Prince
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EPILOGUE: BETTER WITH TIME
AFTER DOZENS OF ALBUMS, PRINCE HAS REMAINED AS PASSIONATE as ever about innovating musically and professionally. Shortly after his Super Bowl triumph, Prince began work on a new album, Planet Earth. Planet Earth moved him past the Musicology and 3121 pop sound. It offered heavy guitar, stronger rock, some polished R&B, and even revived disco. Lyrical themes were more substantial. “Planet Earth” discussed discrimination on a global scale and called for an end to war; “Chelsea Rodgers” held a message about the legend of Jimi Hendrix; “Lion of Judah” seemed to say faith in God would keep him strong during a breakup.
He planned a marathon twenty-one shows at the new twenty-thousand-seat O2 arena in London. Outside Organization, which helped promote the shows, publicly claimed they would find him performing his greatest hits “for the very last time” but during a May 8, 2007, press conference in London, Prince told reporters he would draw from a list of 150 songs and create a different set list each night.
Prince proposed offering what people now called Covermounts (free CDs with magazines). In the years since he first considered them in the mid-1990s, many newspapers and magazines had begun including CDs to lure readers. Before Sony—the label distributing Planet Earth—knew it, Prince had agreed to let British newspaper The Mail on Sunday distribute Planet Earth with their Sunday, July 15, edition. Readers could receive the entire album for a three-dollar cover price. Prince, meanwhile, was to receive a reported $500,000 in the deal, and royalties for each copy. This deal, one writer speculated, may have brought him “more than eight times” what he earned from 3121 (which sold eighty thousand copies in the UK).
The deal marked the first time a top-selling artist let fans have a full-length new album in this manner. Various overseas retailers expressed shock, dismay, and anger but Prince called it “direct marketing,” and a way out of “the speculation business of the record industry.”
Before long, the paper’s managing director Stephen Miron announced, “The first time anyone will be able to hear Planet Earth will be exclusively through The Mail on Sunday.”
At Sony BMG, executives were stunned. A spokesperson said, “The Mail on Sunday deal was not something that we were aware of. That came to light a few days ago.” With almost 3 million people about to receive copies with the paper, Sony canceled the United Kingdom release. Yet, a spokesperson noted, “It doesn’t change the fact that we’re delighted to be working with him.” Their global deal was unaffected. “This is a UK-only exemption.”
When July 15 arrived, The Mail on Sunday headline read: “Free Inside. Prince’s New Album. All 10 Tracks …” The paper sold the usual 2.3 million copies and the extra 600,000 copies they printed. Retailers continued to fume but The New York Times felt this deal showed “he thinks differently about the business.”
Prince moved on to his next feat, the twenty-one shows that August and September at London’s grand twenty-thousand-seat O2 Arena (each of which had already sold out). Meanwhile, back in America, Sony released Planet Earth—nine days after the giveaway—to some of Prince’s best reviews in years. Spin crowned Planet Earth “the year’s best pop album.” Vibe called it “his strangest yet most alluring rock project since 1988’s astonishing Lovesexy.” That first week, Planet Earth sold 95,500 copies and debuted at No. 3 on the August 1 Billboard chart. By October, sales climbed to about 298,000, with almost no promotion.
Prince returned to his new home—a thirty-thousand-square-foot estate in a gated community in LA’s Beverly Park section. As always, his home reflected his personality: bright purple carpet on the front steps; Mediterranean style furniture; a big gold-colored over a Lucite grand piano; purple paisley pillows on a couch; purple thrones flanking a fireplace; photos of himself in a Moroccan home in a nearby hallway; and a see-through curtain over the door leading into his bedroom. When he wasn’t touring, he welcomed industry executives to the home and discussed new ideas for releasing music. He attended meetings at a local Kingdom Hall, and went out to perform field service. He threw himself into promoting a fifty-dollar coffee table book called 21 Nights (photos of him playing that London tour at the 02 alongside poems and a CD). “I’m really proud of this,” he said of the well-received work.
