Prince declares "the internet's completely over."
Snapping
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"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. The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. 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."
Prince says it and hes a genius so it must be true
Is prince going unabomber crazy? Or is he just pissed because he feels he is losing sales because of the internet?
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Dude has hundreds, if not thousands of songs locked up in a vault somewhere and when he dies, you can bet they will be exploited by who has control. And I'm guessing that's gonna be the Jehovah church he belongs too.
You are probably right. But I really hope he goes full on anti-technology. Only uses acoustic instruments. All his concerts lit only by candlelight. His new songs only released as sheet music and player piano reels.....
I don't think it's a giant leap of a concept...
In any case, people will still always make money.
Take the same approach to music.
It is no longer "if you're really good or really lucky you'll make it." It's primarily a huge push to squeeze every last drop out of a commercial hit. If you think that commercial music output hasn't suffered because of the demand for music by consumers to be free, I feel that that's a delusional opinion. I'm not shaking my fist saying all music now sucks, but music production quality, album quality, and single quality have all suffered.
Back on topic: Prince is nuts, movie at 6.
Sure it does. In industries mentioned here from music to clothing to journalism, money has shifted from the production end to the distribution and retail ends. Fact.
So what you have is a lot of companies investing in vehicles to *deliver* product, to market product, to sell it... and almost no money into actually making, you know, quality product. News agencies are not investing in journalists because the story is no longer important. In the era of the 24/7 squawk box all you really need is a pretty face and a sufficient degree of gravitas to sound dead serious in the midst of tragic or shocking events. The music industry isn't investing in the development of artists, in the talent on the sidelines that made these amazing records of the past, because there is no money in the raw artistry. Artistry is hard to quantify and put a price on, and big big media companies are not going to sink much time or money into trying to find the next person to put lightning in a bottle.
Boutique companies are making high quality product in all of these areas. But the math just doesn't add up for these megaliths. Unfortunately it's going to take a long time to re-balance the scales in all of these industries, and there's active opposition to such a thing.
O/T but anyways...
Hold up - Prince objects (perfectly legitimately, imho) to one specific aspect of modern technology that has a direct impact upon the way he makes his living, and this makes him a luddite? I suspect you're being flippant here, but still...
What The Non says is exactly right - the debate in a nutshell, in fact - but the thing I find objectionable is that whenever a performer of Prince's status makes a point like this is, "hasn't he got enough money already?" Suddenly, the general principle of a musician being able to gain some kind of remuneration from his or her craft no longer matters when you've accumulated enough cash and that, once you reach a certain point you're expected work for nothing, regardless of whether or not there's a network of other individuals or ancillary services relying upon you for a living.
Oh, and anyone saying Prince is over ought to go see him.
LOL.. I was going to say this also but when dude does a tour he sales out arenas like crazy. His catalog of music is long with all his new stuff not getting much exposure or radioplay.
'The Grid' Could Soon Make the Internet Obsolete
Yeah, why can't these musicians who've worked their entire lives within a music industry that's very often bled them dry just shut the fuck up and let the public bleed them dry instead?
I truly, truly despise these fuckers. Their massive sense of entitlement alone ought to warrant a custodial sentence. This is Revenge Of The Nerds writ large, right here.
I think that technically would make him a Luddite, since they were generally only opposed to technology when it harmed the livelihood of people/workers.
Agreed. He is still really, really great.
Your suspicions are correct sir. My next thread will be "Prince declares Bob Dylan is a "Judas" for going electric"
;-)
Does how much money you put into music or make from music tells you the quality of the music? How many quality songs were made over the last 500 years where money was the deciding factor of if the music was good or not?
My problem is people stating that artist will no longer feel the need to create if there is no money in making music. And I think that's bullshit... I'm sure a portion of people will not bother, but this idea that artist will stop making quality music is ludicrous. People with talent will create regardless of money. Even more so, since the tools to produce music has come down to extremely low levels...
There are plenty of reasons why music has lost value to consumers. Free IMO doesn't have most to do with it. You were always able to get free music off the radio. If you were a DJ, a good portion were always able to get free music from servicing (You didn't even need to be a big name DJ to get it). The list could go on...
I have no problem to say that sure, downloading is part of the issue. But there are other factors. The idea that more music was probably released in the last year than probably all of the 60's combined. The fact that consumers have so many things to spend their discretionary income on... The fact that labels still to this day don't do much to change their business models. I mean, I can still go into an HMV and find CD's selling for $25 bucks... Or that on itunes, plenty of times the non-tangible album sells for just as much as buying the CD. Which makes very little to no sense to me.
I was just reading the other day. Remember that youtube video about the kid who went to the dentist and was all messed up? Well, the father told people how he made over $100,000 from that single video alone off youtube (With 3 million views) alone off that video and more off other ways...
The point is this... Times are a changing. Business models should be as well. Get whatever it is you're making seen (or heard) by as many people in the world as possible. The money will follow...
Who also should be worried in all of this, is the consumer. Since you will begin to see the attempts to many consumer rights disappear when it comes to buying music in the near future.
What we'd be left with, if you had your way, if we take the world of old records as a parallel, would be the kind of low-budget private press affairs that leave you wondering what might've been if the artist had a real budget and some better production. Out of which perhaps 1 in 100 really live up to the price.
I agree that the models have to change, but think on this: I own my own business, right? And times are tough. There are times I long for the stability of a job for a bigger company. And what you're basically saying is: No, all of you people who want to work better go out there and start your own businesses, because there's not going to be jobs for you in the new world order. Is that the truth? There are elements of truth to that, sure. But a lot of people - rightly - would be scared, and many wouldn't be able to hack it or even get off the ground. That's what you're saying to artists in your post, that they'd better just go it alone and hope it works out.
That may be the current reality, but the attitude is nonetheless troubling because it basically puts the onus on the artist to just "get on with it". Sounds very "realist" but also bitter and resigned. And artists aren't the ones at fault, here...
Whenever someone makes the implicit suggestion that people should be happy to create for the love of it, and should treat things such as financial rewards and success as privileges, instead of benefits you gain through being good at what you do or popular because of it, I have to ask them - do you work for nothing? No, you don't. But I bet you sink a lot of your own time, money and energy into your hobbies, whatever they may be. If you don't mind the so-called "creative classes" becoming little more than hobbyists and spending as much time working on their e-business game as they do actually making music (which is the only thing musicians are really interested in), then that's fine. But scratch the surface of any gifted, enthusiastic amateur in any field of creative endeavour, and underneath you'll find someone who's working towards becoming a paid professional. Without the infrastructure to help them thrive - and that infrastructure is disappearing, whether it be film, music, TV, journalism, literature, whatever - they remain hobbyists, and that ideal of reaching as many people in the world as possible remains as far away as ever.
Oh, and correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it, the price of an album on iTunes has never been the same as that of a physical CD at full retail in a bricks-and-mortar record store.
THIS x a millie.
See also: Lars Ulrich vs. Napster
Labels are the pimps; artists are the hoes.
The concert venue is the strip club.
Don't be a trick.
I think this is a fair comparison.
So, when you take the music without asking, you are raping the musician. Nice.
You being a store owner probably know that for quite a while now, labels have been trying to make it illegal for you to buy and resell used music. We are now getting to that point with them getting that. In the digital age, consumers will lose many of their rights with music and what they can do with it.
For all this complaining about free music, people need to understand that consumers are not stupid. With technology they understand that manufacturing and distribution of music has come down greatly. They understand that a bit of money goes into production, while the major portion goes into marketing & promotion... And the labels are a big part to blame for where we are right now.
I'm willing to bet, it's easier today if I'm an artist, to get seen. Way easier than say 20+ years ago when I needed someone to back me with money. You just need your break. Much like you needed your break back in the day. The difference is, you can be direct with your audience.
Case in point. This kid is what 11 or some shit? Dude posts a video on youtube (
I've stated this before... So it's probably a broken record by now. But my family was in the music biz for over 30 years. Retail, wholesale, etc... When all is said and done, if you really feel like there is no money to be made in the biz, you should get out. In early 2000, we saw it... We didn't blame consumers for getting free music. Or our DJ's customers who bought from us most of their life, because they were now able to get free music or cheap music from an online store. We recognized the biz was changing.
IMO, Money doesn't stop being made because your music is free... And the quality of music never matters on how much money you put into it.
It's like, remember back in the day when everyone wanted to be a DJ? You had those dudes who had money and dropped large amounts of cash on the best equipment, the best records? Didn't make them an awesome DJ. Didn't really help them make a shit load of dough. 99% of them sold off their gear and got out of it.
Today it's photography... Everyone wants to be a photographer. You can spend 5-10 G's and get all the best gear, but it doesn't make you any better than the dude with a $400 camera.
Once again, I'm not trying to say free music for everyone. Just stating that, the idea of 1. The quality of music will suffer is wrong IMO and 2. You can still make money off your music, even if people are downloading it for free.
Maybe I'm completely wrong... I'm just glad that throughout history money was never a monster factor in many great works from artist. Could you imagine if money was that important how many artist who have never created amazing works? The list would be pretty long...
Yes, artists we're talking about here. Not youtube sensations. If you want the would-be youtube sensations of the pre-digital era I can point you in the direction of a nice landfill. It's got "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window" and "Disco Duck" for days. Who will make the next Forever Changes? Who will be the next Prince?
I know that your family has been in the music industry for decades and this is why you feel the way you feel. I sense a feeling of resignation in your posts still, from that experience. But the fact that things have changed, to me, is no excuse for quitting, for not wanting things to be better, for not lobbying for changes within the industry.
Hey, in all honesty I'd probably have a totally different opinion on this if the music industry played fair. We are now at a time when you no longer buy or own a tangible product where you can do what you want with it. We are at a point where you are gaining a license and that's where your rights end. Where government is used to sustain a non working out of date business model. Where artist are force to sue or take away consumers internet use on just the accusation of infringement.
It is a mess. I don't disagree. And I do want artist to make money. I just think the industry needs to go in a different direction on how that will happen.
I just don't equate with the idea that artist will stop producing quality music. Too many amazing examples out there of masterpieces of people who created them never making a cent out there. It's been over 10 years now since Napster. Shouldn't the music industry be dead by now? Shouldn't no one be making music any more? What are people waiting for? For mp3's not to exist any longer? Why in 2010 are people like David Letterman and Ellen starting up record labels? How is apple selling over 10 billion songs? Don't people know music is free?
Back to Prince... Hey Doc, didn't he release one of his last albums for free over there in conjunction with a newspaper? How did that play out? I guess not well...