Prince declares internet dead.

[Madspyman]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/7874307/Prince-the-internets-completely-over.html


The internet is completely over. 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. - Prince


His new album is his 27th release and may be distributed via Warner Brothers in the US – but there will be no downloads available in the world.

Yeah good luck with that, purple man.

[RiceMonster]

What the **** is the internet?

[dragos240]

That'll go nowhere.

[Cavsfan]

Is Prince still around? I thought he went by Blah Blah Blah or something like that.
I think he might need some purple rain.

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

It's going to be on the internet on release day anyway--for free too! Not that I'd download it, because I don't pirate music AND because I wouldn't download it legally if it was free. What a moron...

[Cavsfan]

It's going to be on the internet on release day anyway--for free too! Not that I'd download it, because I don't pirate music AND because I wouldn't download it legally if it was free. What a moron...

Ditto!

[Madspyman]

It's going to be on the internet on release day anyway--for free too! Not that I'd download it, because I don't pirate music AND because I wouldn't download it legally if it was free. What a moron...

Yeah Prince's next headline will probably be "Prince declares bankruptcy."

[Bachstelze]

Prince > you.

[Madspyman]

Prince > you.

Internet > Prince.

[Yarui]

Funny, I always kind of thought it was Prince's career that was dead.

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

Prince > you.
That might be true, but so is this:

poo flinging monkeys > Prince.

[endotherm]

I declare prince insane.

unless the story includes Kevin Smith, I'm not paying attention.

[Bachstelze]

I declare prince insane.

You only just noticed? All great musicians are more or less insane.

[Yarui]

After giving it a bit more thought I think I can see what he is thinking. The internet has lost the novelty it once had. What he fails to realize is that the internet has evolved since whatever era he has in mind that is now "dead". It is now an everyday part of life for practically everyone in the country, and in most developed countries.

[ticopelp]

Thus ends whatever shred of relevance was left to Prince... well, 1994 was a good year, I'm sure he'll be happy living there.

[v1ad]

i bet you can torrent it.

[Shining Arcanine]

Who is this guy? I have never heard of him.

[endotherm]

Who is this guy? I have never heard of him.
last i "heard", his name didn't have a pronunciation, but instead looked like this:

[lukeiamyourfather]

I never buy music online, its a bunch of compressed and DRM ridden crap. Buying the CD and ripping FLAC is the way to go. Then again, this is Prince we're talking about. Who buys music from Prince anyway? :roll:

[Brunellus]

That might be true, but so is this:

poo flinging monkeys > Prince.
I am now watching this thread. Keep it clean.

To be fair to The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, I think he has a point, at least as regards Apple and iTunes--the walled-garden model may well be dead, dying, or on its way out. Where individual artists can distribute their work without intermediaries, and where tools exist for people to find that work and pay for it, there's not much reason to maintain a "distribution" empire.

But that's really not the Internet.

[Crunchy the Headcrab]

I am now watching this thread. Keep it clean.

To be fair to The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, I think he has a point, at least as regards Apple and iTunes--the walled-garden model may well be dead, dying, or on its way out. Where individual artists can distribute their work without intermediaries, and where tools exist for people to find that work and pay for it, there's not much reason to maintain a "distribution" empire.

But that's really not the Internet.
Sorry, didn't realize that was offensive. To be more clear, my own personal taste is that Prince (especially the stuff he writes now) is out of touch with most of society and is outdated. Thus I think it is bad music. His mind seems to be on the same track as his music.

[MooPi]

Prince is way to young to be acting as if he's a super senior( Hey kid get off my grass) Just insert music and there you have it.I didn't like him way back when and I don't care for him now. He always had an inflated self portrait.

[wilee-nilee]

Prince may a bit verklempt, but one of the best pop artists out there he is a very talented multi-instrumentalist, and has produced other artist to acclaim.

You don't have to like him or his music to recognize talent.

[Brunellus]

Prince may a bit verklempt, but one of the best pop artists out there he is a very talented multi-instrumentalist, and has produced other artist to acclaim.

