and MPLS is a party on CD for real. Plus he did that thru a deal with Target which was revolutionary. Artist sends music straight to the Retailers who can get it to the ppl!So yea, if Slim say the internets is over, it might be!
Musicology, 3121 were both pretty dope albums. I still bump ‘em. LotusFlow3r was aiight but not horrible.
Everything Prince drops ain’t heat, but dude’s one of the few real artists out there that doesn’t have to play the game anymore.
You best believe Prince will take the 570K units his last couple albums moved know that he owns all the publishing and masters and saw close to 50% of every dollar that came in.
That’s what it’s about.
For the Prince that’s been livin these last 20years, the web is prolly costing him money.
Its dead hes right,cuz people with zero musical talent get on the net and complain and criticize….(looking at YOU)
===================================================
Now ain’t that the pot calling the kettle black.
Furthermore:
Prince can still body every guitarist you like in just about every genre that you like—from Mayer to the Black Keys to INSERT HERE. Prince will spank ‘em wit an axe.
Its dead hes right,cuz people with zero musical talent get on the net and complain and criticize….(looking at YOU)
======
Hmmmmm.
If the Prince declares it, it must be so.
/Turning off computer, cancelling service
//How did I stumble upon this stupid shit and I want my 5 minutes of lost life from reading this crap back!
“Digital downloads are clearly becoming a mature part of the business,” says Howard Bass, a senior partner at Ernst & Young who advises entertainment companies. “The question is how quickly the music industry can adopt a new digital strategy.”
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/05/BUFT1E8NTS.DTL&type=tech#ixzz0srm54hGN
Atleast he’s honest I respect him for that much and I would luv to see him keep his album off the internet that would be priceless. I agree with whomever said, “his fans will still buy his music hard copy and he doesnt need the internet.” I mean really how many of those 740000 ppl that bought Em’s album do u think really listened to it bf they bought it. I still beleive over half the world is oblivious to the fact that albums are leaked ahead of their release date. I mean I can count 100(if not more) ppl right now that still don’t own a computer or ipod. They have never dl’ed a song/album/ring tone- unless their relatives showed them how or their children did it for them. I think he has the means to do whatever he pleases and why shouldnt he, good luck PRINCE!
Prince > Nothing
Something > Prince
What an Inane & stupid comment from MR.Roper, what exactly his beliefs have to do with his MArketing strategy I have no idea. Sounds like another uninformed Bigot having a dig about something he knows not a jot about. Bet he never made remarks when Other artists (AC/DC ) for example shunned the Net, was it their Faith behind that Move ??
Wow…I didn’t even know Prince was still making music. Haven’t heard anything about that guy since the 90′s. And he still dresses the same. I can understand him being mad about the internet, but even if someone buys his cd, it’ll will be posted online eventually anyways…I think most bands just adapt and use the internet to get as much money as they can, even if some funds are lost in the free downloads.
I have to disagree with Prince simply because I’m apart of the generation who were born into computers and stuff like that. When you’re as young as me, it take steep pockets to go back and buy albums from the past. Hell, if I had the money, I’d go back and buy every single classic hip-hop album I could, but sadly, I can’t. The internet all but open new doors for me in terms of music and Lord knows without it, I wouldn’t be as big of a hip-hop fan as I am today and my liking of indie rock would’ve been null-in-void. It may be dead for the Older Gods (Word to the 5%ers), but it’s a new horizon for we Young G’s.
Prince like MJ is so out of it. Other than the sickofants that follow him and the same for mj neither has been relivant for years. Some of their music will hang around but the rest of the world moved on long ago.
@ MZ
You are only talking about the cost to press up a “physical” product, you aren’t taking into consideration production costs, mixing and mastering costs, etc that now has to be funded by the artist instead of the record company in order for you to get your “digital” copy.
I disagree with Prince saying the ‘Net is dead, but I understand what he’s talking about when he complains about not getting an advance or compensation for his music before people have the music in their hands. It costs $$ to make QUALITY music, whether you’re in a studio or your bedroom.
Hey Gotty, until you become a multi-platinum selling artist, keep that “loon” bullshit to ya self. If this talented man is a loon, what about mutts like Gucci Man or What the Fucka Flame or any of these other no English speaking southern artists. Now, these are untalented mooks, who are benefitting from from the absence of taste in music these days.
I’m surprised he let his music get on cassette and CD’s vs. records or 8 track. Prince Dude, love you like no other but ……come on.
Prince the last mohican
I think this statement “The internet’s completely over” is completely wrong and out of line. It may be “over” to him but to make such a bold statement is foolish
I don’t know what beach you all of you are sticking your head in the sand. Prince is 100% talking reality. The Internet is over but on a much higher scale than just i-tunes…
The Senate Committee just approved The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act. This bill gives Obuma an Internet “kill switch”, where he can shut off the Net for at least 4 months in the name of national security without getting permission from congress. Don’t believe me here’s proof:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/26/cyberspace-protection-bill-approved-no-kill-switch/
At the same time the FCC is suggesting that the we must buy an Internet box and pay taxes on issued with Govt approval. You and I would then be issued “ID Tokens” to access certain websites. In essence, Govt censored Internet.
http://www.infowars.com/fccs-stealth-plan-to-censor-internet-content/
Reports are also out there that the Dems want to subject us to paying sales tax for purchases over the Internet.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-20009603-38.html
Finally the Govt already has started to censor the Net withing its own agencies. I know companies all over censor certain pages so their employees cant access them, but the Govt is censoring pages with “controversial opinions” starting with the TSA’s network.
http://www.infowars.com/tsa-to-block-websites-with-controversial-opinions/
So I say to all my peeps out there…Hope you enjoy the Chinese style Internet of our future!
Prince is off of his rocker. Seriously! independent of the itunes point of view, a statement such as “the internet is dead” requires a bit more explanation as to what he may have been eluding. A statement such as “the internet is over” is akin to saying Jackie Robinson is the only black person who will ever play baseball back when he broke the color line. The internet has revolutionized mankinds access to mankind and thatr is a Genie which can never be rebottled after having spilled out so much access. The comment was VERY short-sighted, at best.
This man has still got it. There are few artists who get 50+ comments on any site (including TSS)… and yet here this man, whom some are calling irrelevant, is proving that he is exactly the opposite.
We are still talking about him.
And that is what matters.
Genius I tell you.
Prince, other than for yourself, of what value are. Wait, back on point… The internet represents a chance for Any Nobody to OWN themselves. Have you bothered to see the stats on the number of people who have saved themselves from utter failure simply by introducing a DESIRED PRODUCT or SERVICE.
The internet CHANGES the game. Even though large Corporations are working to ONCE AGAIN coral everybody into their boxes— if you had half a brain, you would Find young black Software Developers to create WAYS & MEANS to keep the internet OPEN. Image that- instead of ALWAYS crying about the attempts of OTHERS, spend some time being part of a SOLUTION… YOU BIG BABY!!! SPEEN ON!!!
Whether Prince is right or wrong, one must acquiesce in the fact that his ability to operate from without the conceptual box, free from the constraints of industry dogmatism and at times, perhaps reason, is what has kept his career alive..
http://www.themusicvoid.com/2010/07/prince-and-the-yawn-of-digital/