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Prince declares internet 'over'; Google announces plans to power down
Yes, as he prepares to release his next album exclusively through the Sunday Mirror, Prince has declared the internet to be at an end:
He explains that he decided the album will be released in CD format only in the Mirror. There'll be no downloads anywhere in the world because of his ongoing battles against internet abuses.
Unlike most other rock stars, he has banned YouTube and iTunes from using any of his music and has even closed down his own official website.
He says: "The internet's 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.
Not entirely sure iTunes gets angry when they don't get the new Prince album - it's a bit like believing that a butchers' would be annoyed if they didn't get first dibs on a hedgehog roadkill.
Prince seems to be the angry one here - why won't someone else pay me to make a record upfront? - but it's touching that he believes him not putting a record on the net constitutes an effective end to the whole business.
As if there's someone in an office block with a polished brass sign outside saying 'The Internet', sucking a thoughtful tooth and saying 'well, we managed to rub on by without The Beatles, but if we can't guarantee late-period Prince, I don't think there's much point in us going on. Timmy, you go and unplug the computer; I'll ring the naked ladies and tell them we don't need any more pictures.'
Before the internet finishes, though, Prince has a couple more thoughts:
"The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated.
The internet isn't like MTV, though, is it? That's a bit like saying, I don't know, Prince is like silent movies or something. Confusing a medium with a channel.
"Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good.
"They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."
It's possible that Prince has made a terrible mistake and stuck his iPod headphones into his calculator. Is he worried about digital music being numbers? But then why would he be releasing CDs?
Still, let's not be too quick to rubbish Prince's grasp of what's popular and what it isn't. He is, after all, distributing his new album through the Sunday Mirror next week. Who could deny his understanding of the modern media market?
7 comments:
Just wait 'til he gets started on those new small five-pence pieces.
He know's what he's doing, or at least his promoters do. They've just guaranteed that it will be a VERY popular torrent. More people will probably hear his album now than if he had just quietly released it.
@Anonymous: a more likely scenario is that people will listen to the new album once, say to themselves, "hang on, didn't Prince used to be good?" and go out and buy Sign O the Times. Or, you know, find a torrent for it.
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..
http://www.themusicvoid.com/2010/07/prince-and-the-yawn-of-digital/
@themusicvoid
It's arguable that a man, who gives away his records with copies of a newspaper which has managed the surprising outcome of going further downhill after Piers Morgan was thrown out of the editors chair, has got no career worth speaking of.
Free illegal downloads are brutalizing the existence of our musicians and artists. Thank you Prince for taking a stand on behalf of all musicians and artists! If nothing else, it may at least give AWARENESS to the audience who have naively lost their integrity by following suit with all the other illegal internet bootleggers!
@anonymous
Not entirely sure Prince is "taking a stand", nor that "free illegal downloads" (bit of a contradiction in terms, surely?) are brutalizing any musicians and artists. Giving a rough ride to the labels, perhaps, but I think we know that's not the same thing, don't we?
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