You don't have to like him or his music to recognize talent.
And, of course, you don't have to be rich to be his girl.

[earthpigg]

To be fair to The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, I think he has a point, at least as regards Apple and iTunes--the walled-garden model may well be dead, dying, or on its way out. Where individual artists can distribute their work without intermediaries, and where tools exist for people to find that work and pay for it, there's not much reason to maintain a "distribution" empire.

But that's really not the Internet.

I agree entirely - by having both Warner Brothers and iTunes/AmazonMP3/etc involved, he has two sets of people putting their grubby little fingers in and taking a cut of his sales revenue.

Prince's logic of cutting out one set of grubby fingers is correct. Either go 100% online and ditch the old publishing house, or go 100% old publishing house and ditch iTunes/AmazonMP3/etc.

I am of the opinion that he would be better off ditching the old publishing house and going entirely online.

Even if AmazonMP3 takes 50% of the $15 per album sold, thats still a helluva lot less than Warner Brothers takes from a CD sale even after the cost of manufacturing the CD is taken into account.


However, maybe Prince is well aware of this:


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...

I wonder if the current state of his finances are such that he needs to take a medium sized chunk of change now over a large chunk of change spread out over time. WB could be offering him a huge advance or better terms if he signs them as sole distributor.

IE:
If you win the lottery, you are absolutely certain to get more money going the monthly payment route than the immediate lump sum route.

However, if you have ridiculously large bills to pay with ridiculous interest rates, it may be in your best interests to take the immediate lump sum.

This could benefit WB because it keeps them in the game of selling shrink-wrapped boxes, and this will make it easier to track down copyright infringers:

Put some DRM on the CD, couple that with the DMCA, and now every single digital copy of this album is 100% guaranteed to be in violation of current US Law. At least, that could be the opinion of Warner Brothers, as expressed by some highly paid lawyers. Lawyers that are presumably much better than anything most of us could pay for... which essentially makes the POV of the record company the "fact" and the "reality" of the situation.

I proposed a conjecture for how this could be in Prince's best interests, and a conjecture for how this could be in Warner Brother's best interests.

Please do not confuse any of this for a statement of fact. Except for the "fact" that I put in quotes, of course, which is a statement of conjectured "fact". :P

[earthpigg]

This is also good for WB because after they start going after alleged digital copyright infringers, it will look like they are heroically coming to the aid of Prince who, as the artist, chose not to distribute his work digitally.

I expect the RIAA to have a new incarnation, one that alleges to work for the artists instead of alleging to work for the Record Industry.

"Musicians Association of America", or some such, funded by the shrink-wrapped-box companies... who will come to the aid of any musician being victimized by the evil internet that has elected not to sell his work online. (Prince now gets the bad PR, not Warner Brothers... but there wont even be very much bad PR, because people assume eccentric (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jackson#First_child_sexual_abuse_allegatio ns_and_first_marriage_.281993.E2.80.9394.29) celebrities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_hilton#DUI_arrest.2C_driving_violations.2C_a nd_jail_time) are good (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cruise#Controversy) people (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OJ_Simpson#Legal_history) for some reason. Some are good, some aren't, just like the rest of us)

The refusal to sell online is the essential part for shrink-wrapped-box corporations. Prince fans are forced to go to a record store and purchase an entire album, instead of one song for $0.99. Who knows what else they will purchase, while there?


If this happened, and I where willing to be unethical from 9-5 and had other basic qualifications to be on the Board of Directors of a major Corporation, what I described here would potentially be very close to reality.

But who knows? Maybe the men and women on the Board of Directors in question are a group of Saints, ya know? Not at all interested in maximizing stock value. And they got elected to the Board of Directors by stockholders that are similarly saintly, of course. That could be the reality, and I could be off my rocker. I can't disprove that notion.

[Ender985]

In Soviet Russia, internet declares Prince dead.

On a more serious note, this is just another of those old generation musicians that can not comprehend the advent of technology. Soon, the whole musical industry as we know it will die, the same way horse traveling died with the industrial age or cassettes, floppy disks or VCRs died to digital storage devices.

