[jeb]

Perhaps it makes sense. Artists will soon make their money via concerts. Prince has a series of concerts coming up. He has a huge old-school fan base, so does not need to get his songs out there (people already know him).

His new songs then are more 'rare' among his core demographic (not teens) -> driving more people to his concerts, where he makes the money.

Remember that prince, back in 2001 ALREADY jumped on the internet bandwagon. He offered his songs for download then - he is not anti-internet, he has tried it and has changed his model.

Remember, this dude makes 50million USD a year, more that most of you will make if your startup sells for a huge amount of money. He knows what he's doing.

[chunkyslink]

There is some truth in this however a few things bother me

1. Of all the newspapers he is associating his brand with a cheap tabloid. Under no circumstances would I ever give money to a newspaper like this so he has lost my me already. As there are no other ways of getting this legally - I am only left with the pirating option

2. 'In Rainbows' by Radiohead was profitable for the group (and they have somethings in common with Prince - like an established fan base) using the internet model of 'pay what you want' for the download. This made the band look good and still provided them with a profit.

Prince is doing himself no favours by acting in this way.

[astrodust]

The Artist Formerly Known as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince is no stranger to doing things that hurt his career.