Eventually, he got back to his next plan.
He was going to create three new albums. The first, LotusFlow3r, had roots in sessions for 3121. He had toured as a backup player for Tamar in 2006 and remembered how much he loved playing guitar. And so he kept writing and recording rock-heavy tracks, until eventually he had too many for one album. Instead of releasing it all, he chose only the best tracks for a single disc. It was a surprising exploration of the dark side of sixties rock. He included his usual R&B tracks and love songs, but his solos were among his most furious to date.
His second album, MPLSound, was the product of numerous 2008 sessions back at Paisley Park in Minneapolis. He fused his early drum-machine sound to more mature themes. He soon had an odd but refreshing collection that fit in with current trends but included lyrics that offered a respite from the club-focused monotony of radio. “Better with Time” described aging gracefully; “No More Candy 4 You” expressed disdain for talentless, media-created stars.
The final album of the trio would be Elixir, by his newest protege Bria Valente, a tall white brunette who grew up in Minneapolis and, as a teen, attended a few parties at Paisley Park. Prince’s keyboardist Morris Hayes introduced them. Prince liked her voice, songwriting, and interest in Scripture. Bria had become a Jehovah’s Witness as well, and now they were working together on her debut. He urged her to fit into an existing niche, “but do something with it that you don’t hear.” On Elixir Valente sounded clean-cut one moment, then smooth as Sade, and even ventured into Doris Day territory. Prince, Hayes, and Valente created the music for the pleasant, string-filled “Everytime,” her title track (as moody and intimate as anything on Prince’s debut For You); and the house-music-styled “2 Nite.”
Designer Scott Addison Clay, whose work included high-profile Web sites for the films The Dark Knight and Twilight, began work on a site called LotusFlow3r, initially created as a means to distribute the three-CD set. Prince had intended for people to join his new fan club for an annual seventy-seven-dollar fee and receive the set as a gift. But by now, The Eagles and AC/DC had released their newest original works exclusively through Walmart, the world’s biggest music retailer. Walmart had promoted each with huge in-store displays and choice product placement, and with 1.92 million sales AC/DC’s Black Ice was 2008’s fifth biggest-selling album. It inspired Prince to change his plan for the new set. He wanted to try this, too. But his way.
Prince decided to work with Target. The discount-store chain had worked wonders with Christina Aguilera’s greatest hits package in 2008. And while Target had about 1,677 stores—over 800 less than Walmart—the chain had a more upscale image. And Target was open to placing huge displays in prime locations, including right near checkout lines. Exact figures for these deals were unknown but Time noted chains usually gave artists in the mid—six figures for their albums and assistance in promoting them.
Either way, Target agreed to start selling a three-disc set—his rock album LotusFlow3r, his retro MPLSound, and Valente’s debut Elixer—for an affordable $11.99 starting on March 29, 2009.
Prince started promoting the set and his new site by inviting reporters to his Beverly Park estate. He created another amazing publicity campaign: his site’s launch on March 24, a consecutive three-night stand as musical guest on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, then three concerts at Los Angeles’s Nokia Theater on March 28 (shows that sold out in a mere 7.7 seconds). Then, the next morning, Target stores nationwide would start selling Lotusflow3r for a price lower than what most labels charged for a single disc.
Critics offered mixed reviews. Entertainment Weekly called it “Prince’s most disappointing set in years.” The Boston Globe felt it “should have been boiled down to a single disc.” But Rolling St
one felt it was “intermittently brilliant and a real bargain.” Vibe called it “a solid offering of tightly conceptualized tunes.”
Despite mixed reviews and releasing it directly to only one retail chain, Prince’s LotusFlow3r still sold 168,000 copies opening week, debuting at an impressive No. 2. (“Other charts say that it was number one,” he said.) Either way, with thirty million or so shoppers visiting Target stores each week, Lotusflow3r will continue to sell.
