[kenshi]

If Prince can make more money doing deals with newspapers than online music distributors, then he is making a smart business decision.

Prince already has a legion of die hard fans. He doesn't need the internet to build an audience or distribute his music. He, like everyone else, also knows that his music will end up on the internet through unofficial channels. So why bend-over and do a suboptimal deal?

He does however need it to maintain buzz, hype and notoriety. Telling everyone the internet "is over" has spread his message about his new album and his own brand to the least likely places. I mean... he's on the front page of Hacker News and Ars Technica. I'm pretty sure I first saw this story on Reddit too. I bet if I read Digg I would see it there too.

If anything Prince has demonstrated his understanding of the internet audience. He's told the cool kids they aren't cool and that their favourite toy is out of fashion. Needless to say they are pissed and talking about it.

The last time I heard anything about Prince was.... when he released his last album via a newspaper deal.

As jeb said earlier: Prince knows what he is doing.

[keefe]

mmmeeehhh or the inertia of fame got him a bit of undeserved attention.