Shuns online distribution of upcoming “20Ten album” amid complaints that Apple’s iTunes won’t pay him an advance for it. Says the Internet’s become “outdated” and that PCs and digital gadgets “can’t be good for you.”
Pop star Prince may have finally gone completely mad. In an interview with the UK’s Mirror he declares that he is shunning the Internet altogether with the release of his new album, favoring instead to distribute free copies of it with various European newspapers and magazines.
“The internet’s completely over,” he declares. “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, if you recall, is the artist that has long declared war on the Internet.
Almost 4 years ago he decided to shutdown his own online subscription music site, declaring at the time that it has “gone as far as it can go.” The site said it would somehow “once again make a leap of faith and begin anew,” but failed to live up to its promise.
A year later he tried to go after BitTorrent tracker site The Pirate Bay with little success. He demanded that sites filter his content just as they do “porn and pedophile material.”
The worst demand came in 2008 when Prince strangely demanded that YouTube remove a cover version he performed live at the Coachella music festival of of Radiohead’s “Creep.”
“Really? He’s blocked it?” asked Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke after unsuccessfully trying to view the video for himself. “Well, tell him to unblock it. It’s our … song.”
Prince, who seems to be taking an odd approach to digital distribution, also sets his sights on digital gadgets.
“The internet’s like MTV,” he continues. “At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good.”
Why?
“They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you.”
It’s a curious approach for a guy that’s always prided himself for being an artist in every sense of the world. You’d think his love for creativity would inspire him to take chances and try to reach his fans in new and exciting ways like Radiohead did with In Rainbows.
There’s no word on how intends to distribute his album in North America, but you can bet it’ll be available on BitTorrent tracker sites everywhere the day it hits the streets wrapped in the morning paper, if not before, again raising doubts about the wisdom of his decision to shun digital distribution.
Stay tuned.
@The Music Void. Something new? like what? What has he done that hasn’t been done before (besides that name change fail) and why do you talk so damn weird? Most of his fans are idiots and probably have no idea what you just said so try to dumb it down on message boards and comment sections.
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..
To be honest, Prince’s decision deserves great respect. I’d rather see an artist try something new and fail, then replicate the actions and thought-processes of the herd. It’s what the industry needs.
Has Prince made a relevant or controversial song since 1994?
No, not that I can recall.
I miss the old Prince that sang songs about sex in bathrooms, made really bad movies that had really good soundtracks and didn’t say things so stupid it makes me want to drive my little red corvette into a wall.
Yeah, but Prince has always been wild in interviews Doggone it! He’s given different versions of his history, lineage and orientation for many years now, so I can’t be less surprised about this latest revelation. Prince, you go Dog!
Did he actually get his name legally changed to the symbol, or just his stage name?
This is either the most ignorant and out of touch statement ever made, or its a crass grab for attention and publicity.
Either way its really sad….
What’s most surprising to me is that Prince had visions of online digital distribution ages ago (back when he’d changed his name to a symbol to mess with Warner Music). He sold dozens and dozens of songs online that were (at the time) not available any other way.
The real problem with internet distribution via iTunes and other e-tailers is that they still keep the lion’s share of the sale price, which leaves artists stuck in the same predicament as in years past. It’s the kind of thing that could make a man crazy enough to scrawl the word SLAVE on his face.
Isn’t it Prince that’s completely over? I loved him when I was a teen but I’m sure not gonna buy anything of his nowadays. Outdated.