Since the start of his career, Prince’s influence has been evident. He wasn’t the first black artist to include heavy rock on his albums—but he nevertheless moved a new generation to do so. His sexual themes were so inspiring that—while planning his all-genre work Thriller—Michael Jackson reportedly asked an associate if he shouldn’t include something like Prince’s Controversy number “Jack U Off.” Many people immediately remembered Prince’s Vanity 6 when they got a look at Madonna prancing around onstage and in videos in revealing outfits. And the throbbing bass and sexual theme on her classic “Like a Virgin” reminded many of both on Prince’s own “Dirty Mind.” As the eighties continued, more rock bands began using his fusion of keyboard and rock guitar—and his former proteges carried innovations on to productions like those of Janet Jackson.
Paisley Park Studios put his hometown of Minneapolis on the musical map, and inspired many other musicians to create similar setups. And while the Warner-backed Paisley Park imprint wasn’t the resounding success Prince or the label hoped for, it operated for years, introduced new sounds, and revived the careers of aging vets.
It hasn’t been a career without missteps. Prince’s decision to play black music forms like rap in the nineties cost him large segments of his audience. His open campaign against Warner alienated some listeners. But in taking such chances, Prince showed a nervous artist community that someone could defy a major label and survive. His insistence on operating without the usual agents, concert bookers, distributors, and other intermediaries soon inspired artists to rethink their own professional affairs. This alone would have been enough to get him in the history books. He went on to show artists they could serve as their own digital label, retain ownership of master tapes, and earn more money in the process. Recent years have seen Madonna—Warner’s reliable hitmaker—leave the label for a reported $120 million three-album deal with concert promoter Live Nation. U2 also reportedly decided that—while future albums would be for Universal—Live Nation could handle their merchandising and digital rights.
As far as his music is concerned, Prince continues to write memorable works. And traces of his earlier styles are heard on works by artists as diverse as Terence Trent Darby, Seal, Lenny Kravitz, D’Angelo, Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes, Andre 3000 of Outkast, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Britney Spears, Madonna, Ciara, and Beck.
Prince reportedly counseled Michael Jackson on how best to stage a comeback. Jackson wound up making headlines in 2009 by announcing his own residency at London’s 02 Arena (fifty shows that immediately sold out), following in Prince’s lead. Crossover rap act The Black Eyed Peas, meanwhile, announced their own exclusivity deal with Target for their album The E.N.D. (or The Energy Never Dies).
Back in his California estate, Prince has finally found peace. He is a fastidious middle-aged bachelor that has seen two marriages fail. He has also seen negative reviews of his most recent work. But he remains more open with reporters and fans than perhaps ever. He continues to be a God-fearing, clean-living man. He is happy to be alive and grateful for his friends; and thrilled to be able to choose when he wants to record an album or play a show. He’s looking forward to signing deals for his bandmates and proteges. He has found in Target, for now at least, a way of releasing music that allows him the freedom he’s spent a career seeking.
He is, he said recently, in “celebration mode.”