[NightwishFan]

Ah cool prince thread. :)

I declare Ubuntu 10.04 the official operating system of prince. Now party like its 1999.

[Spike-X]

Prince has to give away his CDs with right-wing tabloid newspapers now, because he hasn't written/recorded anything worth a damn in about a decade. Maybe if he spent less time getting in a tizzy every time somebody posted a photograph or video of him on the Internet without his permission, and punishing his fans for...well, for being his fans, it seems...he'd have more time to make music of the calibre he used to make, and maybe then more people would want to pay money for it.

It's a damn shame to see one of the greatest artists and performers of the modern era end up like this, it really is. He used to be one of the biggest acts in the world, now he's just another in a long line of older acts who aren't selling as many records as they used to, and are desperately looking to blame that on anything except the most obvious cause - the decreasing quality of their music.

[kamaboko]

The Popper had his day, and now it's time to step aside and drift off into the sunset.

[lancest]

Not defending Prince- but I've heard he can still make a nice chunk of change doing live shows. Song royalties too.

[McRat]

He might be a good musician.

But his opinions of modern technology seem odd as he releases another computer generated CD disc for playing on laser readers.

I doubt if MIT will be asking him to lecture in the near future.

[Frogs Hair]

Very odd , his position on technology , considering his studio has always had the best equipment.

[Timmer1240]

What a putz the internet is where its at!

[giddyup306]

What the **** is the internet?
"The internet is a communication tool used the world over where people come together to bitch about movies, and share pornography with one another".

[standingwave]

Is Prince still around? I thought he went by Blah Blah Blah or something like that."The Artist Formerly Known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince," often abbreviated to "TAFKATAFKAP."

[cj.surrusco]

“All these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that cant be good for you.”

What the hell is he talking about? :lolflag:

Computers fill your mind with harmful numbers... that's certainly a new one.

[tgalati4]

One year from now, you will see a lot of unsold Prince albums going for $1.

If you like his music and you feel it's still relevant. Then spend the buck.

[MasterNetra]

In Soviet Russia, internet declares Prince dead. ...

And that comrade is a step forward. :p

At any rate I wish him good luck on his failure to win a lawsuit against the Pirate Bay, Many giants have tried (or at least threatened) and failed due to HOW its being hosted. aka peer to peer torrent in such a way that they can't tell what data is being shared. A nice little loop hole in swiss law. That said i should probably note I don't pirate anything. Why should I when I have nice free alternatives to what I need/want.

[Spr0k3t]

I support artists who don't support iTunes. Many of my best finds in the music industry have been artists who have nothing on iTunes only to be found by the iTunes mafia (consumers) which badger the artists to jump on board the iTunes mafia train of love.

Kudos to you Prince... my hat goes off to you. You don't have to fight the system, but you don't have to blindly follow the other sheep in the field to get to your destination.

[earthpigg]

Possible meme spotted in URL of that article.


Prince-the-internets-completely-over.html


the internets

There is a slight possibility that this is just correct grammar. That is something I wouldn't know anything about.

[philinux]

Prince also criticised the advent of gadgets and computers: “All these computers and digital gadgets are no good.

"They just fill your head with numbers and that cant be good for you.”

:shock:2389573982749827389748923729847298479834728 2398579852348957984856875

I might buy the Daily Mirror this weekend.

[cascade9]

last i "heard", his name didn't have a pronunciation, but instead looked like this:

Yeah, he changed it back at.....errr.....some point well after I stopped caring. BTW, I always called that thing 'mr squiggle' after a childrens TV show here-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Squiggle


Put some DRM on the CD, couple that with the DMCA, and now every single digital copy of this album is 100% guaranteed to be in violation of current US Law. At least, that could be the opinion of Warner Brothers, as expressed by some highly paid lawyers. Lawyers that are presumably much better than anything most of us could pay for... which essentially makes the POV of the record company the "fact" and the "reality" of the situation.

I'm horrified at the suggestion! Not that some clever %&^#%& at the reccord label hasnt thought the same thing.

