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Prince Sues to Destroy All Copies of Tribute Album

blog.wired.com — Fifty artists who recorded Prince covers in honor of His Purpleness' 50th birthday June 7 have been slapped with a lawsuit by the short-tempered star. His lawyers now demand that all copies of the tribute be destroyed.

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  • Burento, on 06/25/2008, -10/+347In other news: Metallica and Prince start independent label called "FuKuFans Records".
    • edwartica, on 06/26/2008, -4/+64Why not, neither of them have been relevant since the 90's anyways!
      • Rfriaz, on 06/26/2008, -1/+58And neither of them have been good since the 80's anyways!
        • BlakeEM, on 06/26/2008, -15/+24Prince was good?
        • Mjeacoma, on 06/26/2008, -5/+30Prince was GREAT! which is why this sucks - makes me dislike someone who I consider a talent.
        • mywhitenoise, on 06/26/2008, -3/+16Prince is a douche, but there's no denying that he has talent.
        • expert01, on 06/27/2008, -2/+3Oh, yes there is. He's right up there with Celine Dion and Backstreet Boys in suckiness.
      • FlyingSpaghetti, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2Man, I must have gazed at Appolonia's big pink nipples a millions times when I was a kid back in the 80's. Purple Rain FTW!
        • edwartica, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Not even going to touch that one....
        • hempydave, on 06/27/2008, -1/+2Can't Touch this ...
          da da da da
          Can't touch this




          repeat till no longer necessary.
    • jetblackz4, on 06/26/2008, -3/+12Princeallica
    • unreg, on 06/26/2008, -1/+23Move over Kayne West, theres a bigger prick in town.
      • mywhitenoise, on 06/26/2008, -0/+8Yeah, but at least Prince has the talent to afford his arrogance. Prince is a joke who can write and perform music, Kanye West is just a joke.
    • MechaFalcon, on 06/26/2008, -6/+6Come on, when was the last time Metallica did anything ***** to their fans? They've been more than friendly lately. Cheap shot.
    • ptsuk, on 06/26/2008, -1/+6Its a marketing ploy. Same reason why all of the reality shows on American tv based around dysfunctional characters who are scripted/pushed to confront/conflict each other to generate buzz and sell more copies I'm sure just in a dicky way cause its prince he CAN be.

      From the article:

      When this giveaway first began, there were 5,000 copies of the compilation in circulation. Thanks to Prince's lawsuit and the publicity it will generate, we expect that number to balloon significantly in the coming weeks.

      So all the "rebel middle age adults" will go out and buy the box set just to "burn" Prince and "support" those artists. Which i bet dollars to doughnuts (like what i did there ;) ) that Prince is actually getting his money "on the backend" and now will likely get significantly MORE than the 40,000 grand entitled.

      which in due course he'll drop the lawsuit.
      • PoopStick, on 06/26/2008, -0/+7I'm Going to download it so i can make sure he gets nothing from the deal.
        • FlyingSpaghetti, on 06/26/2008, -0/+5I'm going to download it, burn it to CD, then stomp on the CD until it cracks.

          Take that Prince!
    • jedinate, on 06/26/2008, -4/+3Hilarious !!! It didn't even take one post, before someone had to mention Metallica after reading an article that had nothing to do with them. But your right, I was just thinking about how much they hate their fans, while I was listening to one of the 19 free concerts I downloaded off their website...

      http://www.livemetallica.com/catalog.aspx?doVault= ...
    • thecosmicpope, on 06/27/2008, -0/+2So wait, Prince can cover Radiohead songs and demand them not to be distributed, despite having no right to. But people can't cover Prince songs?
      • papercupped, on 06/27/2008, -1/+0i think we're all agreed....

        Prince is a prissy *****.
  • FuryOfThor, on 06/25/2008, -3/+202Game... Blouses.
    • GoonPowerX, on 06/26/2008, -1/+30And then we all went over to his house and had pancakes.

      Pancakes.
    • khuongsta, on 06/26/2008, -0/+16cant believe its been 4 years :(
    • twiztidsinz, on 06/26/2008, -0/+24Do you guys want some grapes?





      bitches....
    • lis880, on 06/27/2008, -1/+3Prince is an angry lil man
  • sfacets, on 06/26/2008, -22/+165Prince is an idiot. Why do people still listen to him?
    • SeaweedWater, on 06/26/2008, -4/+55Because he knows how to party like it's 1999.