ALSO BY RONIN RO
Gangsta
Have Gun Will Travel
Bad Boy
Street Sweeper
Tales to Astonish
Raising Hell
Dr. Dre
Acknowledgments
During the decade in which I researched and created this book, many people provided invaluable assistance. For their help, I’d like to thank agent Jacqueline Hackett; editor David Moldawer; and especially editor Yaniv Soha (for his patience, a standard of excellence and curiosity that matched my own, for understanding and helping me refine my vision for this book, and for helping me to get certain parts absolutely right). I’d also like to thank authors Per Nilsen and Alex Hahn. Our musical tastes and view of certain events differ, but their respective works DanceMusicSexRomance: Prince—The First Decade and Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince come highly recommended. I’d also like to thank the many reporters who described Prince’s evolution from awkward loner to controversial industry opponent to rock legend with a thirty-album discography and four entertaining films to his credit. These hard-working talents worked at national magazines (Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Vibe, and more), local newspapers (including the Minneapolis Star Tribune, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, among many others), and television networks (MTV, BET, PBS, etc.). Then there were people like Alan Leeds, Jill Jones, Neal Karlen, Dez Dickerson, Matt Fink, Bobby Z, Owen Husney, David Rivkin, Tom Garneau, Jill Willis, Sheila E., Anna Garcia, Rosie Gaines, T. C. Ellis, Gayle Chapman, Jellybean Johnson, Touré, Robyne Robinson, Alan Light, Bob Merlis, Paul Peterson, Mayte Garcia, Jesse Johnson, David Z. Rivkin, BrownMark, Paul Peterson, Bob Merlis, Liz Rosenberg, Russ Thyret, and everyone else who either answered questions, confirmed or corrected passages, or reached out. It was an honor hearing from all of you. Further thanks goes to the Prince-related fan sites Prince.org and Housequake.com for insight into what some hard-core fans expect; my readers; Warner Bros. Records; Carmen Ruiz, Matthew Olson, and Mark “Skillz” McCord for ongoing friendship, belief, and support; everyone involved with the classic film Purple Rain; and finally, Prince Rogers Nelson himself for so many enjoyable, groundbreaking works.
Index
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages of your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
(album)
(record label)
A&M Records
ABC in Concert
ABC Records
Academy Awards
AC/DC
Adamsick, Randy
Adler, Bill
“Adore,”
Aerosmith
Aguilera, Christina
“Alexa de Paris,”
Ali, Muhammad
Alley, Kirstie
“All the Critics,”
Alpert, Herb
“Alphabet St.,”
Alpha Studio
Amendolia, Don
“America,”
American Artists, Inc.
American Bandstand
American Music Awards
Amigo Studios
Anderson, André Simon, see Cymone, André
Anderson, Bernadette
Anderson, Erin
Anderson, Fred
Anderson, Linda
“And God Created Woman,”
Andre 3000
“Anna Stesia,”
“Annie Christian,”
Annis, Francesca
“Another Lonely Christmas,”
“Anotherloverholenyohead,”
Apollonia (Patty Kotero)
in Purple Rain
Apollonia 6
Apollonia 6
Arista Records
Arnold, Gary
Around the World in a Day
“Around the World in a Day,”
Arquette, Rosanna
“Arrogance,”
Art of Musicology, The
Atlantic Records
Austin, Harlan “Hucky,”
“Automatic,”
Ayeroff, Jeff
“Baby,”
“Baby I’m a Star,”
Bach, Russ
Bacon, Kevin
“Bad,”
Badeaux, Marylou
Bahler, Tom
Baker, Anita
Baker, Carolyn
Baker, Heyward (stepfather)
Baker, Mattie (mother)
death of
John’s divorce from
music career of
Purple Rain and
remarriage of
Baker, Omarr Julius (halfbrother)
“Ballad of Dorothy Parker, The,”
“Bambi,”
Bangles
Barbarella, Tommy (Tommy Elm)
Barber, Lisa
Barnard, Michael
Basinger, Kim
“Batdance,”
Batman (album)
Batman (film)
Baxter, Karen
“Beat It,”
Beatles
Beaulieu, Allen
“Beautiful, Loved, and Blessed,”
“Beautiful Ones, The,”
Beer, Lenny
Bell, Al
Bellmark Records
Bennett, Brenda
Bennett, Roy
Benton, Jerome
Berkoff, Steven
Berry, Ken
Best Buy
BET
BET Awards
“Betcha by Golly Wow!,”
“Better with Time,”
Betts, André
Beyoncé
Big Boi
“Big Tall Wall,”
Billboard
Billboard charts
Black
Hot 100
Pop
R&B
Soul
200
“Billie Jean,”
Bitton, Mathieu
Black Album, The (The Funk Bible)
“Black and White,”
Black Eyed Peas
Black Music Awards
“Black Sweat,”