Prince removed his music from all streaming services except for Tidal

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by BradOlson, Jul 1, 2015.

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  1. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Yeah, it was so shortsighted as well. For instance, Prince changes bands more often than most folks by a pair of shoes. If he'd been less of a dog in the manger, he could easily search YouTube and find plenty of people who can play his music.
     
  2. HotelYorba101

    HotelYorba101 Senior Member

    Location:
    California
    As a 21 year old completely obsessed with Prince it is so odd how I can show my friends songs like The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, I Hate U, Witness 4 The Prosecution, Computer Blue, etc. and so many of them really dig them however none of them knew his music beforehand. If Prince cared about getting the youth on his side he can easily do it. He just won't, which bums me out because he is an amazing talent
     
    Thom likes this.
  3. rockledge

    rockledge Forum Resident

    Location:
    right here
    To be realistic, the guy was very famous for a short period of time. I suspect he was in a high stakes poker game and didn't play his hand well.
    Maybe he songs just were not selling well now and removing them is no great loss to him.
    From what I am hearing downloads aren't paying songwriters chickenfeed now.
     
  4. Khaki F

    Khaki F Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kenosha, WI. USA
    Oh, damn. No Prince to stream. I'm just gonna have to go kill myself or something...
     
    Sean likes this.
  5. BobFever

    BobFever Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northeast Ohio
    This is what I wonder.

    Love this man's music. Been spotty since '96, but overall, I like it. The old ways of promotion are dead or on life support. Everything nowadays is through the web. He is/has lost a new generation of fans because of his refusal to embrace the web, which is baffling because he did in the early days with his NPG Club, etc..

    I remember years ago a Elvis Costello announcement (Rhino period I believe) of a greatest hits package that was to include a cover of "Raspberry Beret", but that was cancelled because they couldn't get clearance from him. He doesn't want cover versions of his material, but he has no problem covering other people's live and recording them for his own records or tribute albums. He marches to his own beat, that is for sure.
     
  6. MadamAdam

    MadamAdam Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    You don't need permission to do a straight cover version with lyrics intact though
     
  7. eddiel

    eddiel Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    I always thought that was the case but it's not the first time I've heard of similar situations. Perhaps the covering artists decides against inclusion simply because the original artist isn't in favour of it?
     
  8. goodiesguy

    goodiesguy Confide In Me

    Location:
    New Zealand
    "Hi, would you like to hear about the good word of Prince?"
     
  9. sandmountainslim1

    sandmountainslim1 Vicar Of Fonz

    That is the most true thing I have ever read on this forum. I LOVE Prince but today's generation don't know him from Lionel Richie. He has ruined his legacy by taking his music away from the only people who could ever save his legacy. Kids today learn about artists via You Tube and that is all there is to it.
     
    goodiesguy, BobFever, Rocco and 2 others like this.
  10. Popmartijn

    Popmartijn Senior Member

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    Though not exactly like it, I believe you are quite close. It's about the Costello song The Bridge I Burned (which was originally included on an Elvis Costello greatest hits package). That song originally had a sample/interpolation of Prince's Pop Life. Prince, however, refused to grant permission to use that part. And again when they wanted to include that version of the song on the Rhino remaster of All This Useless Beauty.
    Here are some more details of that version, from http://www.inanotherroom.com/atub.html :
    But yeah, your comment is still valid. Prince has used samples of other people's recordings for his own songs. But he refuses to grant permission to others who want to use parts of his songs.
     
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  11. daveidmarx

    daveidmarx Forem Residunt

    Location:
    Astoria, NY USA
    And just like that, it's gone! :faint:
     
  12. Licorice pizza

    Licorice pizza Livin’ On The Fault Line

    I had to go through hell to find him...back in vinyl's heyday. Kids today won't listen to anything that doesn't arrive instantaneously to their phone. That's just plain "flojera"(Spanish for laziness ) as my mother used to tell us as kids.
     
  13. redsock

    redsock Writer, reader, grouch.