      Oh, wait..
      • schneb, on 06/26/2008, -0/+11"The Onion" came out with a headline in 1999 titled... "Come and Let us Party Like It's Now".
      • Cybrwolf, on 06/27/2008, -0/+3Because I'm an old fart, who happens to still like his music. Despite the fact that he is acting like a complete douche!
        • misguidedmonkey, on 06/27/2008, -2/+0You're a douche for liking his terrible ***** and he's a douche for being a douche. You two should go and make out or something.
    • kiiwii, on 06/26/2008, -15/+71Like him or not, he is a pretty amazing guitar player.
      • humperdeath, on 06/26/2008, -14/+2Think about it. . . Who would want to listen to another band cover Prince songs, when the original will always be so much better?!?!?!? Fans already have all the best albums from the 80's, and the 'uninitiated' should buy these too, rather than listen to some poser trying to imitate one of the best composer/ musicians we have now?
      • kiiwii, on 06/26/2008, -6/+19Anybody burying me must watch this first:

        http://youtube.com/watch?v=D7sT1HRV2qU

        Watch starting from 3:30 in. I dare you to bury me!
        • BrendanSheehan, on 06/26/2008, -0/+9Nice playing, for an *****.
        • theradical, on 06/26/2008, -0/+11Irony of prince playing a tribute song?
        • blahtastic, on 06/26/2008, -5/+2It was good, but somehow I was more amazed at how much of stage hog he was rather than how he played guitar.

          Be more awesome and less showboaty. And less of a douche.
        • jasz, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1oh wow... i had never seen this... i love this version of this song :')
        • chinolofus, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1ok that gave me chills.
        • humperdeath, on 06/27/2008, -3/+1Saw your clip. AWESOME! Anyway, that is not a Prince tribute, that IS Prince. which proves my point. Don't know why I am digg down, I stand by my statement, nobody can match Prince on any instrument (he can play them all) Why listen to a fake when you can listen to the real thing!
        • hempydave, on 06/27/2008, -1/+1Peter Frampton was way more Gay and a better player.
      • mywhitenoise, on 06/26/2008, -2/+6That guy is amazing with all instruments.
      • Seraph, on 06/26/2008, -8/+2Ok I watched the video. I'd say he's a good guitarist, but he is far from amazing. He is a very talented showman, but I definitely wouldn't describe him as amazing in any respect. Well maybe an amazing douchebag.
        • sherbertbones, on 06/26/2008, -3/+5You should just shut up
        • Seraph, on 07/01/2008, -0/+1Why because I have an opinion that you disagree with? I played along and watched the whole video. I don't think he's all that good. Deal with it. If this is how you deal with differences of opinion, then you'll live a sad lonely life.
      • Auryn, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1This is the only worthy cover I've heard of this song

        http://youtube.com/watch?v=O9mEKMz2Pvo
    • ElAssoWipo, on 06/26/2008, -24/+11What makes him an idiot?

      The fact that some douche bags ripped him off for profit and he's suing to get what he is owed, by law?

      That record company is stupid for being a record company that doesn't know how record deals work.
      • wolferz, on 06/26/2008, -1/+16No what makes him an idiot is that hes handling it with an atom bomb instead of diplomacy and pissing his fans off in the process.

        He is justified in wanting to protect his IP rights... legally at least. But he is not justified in going completely ape ***** on them.

        He could have said "look you made a mistake, but we can still work something out... how about you pay me royalties like you owe me and I'll endorse the album to make it more popular?" instead of "MOTHER ***** ***** ***** MOTHER ***** I'LL KILL YOU!"
        • ElAssoWipo, on 06/26/2008, -6/+4They chose the uncivilized route, not him.

          If you steal from me, I have no reason to be polite and nice to you. Do it in my house and I get to kill you. They didn't even try to give him what they owed him and never asked permission to steal his songs and produce an album that is a direct copy of what he does. We're talking covers, not remakes. It's the same exact songs, but performed by unknowns who can't pronounce english words correctly.

          And nobody mentionned the use of prophanities.

          Had they been honest from the start, they would've had the right to cover him, like these dozens of artists have:
          http://home.earthlink.net/~getwild/prince/covers.h ...