Personally, even though its (arguably) illegal, if this did happen and I was into ponce, er, prince, I'd buy the thing and then find a copy to d/l. DRM is evil (but probably less evil than the rootkits fony, er, sony, put on CDs for awhile)


I support artists who don't support iTunes. Many of my best finds in the music industry have been artists who have nothing on iTunes only to be found by the iTunes mafia (consumers) which badger the artists to jump on board the iTunes mafia train of love.

Kudos to you Prince... my hat goes off to you. You don't have to fight the system, but you don't have to blindly follow the other sheep in the field to get to your destination.

Fair enough, but I've got more respect for people who have ditched the whole record label totally. Jon Crosby (VAST) seems to be doing pretty well like that now, he gets well over 100% increase in his usual take and the cost is for the consumer is about 1/5th of the cost of a CD here (maybe that would be 1/4th for the US)

[earthpigg]

Fair enough, but I've got more respect for people who have ditched the whole record label totally. Jon Crosby (VAST) seems to be doing pretty well like that now, he gets well over 100% increase in his usual take and the cost is for the consumer is about 1/5th of the cost of a CD here (maybe that would be 1/4th for the US)

This gentleman (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCYbZZTEwiM) makes a fairly convincing case. Fast forward to 0:25 and listen for five seconds. Some profanity in the video, but from :25 to :30.

[amitabhishek]

Guess Prince is not an iPhone user.

[McRat]

At best, it's a press release to notify folk that any obituary with his "symbol" on it is erroneous.

Once upon a time there used to be 45's. These were single songs you could buy when you wanted a song. Online music purchases (iTunes is not a monopoly, or even close) give customers that option once again.

But customers were always doing it, even when the 45 died with the album. There was a reason cassette decks had 2 players in them. And then, ripping and burning custom CD's before file-sharing became popular.

Guys like Prince would be irate if he had to buy 8 pair of shoes to get the one he wants, but can't seem to understand others feel the same way.

Putting two good songs on a CD and packing the rest with filler is the norm for a lot of the music industry. If they were ALL good, why are singles selling so much better in on-line stores?

I've bought more music in the last year than the previous 10. I don't file-share, but if I have to listen to 8 crappy songs to get a good one, I'll just use the radio where it's at least free. Buying "45's" has made me a music customer again, and I doubt if I'm alone.

[standingwave]

http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyimages/1414.gif

[Johnsie]

I support artists who don't support iTunes.

+1

I prefer artists who use their initiative and distribute their own music. The small print in the Itunes 'agreement' takes away alot of ownership rights from the musician.

Jumping on the apple bandwagon is not good for artists in the long run

[Legendary_Bibo]

Supposedly his best song was Purple Rain, and I didn't think it was all that great when I heard it while watching the Super Bowl. Honestly these "artists" who try to do something revolutionary by doing the impractical will amuse me while I watch their one chance of making it in the real world dwindle and dissipate. He thinks the internet is dead? Tell that to the millions of people who use it.

[Madspyman]

Supposedly his best song was Purple Rain, and I didn't think it was all that great when I heard it while watching the Super Bowl. Honestly these "artists" who try to do something revolutionary by doing the impractical will amuse me while I watch their one chance of making it in the real world dwindle and dissipate. He thinks the internet is dead? Tell that to the millions of people who use it.

"Raspberry Beret" is alright, although now it won't be long till Prince's albums are the kind you find in a secondhand store.

IDK if Prince is tech savvy enough to know these days you can write your own ticket on the net. He needs to drop his label instead and start selling music from his own website, instead of shutting it down.

[Paqman]

Honestly these "artists" who try to do something revolutionary by doing the impractical will amuse me while I watch their one chance of making it in the real world dwindle and dissipate.

Yeah, i'm thinking ten platinum albums, seven Grammys, a Golden Globe, an Oscar and his name in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame means Prince isn't too worried about whether he'll "make it in the real world".

[Tristam Green]

Yeah, i'm thinking ten platinum albums, seven Grammys, a Golden Globe, an Oscar and his name in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame means Prince isn't too worried about whether he'll "make it in the real world".

shh, let the youngun's think that Prince is some random new act.

