AfterDawn: News

Piracy is like a carjacking, says Prince

Prince, the influential musician, has said today that he will not release any new music until piracy is less of a factor.

The artist says he has "tons" of unreleased tracks but refuses to release them while piracy is still a major issue.



Says Prince (via CBS):

We made money [online] before piracy was real crazy. Nobody's making money now except phone companies, Apple and Google...It's like the gold rush out there. Or a carjacking. There's no boundaries.

Prince is known for his sometimes insane critical statements about the Internet and piracy, going as far as to call the Web "outdated" and "unhip" last year. The artist even took down a popular video from YouTube in which a toddler lip syncs one of his tracks just because his song played in the background and no one paid any royalties.

The artist even added that he was headed to the White House to talk about copyright protection.



Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Jun 2011 15:32

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• 52 comments

• bman325i (unverified)

  well then he's loosing out on some money

  27.6.2011 15:37 #1

• LordRuss

  And here we go again... It's not even worth attempting to contradict Prince other than to say the man is a victim of a fickle audience. He isn't producing what an audience wants to hear right now & what the record label has screwed him out of originally is REALLY taking a bite out of him now.
  
  Blaming piracy under the same breath as Lars Ulrich isn't going to get the labels to open their hearts & wallets to him. Those songs he speaks of are probably still under an old contract & he stands to really take a raping of "LEGENDARY" proportions.
  
  Then in order for him to re-make any money (as mentioned in previous forums) he's going to have to tour, but he can't tour like he used to, so that money isn't going to fly in either. So being a victim to the label, he can't speak out like he want's to, thus (childish as it is), blame piracy.
  
  In surmising, if I may borrow a movie cliche, "Losers whine about how they'd done their best. Winners go home & F^%# the homecoming queen." Sounds to me like Prince needs to step up & become a king once & for all and take back what's his. Quit whining about fans appreciating his work in video satires.
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  27.6.2011 15:55 #2

• DSWarrior

  So, I guess he'll release his new tracks in about...never? Ever since the Internet reached the masses, piracy has been an issue. Furthermore, the agencies responsible for the "safety" of copyrights and licenses are the laughing stock of the "pirates". It's just something we'll have to live with.
  

  DS Warrior ! ! !

  27.6.2011 15:57 #3

• 20TONS

  If &, Prince or whatever he's calling himself these days makes music that the listening public wants to hear we might give a rats arse. I guess your unreleased tracks will have to remain so.
  

  27.6.2011 16:07 #4

• Mysttic

  Who the hell really cares; he really believes he's that good an artist. A few hits out of decades of music and he' blames piracy for not buying his music? How about he reacts like a douche about it, like over the vid of the toddler; it's not like millions don't see youtube. He'd prolly sell more music if her was more open and free with it, like a lot of bands have proven.
  
  He really needs to come off his high horse, and soon or he may just find there is no career left for him to work for.

  27.6.2011 16:08 #5

• smiler123

  On the plus side no more crappy prince tracks. Keep up the good work, keep downloading.
  

  Everything I have written is a lie and a product of my imagination.

  27.6.2011 16:16 #6

• Mrguss

  Thank you. ( wherever your face is )
  I do not want to hear any of your Short edited by ddp songs anyway !

  27.6.2011 16:27 #7

• nonoitall

  Quote:Prince, the influential musician, has said today that he will not release any new music until piracy is less of a factor. That being the case, I think we're best off keeping piracy a factor for as long as possible.
  

  me on the Dragon Ball Encyclopedia
  me on YouTube

  27.6.2011 17:01 #8

• Pop_Smith

  Quote:Nobody's making money now except phone companies, Apple and Google... He thinks Apple and Google are phone companies? That in and of itself shows he wacko. If Apple is a phone company then so are RIM, Samsung, Sony, Nokia, and Motorola.
  
  Google's closer to a phone company than Apple since you can make VOIP-like calls via Google Voice but they are still a long ways off of being a "phone company".
  
  Designing phones != Phone company
  

  http://www.megavideo.com/?v=V1VZAD0O <-- Brian Regan "Take Luck" video.
  