          He'd have to be an idiot to not protect his interests. Especially if he's planning to release a similar album in the future.
        • artfiend77, on 06/26/2008, -3/+3If I steal in your house and you kill me you get charged with murder. If I steal from your house and slip and fall on the stairs I *can* sue you.

          You likening this situation to house robbery is exactly the type of extreme mentality the RIAA has and uses when pursuing people in the courts. Well, them and Islamist Fundamentalists....
        • ElAssoWipo, on 06/26/2008, -4/+1Nice. You accuse me of making a false analogy between theft of intellectual property and theft of physical property then equate the RIAA to Islamic fundamentalists.

          And if you steal in my house and I kill you, I get charged with nothing. If my kids are inside, I'll be decorated. And you can sue people for anything, even the color of their hair. Doesn't mean you'll win.

          And the right to property isn't an extreme mentality. Denying it makes you a communist though.
        • BoneheadFarker, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4@ElAssoWipo

          I really don't suggest trying the "kill the burgler" idea, but on most of the US you will be charged. As far as I know, only Texas has the shoot-first/ask-questions-later laws. Denying this makes you a Nazi.

          And that invokes Godwin's Law and completes the unholy trinity of name calling: Islamic Fundamentalist, Communist, Nazi...
        • wolferz, on 06/27/2008, -1/+1@ElAssoWipo

          There is no such thing as theft of intellectual property. You can't take intellectual property away from me and thus you cant steal it. You can INFRINGE on it... but it is impossible to steal it.

          Secondly they didn't intend to do anything wrong. They made a mistake, a stupid retarded ***** mistake, but a mistake none the less. They didn't come into his home and try to take his property. They didn't put him in physical danger. Everything they did shows it as being an attempt to honor him... not hurt him. If some one broke into my house to give me a hug and a kiss and say how much they love me I'd start by being irate but I'd not take them to court or shoot them.

          As for the cursing look up something called dramatization.
        • ElAssoWipo, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1I don't live in the US.

          Castle doctrine.

          "You can't take intellectual property away from me and thus you cant steal it. You can INFRINGE on it... but it is impossible to steal it"


          Theft: the act of taking something from someone unlawfully.

          That ***** about depriving someone of their property was invented for the P2P argument.

          Taking something you have no right to take is called theft.

          And you can't claim "mistake" in court. That Record company cannot claim to not know the law and "forgetting" is not an excuse for anything.

          And you don't produce 80+ songs and a cd box by mistake.

          Also, hate to teach you about your own country but:
          States with a Castle Law (No duty to retreat if in the home)

          * Alaska
          * Colorado (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-1-704.5 Use of deadly physical force against an intruder.)
          * Connecticut
          * Hawaii (Retreat required ouside the home if it can be done in "complete safety.")
          * Maine (Deadly force justified to teminate criminal trespass AND another crime within home; duty to retreat not specifically removed)
          * Maryland See Maryland self-defense (Case-law, not statute, seems to have incorporated the castle-doctrine into Maryland self-defense law).
          * Massachusetts
          * Michigan (more recent law--Act 309 of 2006--does not relieve duty to retreat "unless [deadly force is] necessary to prevent imminent death;" this represents no change from common law, which does not require retreat unless it can be safely done)
          * Missouri (Extends Castle Doctrine to one's vehicle)
          * Ohio (Extends to vehicles of self and immediate family; effective September 8th, 2008. Section 2901.09
          * North Carolina)
          * Rhode Island
          * West Virginia
          * Wyoming
          States with weak Castle Law: duty to retreat not removed, but deadly force may be used to end invason of home without presence of immediate lethal threat

          * Idaho (Homicide is justified if defending a home from "tumultuous" entry; duty to retreat not specifically removed)
          * Illinois (Use of deadly force is justified if defending a home from "tumultuous" entry; duty to retreat not specifically removed)
          * Kansas (§ 21-3212. Use of force in defense of dwelling. A person is justified in the use of force against another when and to the extent that it appears to him and he reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to prevent or terminate such other's unlawful entry into or attack upon his dwelling.)
          * Minnesota (Homicide justified to prevent the commission of a felony in the home)
          * Montana (Deadly force justified to prevent felony in the home).
          * Utah
          * Washington
          States with a Stand-your-ground Law (No duty to retreat anywhere)
          * Alabama
          * Arizona
          * Florida
          * Georgia
          * Indiana
          * Kentucky
          * Louisiana
          * Mississippi (to use reference, select "Code of 1972" and search "retreat")
          * Oklahoma §21-1289.25
          * South Carolina (Persons not "required to needlessly retreat.")
          * Texas
          * Tennessee 2007 Tenn. Pub. Acts Ch. 210 (Amends Tenn. Code. Ann. § 39-11-611)
        • wolferz, on 06/28/2008, -0/+1God you're stupid.

