Can someone explain the incredible complicated world of Prince's labels and albums and related hoo haa?

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Or point me to a site that explains most of it. Especially as it relates to them not getting remastered/etc.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:09 (twenty years ago)

he was on warners up thru chaos and disorder, some of that time on the paisley park imprint but still warner. everything afterwards i'm pretty sure he owns the masters though some were released thru majors - emancipation was emi maybe? rave un2 the gwen stefani one of the clive davis labels, musicology i'd guess got major distribution too. circa the slave days he made a big deal of looking toward ani difranco as a model and afterwards claimed he was making more off his new ones than off of purple rain, etc. (i might buy that if he means 'purple rain royalties that year' but circa 84 color me skeptical). as for the various sideprojects, vanity 6's, etc i'd guess they were all on warners if only cuz labels can get freaky about their artists just doing a guitar solo for another label and prince is obv all over them things (obv a trip to allmusic could tell me but i'm too lazy).

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:20 (twenty years ago)

I think it's pretty simple: He was on WB from '78 forward and then in '92 signed a pseudo-mega-contract that would net him $100 mil for selling 5 million of something like five albums. That didn't happen. He decided he hated the contract and began writing "slave" on his face and changing his name to get out of it, which he did in '96. He's still annoyed w/WB because they own his masters and isn't especially cooperative w/them, so the deluxe remasters w/bonus stuff that his catalog needs/deserves more than anyone else's won't be happening until he cools down or they hand over the tapes, the latter of which probably ain't gonna happen in my lifetime.

haha xpost

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:25 (twenty years ago)

dling might've killed alot of the market for this and maybe prince doesn't like having to compete with his past (cf dylan supposedly letting the bootleg series do frequent releases, no direction home, etc due to time out of mind/love and theft doing well enough critically/commercially that they wouldn't be overwhelmed by finally putting out live 66, etc), but i've always wished he would release some old shows officially.

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:26 (twenty years ago)

post-WB:

Emancipation EMI
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic Arista
Musicology Capitol
next album Universal

everything else: indie/self-released/internet-only

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:26 (twenty years ago)

in a nutshell

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:27 (twenty years ago)

my dream is of a Sign 'O' the Times deluxe Rhino Handmade box-set w/the movie on DVD, Dream Factory, Crystal Ball, Camille, Madhouse, the 12-inch remixes, the First Avenue reheasral show, a CD of the movie soundtrack, 2CD live-show best-of, and a deluxe book.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:29 (twenty years ago)

ultrasad moment prompted by instant karma: i'm in a starbucks (i hate the company but i was a complete bitch to them gingerbread lattes) and i see some sly stone thing i've never seen before and i think 'o man! this is one of them starbucks exclusives things and it's a sly stone live disc o man o man!', only it's a fucking tribute album GAH.

xpost - GOD YES!!!

― j blount (papa la bas), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:29 (twenty years ago)

I'd pay $300 for it. Seriously.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:31 (twenty years ago)

Yeah why hasn't the Sly Stone stuff been remasted either?!?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:32 (twenty years ago)

I think it's being remastered. They did the first couple albums a while back and that 2CD comp was remastered too. It's hopefully a matter of time for Riot and Fresh.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:34 (twenty years ago)

Actually there seems to be an IMPORT digipacked remaster of Riot. Has anyone heard that?

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 22:37 (twenty years ago)

Musicology was put out by Columbia, not Capitol.

― Aaron St. John (StJohn), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 23:08 (twenty years ago)

i have an import digipack of riot but ill be damned if its remastered

― howell huser (chaki), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 23:11 (twenty years ago)

Musicology was put out by Columbia, not Capitol.

quite correct, thanks for catching

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 24 January 2006 23:22 (twenty years ago)

"my dream is of a Sign 'O' the Times deluxe Rhino Handmade box-set w/the movie on DVD, Dream Factory, Crystal Ball, Camille, Madhouse, the 12-inch remixes, the First Avenue reheasral show, a CD of the movie soundtrack, 2CD live-show best-of, and a deluxe book"

oh sweet jesus yes

― Brian Jones (Brian Jones), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 01:18 (twenty years ago)

Musicology was put out by Columbia, not Capitol.

thus giving him five majors in his career.

WEA, CEMA, BMG, SONY, UNI.

has anyone else matched that? can any artist add POLYGRAM/PGD to that for a perfect six?

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 06:57 (twenty years ago)

I think it's being remastered. They did the first couple albums a while back and that 2CD comp was remastered too. It's hopefully a matter of time for Riot and Fresh.

-- Matos-Webster Dictionary (michaelangelomato...), January 24th, 2006.

No, I think only the 2CD comp was remastered; not any of his albums proper. It would be awesome to see (at the very least) Stand!, There's A Riot Goin' On and Fresh get the reissue treatment.

Here's one of the Amazon reviews for that Sony digipack reissue of There's A Riot Goin' On:

"I don't believe this version is remastered, just reissued and repackaged with the original stars & stripes front cover. There is no indication anywhere that this cd was remastered at all, and that is also clearly evident when listening to it. The production is very muddled and narcotic sounding, which is no doubt somewhat intentional, but also something that needs to be cleared up a little to meet with todays sonic standards for sound."

Stand! was reissued by Sony as well. Amazon says "Original Recording Remastered" on the pages for both of 'em, but I don't trust it. How's the sound quality of your copy of There's A Riot Goin' On, howell?

― Mama Roux, Wednesday, 25 January 2006 08:08 (twenty years ago)

Are you sure? I thought they had to have remastered A Whole New Thing, Dance to the Music, and Life, since I didn't think they'd appeared on CD prior to 2000. I could be wrong, obv.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 21:25 (twenty years ago)

ALEX started a Prince thread?!

― phantasy bear (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 25 January 2006 21:29 (twenty years ago)

So when I tell people that I only love the albums before the Batman soundtrack, tell look at me like why are you such a hater? I say man, there is no other artist who has 10 fucking albums that I love!

― Brian Jones (Brian Jones), Thursday, 26 January 2006 07:44 (twenty years ago)

The sound quality on mine is shitty.

― howell huser (chaki), Thursday, 26 January 2006 07:51 (twenty years ago)

It is not remastered like for serious.

― howell huser (chaki), Thursday, 26 January 2006 07:51 (twenty years ago)

Brian: Not even Stevie?

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Thursday, 26 January 2006 07:55 (twenty years ago)

that's crazy man, I just listened to half of Songs in the Key tonight!

― Brian Jones (Brian Jones), Thursday, 26 January 2006 08:30 (twenty years ago)

The sound quality on mine is shitty.
...
It is not remastered like for serious.

-- howell huser (chaki.tim...), January 26th, 2006.

Aw, hell. :(

― Mama Roux, Thursday, 26 January 2006 09:42 (twenty years ago)

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