[Jaecyn42]

While I respect the musician, I'm afraid he's got it completely backwards.

The Internet is a alive and well, musically speaking. The Record Industry as we know it is in it's death throes, however.

With $1,000 in hardware, a high-speed Internet connection, a MySpace account and a little gumption, any four dudes can put together a product of near professional quality, market it and gain a significant fanbase (ie. My Chemical Romance).

What's more, as the Technology advances and becomes more affordable, the individual artist is at greater liberty to produce, market and sell their vision without any artistic interference or profit skimming from Major Record Labels.

Simply put, the Major Label is swiftly becoming an obsolete middleman. They struggle to maintain their relevance in the face of a shifting tide towards Artistic freedom.

The Labels are dead, long live the Internet.

[Tristam Green]

The Labels are dead, long live the Internet.

Prince long declared his subjugation to label tyranny dead :)

[Jaecyn42]

Prince long declared his subjugation to label tyranny dead :)

Granted. Hence why I still respect him as a Musician.

That said, he is still flatly wrong about the relative health of music on the Internet.

[kamaboko]

The Popper should have clarified it's 'his music' that is dead on the Internet.

[aaaantoine]

The Popper had his day, and now it's time to step aside and drift off into the sunset.

If he's a musician moreso than he is a pop artist, then let him keep making music.

Doesn't mean you have to buy it.

[sydbat]

At best, it's a press release to notify folk that any obituary with his "symbol" on it is erroneous.

Once upon a time there used to be 45's. These were single songs you could buy when you wanted a song. Online music purchases (iTunes is not a monopoly, or even close) give customers that option once again.

But customers were always doing it, even when the 45 died with the album. There was a reason cassette decks had 2 players in them. And then, ripping and burning custom CD's before file-sharing became popular.

Guys like Prince would be irate if he had to buy 8 pair of shoes to get the one he wants, but can't seem to understand others feel the same way.

Putting two good songs on a CD and packing the rest with filler is the norm for a lot of the music industry. If they were ALL good, why are singles selling so much better in on-line stores?

I've bought more music in the last year than the previous 10. I don't file-share, but if I have to listen to 8 crappy songs to get a good one, I'll just use the radio where it's at least free. Buying "45's" has made me a music customer again, and I doubt if I'm alone.To add - this is why there are "Greatest Hits" packages. They are filled with many of the individual songs that people have actually listened to and (mostly) enjoy.

For example, I just bought a "Greatest Hits" CD of Spirit Of The West (http://www.sotw.ca/) for my wifes birthday, even though we have many of their albums (yup, vinyl) and a couple of CD's. The songs are ones we like and are a bit easier to play in the car this way (the extension cord for the record player only goes to the end of the block :P).

[TheNessus]

You know what's funny, though?

One day, it will be the internet that will declare that Prince is dead.

[sydbat]

You know what's funny, though?

One day, it will be the internet that will declare that Prince is dead.Hang on...where did I hear that before...oh ya...


In Soviet Russia, internet declares Prince dead.

[RiceMonster]

"The internet is a communication tool used the world over where people come together to bitch about movies, and share pornography with one another".

High five for getting the reference. :D

[TheNessus]

Hang on...where did I hear that before...oh ya...

If I'd bother read the whole thread I'd stuble upon this post as well. But I didn't. So hear's to you, for reading the whole thread! you're too cool.

I meant it differently though. One day we really will read on Prince's death, online.

[ticopelp]

Supposedly his best song was Purple Rain, and I didn't think it was all that great when I heard it while watching the Super Bowl. Honestly these "artists" who try to do something revolutionary by doing the impractical will amuse me while I watch their one chance of making it in the real world dwindle and dissipate. He thinks the internet is dead? Tell that to the millions of people who use it.

Ha. Whatever you think of him, Prince doesn't have to make it in the "real world" -- he's rich enough to build his own and live there. In fact, that's pretty much why he says stuff like this.

[alexan]

This is a paradox: does exist this thread (Internet) or does exist prince?

Both things can't be true.