How a 'free' album makes millions...
Last Updated:
Last Updated:
12:01am BST 19/07/2007
Prince's idea of giving away his latest release is not as eccentric as it first appears, writes Neil McCormick
Did you know the Prince album given away with last week's Mail on Sunday was his 46th official release? Even given that it includes compilations (five) and live sets (two), that is a lot of albums - almost two a year since 1978. And some of them are doubles.
Prince: the smartest-working man in Pop?
There surely comes a point when the world doesn't really need another album by any artist, a notion sales figures certainly bear out.
Did you know the Prince album given away with last week's Mail on Sunday was his 46th official release? Even given that it includes compilations (five) and live sets (two), that is a lot of albums - almost two a year since 1978. And some of them are doubles.
Prince: the smartest-working man in Pop?
There surely comes a point when the world doesn't really need another album by any artist, a notion sales figures certainly bear out.
Elton John, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones are quantifiable superstars enjoying 
some of the best reviews of their long careers and regularly touring to sold-out stadiums, but their latterday albums only graze the upper reaches of the charts, and singles vanish without trace.
some of the best reviews of their long careers and regularly touring to sold-out stadiums, but their latterday albums only graze the upper reaches of the charts, and singles vanish without trace. The artist may feel compelled to keep creating, but for most fans even the greatest musicians are defined by a few classics and a hits compilation.
Nearly 20 million people worldwide bought Purple Rain in 1984, when Prince's intoxicating, eccentric mix of rock and funk sounded like the future of music. By 2001 the fan base willing to shell out for Rainbow Children was a hardcore 300,000. UK sales of last year's heavily promoted 3121 were just 80,000.
Mind you, at least that's 80,000 who actually wanted to listen to it, not just newspaper subscribers who might stick
Nearly 20 million people worldwide bought Purple Rain in 1984, when Prince's intoxicating, eccentric mix of rock and funk sounded like the future of music. By 2001 the fan base willing to shell out for Rainbow Children was a hardcore 300,000. UK sales of last year's heavily promoted 3121 were just 80,000.
Mind you, at least that's 80,000 who actually wanted to listen to it, not just newspaper subscribers who might stick
it on in the background while reading about the
Beckham's latest adventures in Hollywood. When the market is 
saturated with something, people tend to say "you can't give it away". But the Mail on Sunday's distribution of three million copies of Prince's Planet Earth suggests otherwise. more here
saturated with something, people tend to say "you can't give it away". But the Mail on Sunday's distribution of three million copies of Prince's Planet Earth suggests otherwise. more here
Harleyblues take:
C'mon Telegraph, "latterday albums?" Paul McCartney's newest album Memory Almost Full is one of his most critically acclaimed albums in years, a true master piece! take it from one in the know, Me.
Wrong, a sedate fan will recognize a artist by his classics and hits. lmao!
Comments anyone?
2 comments:
Of course I LOVE Prince too!
hb
I cannoy see what I posted of course Im lovin Prince too!
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