Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 16 June 2000 — Page 26

PAGEC8

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, JUNE 16,2«9Q

Prince tries to nurture relationship with his diehard fans

THE SCOOP

Well, what can you say about the Artist formerly known as Prince, but who is now known as Prince all over again ... just like they used to call him before. He is a musical icon of our age. Believe that. He has sold over 600 million records worldwide and has inspired performers in the genres of hip-hop, pop, rock and roll, R&B and maybe even country. He led the music industry’s charge onto the Internet. As usual, he was light ears ahead of his time. He was also ahead of his time when he changed his name to do his thing. “On Dec. 31,1999, my publishing contract with Warner had expired, thus emancipating the name I was given before I was bom from all long-term restrictive contracts. I’m now going back to using my

name instead of the symbol that I adopted to free myself from undesirable relationships,” the entertainer said. As a way of avoiding those undesirable relationships. Prince began selling his own music online about three years ago. His last album, “Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic,” was critically acclaimed, but did not do as well as expected. So, now it’s being repackaged and presented again. “NPG (his Web site) will release an Internet only version of my album called ‘Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic’ to make up for the lackluster way in which its predecessor ‘Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic’ was promoted. The new CD will contain numerous remixes and two new songs,” he said. While his feelings about dealing with major labels may never change, his relationship with diehard fans is one he is constatuly

trying to nurture and build on. “On June 7, NPGonlineLTD.com will be hosting an event called ‘Prince: A Celebration.’ Details of the event can be found at the site. Our goal is to further dialog between us and our audience to find the best way to continue our musical relationship. If that sounds vague, it’s meant to be, Napster may be listening,” Prince said. Always the crusader. Prince said the reasons behind his virtual ventures lie largely with the music industry’s rapidly deteriorating standards and the upward swing of CD prices. The consumer is getting a whole lot less for a whole lot more. He said, “The people have spoken on this issue. The price of CDs has skyrocketed while the quality of music has plummeted. As long as middle men create the means by which the consumer consumes this

will never change.” The Artist... um we mean Prince ... was one of the first, if not the very first, musician(s) to understand that the Internet is the future of music. But even he could not have envisioned the prominence of such music download sites as Napster and MP3. His Purpleness believes these middle men are digging into the bottom-line. Prince said, “The problem is not a complex one. Let the baker make the bread. I’m a musician, let me make music. The moment someone defines music as content, then we have a problem. “They create distribution systems and who wants to buy one of those? If I want bread I go to the baker, then it will be fresh and handled by as few hands as possible. No need for a middle man there. “To avoid a monopoly on the net why not allow an artist the

freedom to decide. In this new virtual reality why can’t I have my own site and people that want my music just come there. Or do I once again give up my store to the Forrest Gump accountants who say a royalty check is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” * • • • Newsbits The entertainment industry is filled with artists and groups with symbolic names that only the most dedicated fans know the meanings of. We ran into 112 and asked them what their name meant. We thought it was a hotel room number or something. “112 is a club in Atlanta and that’s where we met Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs and he liked us and signed us. Since then, 112 has come to stand for unity, brotherhood, togetherness and it also stands for us; Q, Mike, Slim and Daron.”

Denzel Washington is an actor who has excelled at portraying the African-American male with, dignity and complexity in pllrof his many roles. In his upcoming film, “Remember the Titans,’*' Washington portrays a high school; football coach in Alexandria, Va., who is given the task of molding < a multiracial football team into. * state champions. . - The Disney-produced Aide,is, described by the actor .as.a. dramedy. “When we look back on, the events in the ‘60s and ‘70s (we see) they were powerful eveqts. But when you deal with the individual there’s still everyday human contact. Sometimes that’s ffunny, sometimes that’s very serious.” The Scoop is provided by Elec- ; ironic Urban Report. Visit its Web ' site at www.EURweb.com

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