Does Prince Dislike his Hardcore Fans?

OK...the news about Housequake really upset me. Why does he do this? And he keeps doing this. He calls himself genius...but doesn't let anyone share that genius. He provides no information for anyone to obtain, yet when we try and do it ourselves, we get punished. Obviously there is a want. Obviously there is a need. He should embrace the fact that we care so much and appreciate him so much (Who carried that boy through the 90's?).

Folks like Per Nilson, Ben of the Org, Mr Fuller over at HQ, Sam Nation, Bobby of the Dream Factory... Does he think these folks are doing all of this work, spending money and time to make a profit off of Prince? Please! These folks have been inspired to do the things they do because of the love and respect they have for him and his music. It doesn't seem as though he shares that respect or love back. I am ok if Prince wants to have control over his career and all, but if you don't put up a freeking discography on your website nor offer any information about you nor your music, you have to expect someone is going to...especially if you have over 25 years worth of music.

Seeing things like thedatabank.org reroute thier stie to npg.com breaks my heart. And who are these NPG police? Like they have NOTHING besides the releases. I would find that very hard to believe. Like Prince himself hasn't passed out outtakes and stuff to people. EBAY is one thing (perhaps) and Trading is a whole other talkshow. I found that HQ were very fair and they discouraged any illegal activity such as selling. They encouraged the free flow of music. I would think that Prince would applaud such efforts.

One piece of advice to Prince...If you don't like what others are doing...do it yourself so we don't have to. I mean Really!

Off my soapbox now....

I think that it's clear that the man doesn't want us doing bootleg things and that he doesn't care. We all are the ones that go against it.

spaceboy said:

What happened to Housequake? I never go there but it seems to still be up.

lovemachine said:

superspaceboy said:

thebumpsquad said:

This makes me soooo sad. I really feel like hating the guy. Prince, i hate you.
There, i said it. Shit. How can he be this stupid and blind. Or just mean?

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

thebumpsquad said:

It has been removed.
It's better this way, than to risk it being pulled.

It will be back within 48 hours - however it'll be password protected.

whew!

man oh man...i just knew that this year was too good to be true.

I think the doings over at HQ are another example of Prince shooting himself in the foot.

His intentions are in the right place, but a trading forum? There's no money exchanged, these are long-time fans, who've contributed a lot of their hard-earned money to his music and his lifestyle.

If he wanted to do it 'right', he'd go after the bootleggers, the people that make money from selling unauthorized and stolen material (personally I have bought many, many bootlegs - but never at the expense of official releases - the only people interested in purchasing these releases are hardcore fans who have everything official, besides, the only place I've seen bootlegs for sale are record fairs and specialist shops, neither of which cater to the general buying public). Like I said, I can understand his desire to cease sale of these CDs, but trading them money free hurts no-one.

Maybe the recent releases like the Musicology tour CDs and DVDs (plus the Poet'99 and Gold out-takes releases are what spurred him on?) If he wanted to take action, cut the chord of the charlatans selling these for-trade only releases on Ebay.

Prince's continued attack on his online fans (for at least 6 years now) is both dis-heartening and petty - All he has done is cut off his nose to spite his face.

He derides the word 'fan', yet continues to flog over-priced merchandise and non-music products that bare his name, logo's and likeness to the very same fans - Let alone the fact that he talks out of both sides of his mouth regarding his freedom - Initially it was 'Free The Music' - yet we've had but a trickle of "Un-freed Music" and what he does sell through his official store(s) has been re-hashed and re-configured in order to squeeze as much profit as he can from them.

No, he doesn't hate the hardcore fans, interest in his projects depended on them for just under a decade, and all he has done is shit on them, in regard to his product, over and over.

// Rant over.

//
[Edited 9/27/04 11:59am]

Thanks everyone...

I can say this..I'd rather have a professionally shot DVD of a Musicology set than a DVD-R boot. But I'll take what I can get. If he doesn't release this concert on DVD when there is lots of good footage (hell there's already a DVD he watches) and lets the B-leggers get "his" money, that's his problem. ALLLL of us have been saying from the start...release this one! He obviously can...but will he???

Well it's hardly a surprise, Prince's thoughts on bootlegs are well known. The only surprise is
that HQ's bootlegs forums lasted this long.