  "The only people who should buy Monster cable are people who light cigars with Benjamins." - Gizmodo

  27.6.2011 17:07 #9

• DVDBack23

  Originally posted by Pop_Smith: Quote:Nobody's making money now except phone companies, Apple and Google... He thinks Apple and Google are phone companies? That in and of itself shows he wacko. If Apple is a phone company then so are RIM, Samsung, Sony, Nokia, and Motorola.
  
  Google's closer to a phone company than Apple since you can make VOIP-like calls via Google Voice but they are still a long ways off of being a "phone company".
  
  Designing phones != Phone company Given the way Apple's revenue has been skewed of late, you can argue they are primarily a phone company now :)
  

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  27.6.2011 17:36 #10

• beanos66

  Prince the Formerly! influential musician

  27.6.2011 17:44 #11

• YOBUZZB

  C'mon Prince! Seriously?! To bad your talents do not find their way to common sense. You may be right on some level, in that you may have missed out on a very minute amount of money but to make these statements! You really need to check yourself! Far too many other artists out there to entertain us for you to consider yourself that relevant anymore. You're not releasing anymore music? So when was the last time you did and anyone cared? What have you done for us lately? You changed your name to a sign (Kinda cool but mostly had us going...huh?)because you were getting sued for the name Prince. Then you won or lost or settled and changed back from the sign to Prince. Were it not for that, you'd be a distant memory and brought up only in conversations where we were feeling nastalgic! C'mon Prince! Seriously?!
  

  "In all your getting, get an understanding!"
  
  Dell Dimension DIM4600 Intel P4 CPU 2.66GHz 2.5GB-DDR 160GB-HDD Primary 80GB-HDD Slave Memorex 16x DL -/+RW Burner JLMS DVD-ROM XJ-HD166 WinXP Home Edition SP3

  27.6.2011 17:46 #12

• deak91

  ????? is this just a way to not to make new music because you cant any more .....and if memory serves me right the invention of music cds were to cut and reduce cost on the consumer end and that has not happened thats the true crime here

  27.6.2011 17:54 #13

• Jeffrey_P

  Thank you Mr. Has-been.
  
  Like most artists, Prince gets monthly mailbox money.
  
  Jeff

  27.6.2011 18:15 #14

• g_slide

  Who cares he's not going to release any music until piracy has slow down. His music sucked in the 80's, 90's, and 2000's... no one cares about him nor listen to his music and if you do then you must love his movie Purple Rain...ha-ha

  27.6.2011 18:34 #15

• ROMaster2

  Your failed business model is not my problem, Prince.

  27.6.2011 19:15 #16

• aldan

  tons of unreleased tracks and probably very few of them any good.why doesnt he retire or something.

  27.6.2011 19:23 #17

• Jeffrey_P

  Some say he is a great guitarist. Personally I think his guitar playing really stinks.
  The camera was always on Lisa & Lisa in the incarnation when the back-up musicians made him shine.
  
  "You have to purify yourself in Lake Minnetonka"
  What a freak..
  Jeff

  27.6.2011 19:34 #18

• VENOM79

  F@%K THAT FAIRY
  

  27.6.2011 20:11 #19

• TreePro

  Piracy had to hit a real low to pirate his garbage.
  Never crossed my mind to pirate his music, but then I never bought it either.
  

  27.6.2011 20:39 #20

• fandr78

  Prince sucks... I wouldn't download his crap,even if its free.
  

  Franco

  27.6.2011 20:43 #21

• Hyasuma

  whoa, u got 12 tracks? thats A LOT! YAYYYYY! F U Prince, they probably all suck thats why u dont want to release them lol
  

  27.6.2011 21:27 #22

• smiler123

  I went out with a girl in the 80's that loved this rather short untallented retard. I was lucky i scored panty action without ever having to purchase or view his bland unimaginative drivvel.
  
  But it was close ^^
  

  Everything I have written is a lie and a product of my imagination.

  27.6.2011 21:31 #23

• KillerBug

  Quote:
  Prince, the influential musician, has said today that he will not release any new music until piracy is less of a factor.
  Until today, I thought piracy was a bad thing, but I can admit when I am wrong. Thank you piracy!!! You have saved the world from the horrors of the cutout tracks from the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as prince.
  
  Meanwhile, Trent Reznor fans himself with a fist full of $100 bills while uploading high quality rips of his newest CD to demonoid.com...
  

  http://killerbug666.wordpress.com/

  27.6.2011 22:16 #24

• Jeffrey_P

  Originally posted by g_slide: Who cares he's not going to release any music until piracy has slow down. His music sucked in the 80's, 90's, and 2000's... no one cares about him nor listen to his music and if you do then you must love his movie Purple Rain...ha-ha There was a place and time when Price was almost relevant.
  Like my days of going to concerts at the Fillmore and Winterland in SF are long gone. A distant memory like Prince.
  
  LSD was passed around like it was lunch. I never liked the stuff.
  
  Jeff

  28.6.2011 01:24 #25

• jackalguy

  Careful, Prince, your narcissism is showing. I wonder if he realizes how increasingly irrelevant he's becoming as the world evolves in tandem with the internet? Didn't think so. I guess ego will do that to a person.
  

  "The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one"
  
  -George Bernard Shaw

  28.6.2011 01:53 #26

• shortybob

  "You wouldn't download a car"
  F*** you, I would if I could!
  
  

  28.6.2011 02:36 #27

• emugamer

  His music is not relevant anymore. I haven't heard a Prince song on terrestrial radio in probably over 10 years, maybe more. And I frequent every possible genre station. I don't even think I've ever heard one on Sirius on any station. Nothing rings a bell. When someone says "Prince" the only song that pops into my head is "when the doves cry" or something.
  
  That being said, I don't even feel the need to download any of his tracks...not even pirate them if I had the means.

  28.6.2011 06:30 #28

• DXR88

  Originally posted by emugamer: His music is not relevant anymore. I haven't heard a Prince song on terrestrial radio in probably over 10 years, maybe more. And I frequent every possible genre station. I don't even think I've ever heard one on Sirius on any station. Nothing rings a bell. When someone says "Prince" the only song that pops into my head is "when the doves cry" or something.
  
  That being said, I don't even feel the need to download any of his tracks...not even pirate them if I had the means. When i think Prince, i think Micheal Jackson Ripoff. with all that woohoo'in hehe'in and Ugh Ugh'in.
  

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  28.6.2011 06:50 #29

• LordRuss

  Originally posted by Hyasuma: whoa, u got 12 tracks? thats A LOT! YAYYYYY! F U Prince, they probably all suck thats why u dont want to release them lol Yeah, to think; his "Best Of" album didn't even make a descent pack of song titles. Reminds of those old K-tel album packs where you get the 'best of' garbage with 2 songs worth listening to, but 10 other artists you recognize, just not their recognized songs - just crap.
  
  I know this guy wrote songs & music for other people, but still...
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  28.6.2011 10:05 #30

• emugamer

  And he likes purple. That's the other only thing I remember about him. Purple and doves. And I think rain...yeah, rain. I could wiki him, but that would take time away from more important things, like getting this damn bugar outa my nose...

  28.6.2011 10:50 #31

• Interestx

  Prince is right.
  Real piracy is.
  Those that copy your goods and then try to sell them as if they were originals are thieves and should be treated as such.
  
  The trouble is he doesn't mean real pirates.
  He means people who share and those who download for personal use.
  
  But then I guess on his income Prince's days of sharing anything with anybody are long over.
  Bet it wasn't always so tho.
  

  28.6.2011 14:11 #32

• Jeffrey_P

  Since I purchase the music I listen to, it has no effect on me.
  
  Artists should pop a bottle of Champagne knowing their music is liked by many.
  
  Price's time is limited if not over for good.
  
  So, either set a fair price for music with no restrictions or piracy will be here a least into the near future. Don't let any major corporations dictate like Apple the going rate.
  
  Artists make ~0.33 per cut. Where does the rest of the income go?
  
  Jeff

  28.6.2011 15:40 #33

• TreePro

  Interestx said
  "But then I guess on his income Prince's days of sharing anything with anybody are long over.
  Bet it wasn't always so tho".
  You're right, he gave away a 10 track cd "Mother Earth" in 2007 and pi$$ed off the retailers.
  http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2007/07/01/prince_offers_his_music_for_free_and_music_retailers_scoff
  And Prince said back then Quote, "It's all about giving music for the masses and he believes in spreading the music he produces to as many people as possible," said Mail on Sunday managing director Stephen Miron. "This is the biggest innovation in newspaper promotions in recent times."
  
