RSSIs Prince Single-handedly Destroying the Retail Music Industry?
Jul 03
Business, Music Music Industry, Prince Comments Off
Prince, an artist who has always pushed the envelope with his decisions in the face of the music industry, has once again found a non-traditional way to distribute his next studio album. This time, the artist will circulate his album Planet Earth with the news. Copies of Planet Earth will be included with every copy of The Mail in Great Britain on July 15, a full week before the CD will be released via traditional retailers.
Not everyone is happy with the move. Reportedly, Planet Earth‘s U.K. distributor Sony BMG has backed out of any commitment to distribute the disc in the Britain. And even before the announcement to add the disc as a covermount to the newspaper, Prince was already giving away promotional copies to anyone who bought tickets to his multiple night stand at the O2 Arena which begins in August.
The Entertainment Retailers Association is also crying foul. The association’s co-chairman Paul Quirk was blithely quoted as saying, “The Artist formerly known as Prince should know that with behaviour like this he will soon be the Artist Formerly Available in Record Stores.” It sounds like a punchline, but the thought underscores a scary reality for retailers and record companies alike. You can’t make money if you have nothing to sell. And threatening a boycott of Prince’s entire discography is counterproductive. Fans will just go buy the music somewhere else, if they have to buy it at all.
It’s worth noting that if you live in the U.S. and elsewhere, you can still buy a copy of Planet Earth on July 24.
This isn’t The Mail‘s first CD giveaway. Pop luminaries Duran Duran and UB40 were both involved in their own similar promotions. But Prince’s mega-artist status makes this more newsworthy and noteworthy. Prince is forever redrawing the boundaries of his relationship with the music industry. And it is not, as Quirk suggests, because Prince wants to “[destroy] any perception of value around recorded music.” Prince undoubtedly views this as another promotional opportunity for his music, a way of reaching out to new fans and rewarding old fans alike. It’s a formula that most artists strive for. The difference is that Prince is willing to give his music away; he can afford to.
Prince’s history is ripe with unusual business decisions. In the mid-90′s, Prince felt inhibited by his contract with Warner Bros., who did little to support his releases despite the fact that Prince produced some of his best, though commercially unsuccessful, work. Prince blamed the record company, and Warner Bros. put the blame anywhere they possible could. So when Prince, who was then a sympbol 
, was finally independent of Warner Bros., he would only deal with record labels on an album by album basis. He has since refused to sign any long-term deals, and has released some albums only through an internet subscription service. In 2004, he already gave away copies of his studio album, Musicology, with every ticket sold during his highly successful Musicology Tour.
From a fan’s perspective, it’s hard to fault Prince’s efforts to bring something new to the table. And more to the point, a fan is never going to believe that one artist is going bring down the whole retail music industry. But from the chaos that has erupted around Prince’s announcement of the Planet Earth giveaway, you might inclined to conclude that is exactly what will result. Look, if artists and record companies have to find new business models in order to be financially successful, is that unrealistic to expect the retail music stores to do the same? The answer, I’m guessing, depends on who you ask.