BorisFishpaw said:

Once again we're reminded that Prince & his legal team can be complete assholes. Nothing new to really add to this discussion that hasn't been brought up over the past 7 or 8 years now. It's just an unfortunate fact of life...

superspaceboy said:

He's sued fan sites promoting/selling boots before going way back to 1996 or there abouts.
He doesn't make any $$ off of the stolen material.
If he wants it out there he'll put it out there.

He was a fool to sue Uptown, they truly offered a service to the fans like no other.

I forgot everyone who he sued now, was it Uptown, Interactive Experience, The Prince Family.....?

NouveauDance said:

prince is a bootlegger. i've been to local (minneapolis) record shows where there were 100$ 5 CD sets available in record industry quality with npg/paisley park crediting on them. Once i put down 50$ and had to wait in the mail for a CD. I'm sure most of us have released product before ( i have) and trust me some of this stuff ( with 20 page cd booklets) could have only been manufactured in mass by deep pockets, and this was before CD burning technology.

I see no harm whatsoever in sharing music for free if the music is unreleased or out-of-print.

When people make money from selling the stuff, I'll admit it's a different matter...

You only have to glance at ebay to see bootlegs being sold:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eB...20288&rd=1

Good grief..I suppose we need to pick a thread and stick to it

As the thread says..it aint over.

??? Who here has gone over there? I found Althom and anxy this morning. Funny, I have a completely different view of folks here vs there...and we even have the same names.

I am trying to start a ring and if anyone wants to join...pm me.

This one gets me worked up everytime.

Prince has the ultimate right to do what he wants with his music. However he usually attacks the friends, fam, or whatever stupid phrase he comes up with. The bootleggers are making money. I mean $20 a cd.

I can see fair value @ $5 for cd-r

Hey but we keep supporting him. Anyway judging from the posts recently on this board, " the board care more about what he wears or who he dated?

When I first joined it was all about music ( released or unreleased), now who knows.

I will say this Prince is one hell of a musician and showman cause for someone who is such a
D*CK to his true fans who support him when radio and tv were ignoring him.

Maybe he can send out another stupid email that says" dig if you will..... an open invitiation to the vault..... coming soon from NPG>


I am just as at fault, I buy the tix, the cds, boots and all.

Every other artist who has the catalog Prince has, has done the right thing:

Elvis Costello- great reissues
BoB dylan- bootleg series
Ani Difranco- live mail order
Phish -live downloads
Ween- live and studio stuff
Springteen -tracks box set.

He nor his management have a clue to what the fans want.

I always said I love his music, can't stand his interviews, dress, views, or anything else.

Does it make sense that as long as people trade boots they are still encouraging the circulation/sale of them? People love to pat themselves on the back because they rabidly snatch up every boot they can get their hands on. You expect an artist to be flattered by that? Artists are not clowns that simply cow-tow for our entertainment. A true artist always wants to present their best to the public. As cruel and alienating and absolutely mind boggling as this may sound to some people, we all have to discern a certain level of respect here.

OdysseyMiles said:

thebumpsquad said:

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

thebumpsquad said:

There is a world of difference between money changing hands for discs, and the circulation of them for free. I SO wish folks would differenciate between the two properly. Trading by it's very definition EXCLUDES selling.

exactly. i own bootleggage, and every single one that i own i NEVER paid for. i don't believe in buyin the stuff anyhow, it takes away from the experience. i got them all either cuz i asked around for 'em or i traded somethin. the material itself is all the currency you need. nothing more.

OdysseyMiles said:

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Dear Superfanboy....
How about looking at it this way. What ever it is that you do to earn your $$ to pay for your
AOL account, cable line (whatever)..Lets say a fan of yours puts your work on the internet where people can get it for free. That's right, free. Guess who isnt going to get paid anymore Superfanboy?..That's right, you. The old Napster issue, remember?. Now, lets say that you did some work...lets say you paint pictures. You throw out the canvasses of the works you don't really like. You don't like them at all. Now the garbage man takes those canvasses and posts them on the internet for people to see and download to their printers. How would you feel?. Last question. Let's say you're a musician and there are concerts you've performed, or songs you've done in the studio, but aren't really done with. Your studio engineer sneaks a copy and posts it on the internet, How do you feel now Superfanboy? Pretty ticked off, right, because it's not what you wanted done with those songs. Those songs that came from your soul. Those songs that came to you because God gave you a gift. How would you feel? Be mature and think about it

PurpleRein said:

Handclapsfingasnapz said: