Marketing Weblog: PRINCE TRIES NEW ADVERTISING AND COMMERCIAL WAYS TO FIGHT ILEGAL MUSIC COPIES DESPITE MUSIC INDUSTRY OUTRAGE

PRINCE TRIES NEW ADVERTISING AND COMMERCIAL WAYS TO FIGHT ILEGAL MUSIC COPIES DESPITE MUSIC INDUSTRY OUTRAGE

The eagerly awaited new album by Prince, Planet Earth, is being launched as a free CD with a national Sunday newspaper in a move that has drawn widespread criticism from music retailers.

"Prince is running a campaign to give music back to the fans and we are delighted to be involved," the MoS editor, Peter Wright, said in yesterday's paper. The Mail on Sunday will give away Prince's brand new album Planet Earth free on July 15, despite music industry outrage.

The paper, which sells more than 2m copies a week, will be ramping up its print run in anticipation of a huge spike in circulation but would not reveal how much the deal with Prince would cost. One music store executive described the plan as "madness" while others said it was a huge insult to an industry battling fierce competition from supermarkets and online stores.

The paper urged readers to order their July 15 copy of the paper from newsagents has set up a special microsite for the promotion.

Prince, whose Purple Rain sold more than 11m copies, also plans to give away a free copy of his latest album with tickets for his forthcoming concerts in London. The singer had signed a global deal for the promotion and distribution of Planet Earth in partnership with Columbia Records, a division of music company Sony BMG. A spokesman for the group said last night that the UK arm of Sony BMG had withdrawn from Prince's global deal and would not distribute the album to UK stores.
It is clear that illegal copies and Internet downloads are threatening a music industry which has not had a firm reaction yet. Do you think Prince’ methods are a real solution or is he only trying to annoy an industry he’s been fighting for years (remember when he used to appear on stage with the word “slave” written across his face to protest against his distribution contract)?

Comments

Hola Manuel:
No estoy muy segura de si The Artisr Formerly Known As Prince está explorando nuevas vías de comercialización o si este es sólo un nuevo episodio de su permanente guerra abierta con las discográficas. Recordemos que desde los '90 ha autoeditado la mayoría de sus trabajos.
Un saludo

Mª Angeles

Hola Manuel!
Prince no es la única celebridad en explorar nuevos formatos publicitarios. La explosiva Fergie, cantante del grupo Black Eyed Peas, ha llegado a un acuerdo con la marca de ropa íntima femenina Candie's para hacer produc placement de la misma no sólo en la carátula de sus CDs sino ¡en la letra de sus canciones!
Salu2

Angel

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