    I wish he would get hit on the head, change his mindset, and do something along the lines of Dylan's Bootleg Series.
     
    goodiesguy, Sean, Rocco and 1 other person like this.
  14. Rocco

    Rocco Find My Way

    Location:
    Chicago, Il USA
    This is true to some degree - my kids know the Beatles and Paul - but after that get confused about the other 3. The 6 year old still gets confused that Beatle Paul is the same as today's Paul. I explain by saying young Paul and old Paul - best way to do it.

    I have been a big Prince fan - but I have to say if you ask my three little ones about him (even with some music in the house), they will give me blank stares. MJ on the other hand they know because they have watched Billie Jean, Beat It and Thriller on Youtube countless times. I think the simple message for Prince to get more reach is to lighten up a little. Does Paul McCartney or the Stones get worried about the countless bootlegs on youtube? Absolutely not. Heck Mick Jagger is now the new David Crosby of Twitter and Instagram!

    Sad that Paul and Mick get it...but Prince is still fighting the same old battle. Get your music heard - anyway you can is my advise (like he cares).
     
    sandmountainslim1 likes this.
  15. sandmountainslim1

    sandmountainslim1 Vicar Of Fonz

    Same with my 8 year old. She knows Beatles and Paul but she can't tell John and George apart and says "Paul is same as the Beatles" when I lament not being able to ever see a Beatles concert :) She knows Michael Jackson because his songs played into her ballet classes but when u say "Prince" it's just a blank stare. I'm pretty sure most of her generation is that way.
     
    Rocco likes this.
  16. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    OK, got some numbers on how much streaming services pay the record companies versus what the record company pays the artist. Unless he's pulling these numbers out of his butt, Desmond Child says:

    “Jon, Richie and I get six million streams on Pandora every quarter, as an average, of 'Livin’ On A Prayer,’ just the one song,” offers Child of his co-creation with Bon Jovi. “So just imagine all the other streams we’re getting. Yeah, but we got a big check for $110 [for the song last quarter] to split amongst the three of us and our publishers. Yeah. The streaming thing is a beat and we have to switch that...the record companies get 96 percent of the money and we get 4 percent because they got in there and made deals and bought into these companies. Frankly, we got dicked—all the songwriters. We’ve got to turn that around.”
    I knew it was bad, but I didn't know that it was 96% bad. I think 4% is what is technically known as a "pittance".
     
    chilinvilin likes this.
  17. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA

    This was Sony Music's contract with Spotify
    The details the major labels don’t want you to see
    http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/19/8621581/sony-music-spotify-contract
     
  18. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paradise
    It's a loss for both Prince and the younger listeners. :sigh:
     
    Lost In The Flood and ARK like this.
  19. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paradise
    :confused: I wouldn't call a few decades a "short period of time".
     
    Lost In The Flood and walrus like this.
  20. ganma

    ganma Senior Member

    Location:
    Earth
    What has he got to gain from kids who listen to music for free on Youtube and Spotify? Nothing. His legacy is just fine.
     
  21. longaway

    longaway Senior Member

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC, USA
    Concert ticket sales, merchandise sales, potential physical media sales, streaming royalties (small as they may be). You know, all the same reasons to allow radio to play songs that kids can listen to free.
     
  22. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    There's even less to be gained from an entire generation not listening to your music.
     
  23. SoundAdvice

    SoundAdvice Senior Member

    Location:
    Vancouver
    I'm thinking he wants one of the big streaming companies to play him 8 figures for the "honor" of having him with an exclusive agreement.

    Lionel albums are much easier to find than Prince albums on vinyl.

    I saw ltos of young fans at a packed arena show in 2011. Though it could be stronger if he let his music be more widely heard including TV/movie usage.

    The general public cared for his output other than 1984-1988? Even those years had Prince albums that sold under projections.
     
  24. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paradise
    I wouldn't expect the general public to be posting on a audiophile message board.
     
  25. SoundAdvice

    SoundAdvice Senior Member

    Location:
    Vancouver
    I'll put it another way, if he had a current setlist that EXCLUDED any Rain-Sign material he'd be a theater/casino act.
     
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