  But the same year he sends take down notices to his FANS site to remove all links to music, images ect.
  http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2007/11/07/prince_sends_takedown_notices_to_fan_sites
  
  Remember the 18 month dancing to his music in a home video on You tube that Prince demanded took down?
  http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2007/10/30/woman_takes_on_prince_over_dmca_takedown
  Even if he was good artist, I would not buy his stuff.
  

  28.6.2011 17:02 #34

• Jeffrey_P

  Originally posted by TreePro: Interestx said
  "But then I guess on his income Prince's days of sharing anything with anybody are long over.
  Bet it wasn't always so tho".
  You're right, he gave away a 10 track cd "Mother Earth" in 2007 and pi$$ed off the retailers.
  http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2007/07/01/prince_offers_his_music_for_free_and_music_retailers_scoff
  And Prince said back then Quote, "It's all about giving music for the masses and he believes in spreading the music he produces to as many people as possible," said Mail on Sunday managing director Stephen Miron. "This is the biggest innovation in newspaper promotions in recent times."
  
  But the same year he sends take down notices to his FANS site to remove all links to music, images ect.
  http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2007/11/07/prince_sends_takedown_notices_to_fan_sites
  
  Remember the 18 month dancing to his music in a home video on You tube that Prince demanded took down?
  http://www.afterdawn.com/news/article.cfm/2007/10/30/woman_takes_on_prince_over_dmca_takedown
  Even if he was good artist, I would not buy his stuff. Like I said, Price gets mailbox money. If he didn't spend his fortune on stupid things, he is set for the rest of his purple life.
  Jeff

  28.6.2011 17:27 #35

• Azuran

  2 reasons why Prince is a ****ing bad ass.
  
  #1) He get's more tail than all of you combined in a week.
  #2) He actually writes hit songs and is a multi-instrumentalist compared to your generic pop star who is nothing more than a face on a cd cover.
  
  1 reason why Prince is a ****ing tool.
  
  Blaming piracy for the fact that he is no longer relevant and his fanbase has outgrown him.
  
  Btw, Prince is amazing live and plays the guitar like a beast.
  

  28.6.2011 19:17 #36

• Jeffrey_P

  Originally posted by Azuran: 2 reasons why Prince is a ****ing bad ass.
  
  #1) He get's more tail than all of you combined in a week.
  #2) He actually writes hit songs and is a multi-instrumentalist compared to your generic pop star who is nothing more than a face on a cd cover.
  
  1 reason why Prince is a ****ing tool.
  
  Blaming piracy for the fact that he is no longer relevant and his fanbase has outgrown him.
  
  Btw, Prince is amazing live and plays the guitar like a beast.
  Thank you for your comment.
  Would you like some pancakes?

  28.6.2011 19:55 #37

• smiler123

  2 Resons why Prince is a whining has been.....
  
  1. He is trapped in a 1980's Groung Hog Day.
  
  2. He 'once' wrote medeocre hit songs (about 3 or 4 i think) and then pathetically failed to become a cultural icon.
  
  AKA Squiggle ^^
  
  and YES I Bloody LOVE Pancakes.
  

  Everything I have written is a lie and a product of my imagination.

  28.6.2011 21:50 #38

• Jeffrey_P

  Me too..
  I was thinking about the Dave Chappell skit where, tough brothers vs the blouses. After the game, Price made everybody pancakes.
  Jeff
  

  Cars, Guitars & Radiation.

  28.6.2011 22:02 #39

• KillerBug

  LoL...as far as I am concerned, the Dave Chappell skits were the best thing that ever came from Prince's career.
  
  If he wants to end his career because of something that has been easily accessible for over a decade, and which can never be stomped out, then that is just fine...but don't blame it. He might as well say he is quitting because the sun keeps rising in the east. If nothing else, he could have tied his departure from music to a cause that could actually be helped, "I am leaving music because I cannot write beautiful songs while I think of the starving children in [insert country here]".
  

  http://killerbug666.wordpress.com/

  29.6.2011 01:42 #40

• xtago

  He doesn't really need to release any songs anyway as he produces most of the R&B people that are big right now.
  
  So if he got out of producing R&B and releasing songs again, I wouldn't mind.
  
  As I'm a bit over the current lot of R&B and hiphop bunch that are around right now, all sounds exactly the same thing.

  29.6.2011 04:27 #41

• Jeffrey_P

  Chappell's stuff is timeless. Last night I broke out season one disk 1 and 2. Uncut and uncensored is the best way to watch.
  I still laugh as hard as I did in 2003.
  
  Paul Mooney is one of the most funny racist bastards ever. Few know he wrote a lot of Richard Pryor's material.
  Jeff

  29.6.2011 04:33 #42

• LordRuss

  All I remember his work for was the interlaced humping & groaning. If it wasn't blatantly stated in the bulk of his songs, you spent hours trying to 'find' the screwing in some form of symbolism throughout the songs that didn't immediately have it.
  
  Like "I Would Die 4 U" or however it was titled. It probably didn't have a thing to do with fornication of any some sort, but be damned if we didn't go looking for it. Why? It was Prince!!! And we just knew he had hot sloppy groin on his mind. Look at the damned Super Bowl, he couldn't keep a phallus out of that either.
  
  I'm not saying it's the only thing 'crowning' his career, but it sure was a HUGE part of it. Not to mention, he's STILL making it a part; to the point that he has turned into a ambulatory purple penguin of love. Just not that kind of penguin & certainly not that lovable.
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  29.6.2011 11:01 #43

• DXR88

  Originally posted by LordRuss: I'm not saying it's the only thing 'crowning' his career, but it sure was a HUGE part of it. Not to mention, he's STILL making it a part; to the point that he has turned into a ambulatory purple penguin of love. Just not that kind of penguin & certainly not that lovable. You sir are disgracing the most powerful creature ever known in the entire universe.
  

  Powered By
  
  

  1.7.2011 04:32 #44

• LordRuss

  Originally posted by DXR88:
  You sir are disgracing the most powerful creature ever known in the entire universe. OOOooo... Yeah... you're right... I actually like penguins... how could I be incentive?
  
  I stand corrected and retract that hurtful remark. Any penguins out there that found that detrimental to their person's, please find it in your noble beings to forgive.
  
  Damn, I'm glad I didn't bring up the porpoise comment then...
  

  http://onlyinrussellsworld.blogspot.com

  1.7.2011 14:50 #45

• funkspiel

  Prince has played this tune a few times.
  
  It's a new world, your purple mountains majesty.

  1.7.2011 20:55 #46

• shadyj

  Originally posted by Pop_Smith: Quote:Nobodys making money now except phone companies, Apple and Google... He thinks Apple and Google are phone companies? That in and of itself shows he wacko. If Apple is a phone company then so are RIM, Samsung, Sony, Nokia, and Motorola.
  
  Googles closer to a phone company than Apple since you can make VOIP-like calls via Google Voice but they are still a long ways off of being a "phone company".
  
  Designing phones != Phone company He is not saying that Apple and Google are phone companies. He's saying that phone companies, Apple and Google are making money; the comma indicates a list. If the statement had been "Nobody's making money now except the phone companies Apple and Google." then your statement would have been correct.

  1.7.2011 23:32 #47

• leglessoz

  prince doesn't have to worry. I won't be trying to steal any of his "cars".

  2.7.2011 09:30 #48

• omendata

  Always did think he was a bit of a effete wanker.
  Proves the case now.
  
  What a limp dicked tossbag!
  When people are in real dire straits you get multi millionaires like this complaining about money - greed is quite unattractive.
  
  

  2.7.2011 12:37 #49

• KillerBug

  Originally posted by omendata:
  What a limp dicked tossbag! LoL.
  

  http://killerbug666.wordpress.com/

  2.7.2011 22:47 #50

• editmon

  Well, he's an interesting fellow, but I think he just sipped a little too much purple rain.

  3.7.2011 15:57 #51

• SoulGLOW

  love his music that i heard on the radio....but he's one whiny little bitch ass imp.

  13.7.2011 06:55 #52