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1-01 Crystal Ball Prince won’t record another album.
It’s a shame that music has been relegated to this type of discussion. The record companies are to blame for the state of music today as it relates to distribution and profit. Their greedy reluctance to lower the prices of compact discs as new technology was emerging forced them into a box. By “forced” , I also mean that consumers were made to consider other alternatives to get their music. Computer technology made it possible for ripping and burning cd’s. Someone could buy a cd and use their personal computer to make limitless copies to pass on to their friends. Of course, this pissed of the recording industry as they began suing people for illegal digital downloads as well as putting laws into place that restrict how people can burn and distribute copied music. They began to see their profit margins threatened so they suddenly became “concerned” enough to make a stance.These are the same blood-sucking scoundrels that would front countless dollars, to new acts, without actually letting them know, they were becoming enslaved to bogus contracts. Many performers, didn’t stand a snowballs chance in hell of surviving, due to starting out in drowning debt that they didn’t fully understand. By addressing pricing concerns earlier, the industry could have offset a lot of the bullshit while adapting to the inevitable rise of technology and its influence on music. An icon like Prince Rogers Nelson CAN make a stance against the issues by refusing to ever record another album. His impressive body of work existed way before the digital influence on music. Acts, with far less tenure and credibility, will have no choice,but to navigate the new frontier of music… in far less familiar ways.
Daryl Robinson
Music by Prince, from the ‘Crystal Ball’ album
