Tom Doyle :: TALK

The artist formerly known as Prince is planning to give away his much anticipated new album “Planet Earth” FREE (yes free!) with The Mail on Sunday.

What seems like another outrageous (but courteous) gesture from Prince is an obvious backlash at the record companies that controlled him for so long. However, I’m disappointed with the music industry’s response.

In a response to Prince’s publicity stunt, Entertainment Retailers Association spokesman Paul Quirk said, “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince should know that with behavior like this he will soon be the Artist Formerly Available in Record Stores. And I say that to all the other artists who may be tempted to dally with the Mail on Sunday.” He went on to say that it would be an insult to record stores if this goes ahead.

How rich is that? The guys that wouldn’t be around without people like Prince think that they own the artist and can tell them what they can and can’t do…..

Personally, I think Prince is just cheaping himself by doing this, but hey, he has try anything to get people interested in him again!!