n't that long ago when new releases were costing between £15 and £20. Out of all that money only a small percentage went to the artists, the bulk went to make rich men even richer. Well all that's changed - and today the Daily Mirror gives away Prince's new album absolutely free - make no bones about it these are not unknown artists or fading stars used to shift a few extra newspapers. Prince is still a major star - he has sold over 100 million albums and won seven Grammy's.His new album will only be available with the newspaper and will not be available online or in shops.
And Prince isn't the only one - over recent years newspapers have given away major CD's from the likes of Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher, The Doors, Blur, Phil Collins (I used that one to clean the ice from my windsc
reen during the winter. Best use of a Phil Collins CD) and Nigel Kennedy."This is a great way to go," Prince said when quoted in the Daily Mirror. "No charts, no Internet piracy and no stress. Period."
Of course the Internet has much to do with this and good on it, I say. Illegal downloading may harm the industry but they asked for it - take when The Beatles albums were first issued on CD during the Eighties. The White Album on double CD cost me £32 and as a Beatle nut I had to buy it. The powers that be knew Beatle fans would pay it - but how could they justify such a cost for an album that first came out in 1968 and had already made millions?
Of course when the Beatles remasters came out last year the White Album was a much fairer £10. And it's not only the Beatles, for years and years CD's, even those by Phil Collins, were kept at a immoral high price. So whatever you think about illegal downloading the facts are that it gave a well deserved bloody nose to the greedy music moguls. And there is no doubt it's been good for the consumer with new CD's much better priced. Illegal downloading is the new rock and roll!
Anyway I've given the new Prince albums a couple of spins and it's bloody good - I remember his Purple Rain period when I was well into his brand of rock funk and some of the tracks remind me of that time.
2 comments:
I don't disagree with you.
Still, Prince is already a known quantity.
The losers in the deal are the new artists without the recording industry's machinery to help them build an audience.
Ron - I never considered that aspect and it gives food for thought. I think though new artists will have to use the net to push themselves which is how the Artic Monkey's got to the NO1 position in the UK without even having a recording contract.
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