I'm surprised no-one has said anything about this story that popped up on my feed today: Prince’s vault drilled opened and there’s enough music to release a new album every year for the next century » Does this mean something is actually going to be done? I hope so...
The fact that my nephew had no idea who Prince was but clearly knew other 80's icons like Madonna and Michael Jackson was heartbreaking for me as a fan of Prince and as a music lover. If Prince wasn't in the midst of a futile and ineffective war with the internet my nephew (and many others) could've shared his music videos with friends and family and that would've gained him more fans. I've discovered countless artists/bands from music videos my friends and family shared on social media.
Comps sell more than almost all regular albums. Fools? I assume you are joking. Just looks at some of the biggest sellers : Beatles1 Eagles Greatest Hits
Some obscure vids for all to see. These are from the "Diamonds and Pearls" sessions. Violet The Organ Grinder(on an early tack listing of D&P)
Futile and ineffective, great terms. It's a shame. I think that's why he often seemed adrift in his recent performances, well when I saw him on TV and the like. I never forgot about him but the frame of reference was a bit off. I had forgotten he had done so much--because I didn't see it, like saw everyone else's work.
Maybe he didn't place much value on a generation of "customers" that weren't willing to compensate him at a rate he deemed fair? Teenagers aren't likely to be able afford tickets to his shows and they aren't buying much music. I sincerely doubt that Prince needed validation from them. I think the idea that Prince "needed" more exposure is absurd. He could go play anywhere in the world and sell tickets. Is it so hard to believe that Prince knew his own mind and made an informed, rational decision that maximized his happiness?
As you've said before, out of sight, out of mind. The irony of it all was that Prince was once a early adopter of the internet. Prince pulling his music off of Youtube,Spotify,etc. only increased piracy of his music. That forced fans and newbies to find different ways of acquiring his catalog. (Especially the oop albums) I doubt a younger listener is willing to pay $50 dollars for a copy of Chaos and Disorder on ebay or amazon. So how else would they go about getting it? It's common sense.
I specifically remember when youtube first took off going online looking for Prince videos I had not seen in awhile. Was just a casual fan really. Saw that everything was blocked and, though it wasn't intentional, kind of forgot about Prince. Youtube was/is free advertising, and I believe artists can get a cut of some kind each time a video is played; he should have taken advantage of it. Other thing he lost out on was publicizing some of these great shows he did over the years. That one Gently Weeps solo went viral. The Radiohead cover did too, before it was taken down. Imagine if some of the dance moves, crazy covers, wild jams....if all of those had been there online this whole time.
Certainly, he did things against conventional wisdom to maximize happiness. Many of them smart, frankly. Does it make sense to give your music away for free to dig up 200 paying customers? Or do 5,000 stupid interviews or kill yourself on the road doing 50 arenas if there are smarter ways? Get (literally) a sharp stick in the eye from your "fans" for your trouble, like happened to BOWIE? Like, the long term arena engagements in London, LA, and (to a lesser extent) MSG. So fast forward to the recent tragedy, and people I usually dismiss and despise in our media capitals turn out to have gone to and are familiar with his MSG shows (in 2011?) where Ce-Lo Green opened, and in LA, which barely registered a blip on my radar. So there they were on TV afterwards, with fresher memories than mine, of Prince playing to arenas and no less a superstar than back before they were necessarily paying attention.
I "found" that track among other 12 inch and special mixes of his stuff from 87-95. I liked all of the "Gett Off" mixes, this had to be the first and only time someone's sampled Lawanda Page.
I would have to agree with this . As i posted i have a college student who never fails to surprise me with the music that comes from his ipod when we are riding in my car . Lots of good old music ... My music mixed with his music as well . The majority of it hes discovered thru Youtube and Spotify . So from a standpoint of hurting him , i dont know , but i do know that a lot of the younger generation pretty much arent familiar with his work Now as far as purchasing music and concert tickets , thats what they spend their money on ! So yeah , it makes me sad that they are just now discovering him . Speaking of the Radiohead cover , its back on there now . With a notation from Radiohead to put it back up plz Theres also an apology for it taking so long to put it back up .
Prince didn't care. He had his audience already. As long as he was fillin' venues big and small, the idea of youtube offering people an indirect, crappy sounding experience of his gigs didn't interest him. He wanted them to get the real thing.
Exactly there are a numbers if artist who I'm not hugely into but loved their hits cd I have lots of them and for some artists , it's plenty for me.
I totally understand this , but they arent going to go get the real thing if they werent aware of it . I am not arguing it as i see it both ways Just sad that a lot of the younger generation are into a lot of good old music but are not familiar with Prince . But its his music ... His choice !
He practically mumbles, so I didn't notice before today that he changes the verses from 1st person to 2nd person. Very different song. Wow.
