The Cold Cut

You have to wonder what was going through Prince's mind when he pushed for his new album "Planet Earth" to be included with every copy of the Daily Mail this sunday. The only possible answer is that he is delirious, or partially insane: this move has caused a massive uproar in the music industry as it has the potential to eat heavily into CD sales (which are already falling every day due to cheaper downloads) and cause more changes in the way music is sold. In theory, I like what Prince is doing, but when it comes down to the crunch he is actually making other people in the music industry worse off. On the other hand, it is important to bear in mind that Prince has given away CD's before- every concert-goer to his 2004 Musicology tour recieved the album of the same title.

It seems like the only reason he would do this is because he doesn't have anything to lose... the only problem is this whole fiasco seems to have backfired on him: Sony- the official distributor of the new album- have pulled out, stating there is no point selling Planet Earth when it is being sold with the Daily Mail for £1.40. As much as I love Prince's music, he obviously isn't the most logical person in the world; this move has reduced his potential sales and also caused the music industry to turn on him, when they have been supportive of him throughout his long career. HMV in particular haven't been afraid to show their anger, stating that this is an outrage. However, HMV are also under fire from their rivals because they are stocking the Daily Mail this weekend, stating "this is the only way we can market the album to customers". "We're stunned that HMV has decided to take what appears to be a complete U-turn on their stance," said Simon Douglas, managing director of retail at Virgin Megastores. "It's not only retailers that suffer; the public will suffer in the long term by restricting choice on the high street."

Perhaps Prince is trying to prove a point: the CD industry is a rapidly declining one. For every person stating that mp3's can't match up to the feeling of a real album with sleeve notes there is a young person who loves the lower cost and accesability of mp3's. I'm not sure how this weekend will pan out, but whatever the outcome Prince has made a bold move which may or may not be succesful in making his desired point.