          You don't even know what I said in my comment by the fact that not one part of your comment from beginning to end is even relevant to what I said... much less serving as a rebuttal

          Oh and you're wrong about not being able to claim "mistake" in court... at least in the US.

          And your wrong about the usage of "depriving". It goes back before Napster and has nothing to do with p2p.
      • interbutt, on 06/26/2008, -1/+7Someone missed the part in the article that said no one made a profit.
        • ldkronos, on 06/26/2008, -0/+5Well, you know how notorious record companies are for claiming next to nothing makes a profit.

          It didn't say that gave the record away. It says no one made a profit, but I find it very difficult to believe everyone at every stage of the process only charged enough to cover their material costs and donated all the labor.
      • freezerburn666, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4they were trying to honor him, not steal from him. all these other artists' fans are exposed to prince songs, they are advertising for him.
        • ElAssoWipo, on 06/26/2008, -3/+3"they were trying to honor him, not steal from him."

          By releasing an album without his permission or even knowledge that such an album existed and by screwing him over with the royalties?

          A tribute album doesn't mean an actual tribute to the man. It's just what they called it to excuse the theft.
      • BoneheadFarker, on 06/26/2008, -4/+2FTFA

        "Norway's C+C Records distributed 5,000 of the box sets starting earlier this month, plus digital versions, and claim that no one made any money from the project. As a result, they didn't think they owed Prince anything except maybe a free copy."

        They weren't making money from it. They gave appropriate credits. And it was a tribute album. What's worse is that by suing, they've guarenteed that it will be downloaded. Unless that was their plan, they've really pulled a Streisand on this one...
      • Nitesmoke, on 06/26/2008, -1/+6How much money is Prince, or whatever he calls himself today, making on Little Nikki anyways? Prince is an idiot because young people have no idea who or what Prince is. I'm 28, and I like some of his music. My gf is 22 and some of her friends are around 19. We were hanging out, smoking some reefer a few weeks ago, with me playing songs on my pc. I played Purple Rain, IMO his best song, and I was the only person out of ten who had even heard it before. All the younger people wanted to hear was some moron called "Soilda Boy" (I have no idea how he misspells his name, and I refuse to look it up). If new relevant bands did some covers of his music, a few kids might hear the songs and then want to hear the original. He had nothing to lose. But now his pompous attitude is going to cost him some new fans and probably a few old ones. Thats what makes him an idiot.
        • BoneheadFarker, on 06/26/2008, -0/+11Soulja Boy can eat a dick.
        • ElAssoWipo, on 06/26/2008, -2/+4He's an idiot because he won't prostitute his work into oblivion and decided to keep his artistic integrity, is the argument you just made.

          What if he doesn't care about being knowned to adolescents?

          What if he actually likes his songs? What if he actually cares when people butcher it and put his name on it?
        • Nitesmoke, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2@ElAssoWipo
          "What if he doesn't care about being knowned to adolescents? "
          "Knowned?" wtf?
          Don't tell me the "argument I just made" Every time I see you comment, you get on people's ass, and as always you miss the point.
          If someone makes a tribute album of his songs he isn't prostituting anything. Others are saying how much they appreciate his music by doing it. The only thing that come from it is new fans. I actually liked the Foo Fighters cover of his song "Little Nikki" After hearing it I went out and bought the original song, because frankly, I had forgotten all about it. How is that wrong? Prince is a douche because this type of behavior turns people off. Its like when you watch an awards show and they give an artist an award, but they don't show up.
        • ElAssoWipo, on 06/26/2008, -3/+1"Its like when you watch an awards show and they give an artist an award, but they don't show up."

          Actually, it's like making up an award show, never calling the nominees, taking their trophy and selling it, claiming it's yours.

          Actually that doesn't even work. It's like stealing a trophy someone got, making up an award show and giving that trophy to yourself, in honor of the guy you stole it from, without ever telling him about it.
        • BoneheadFarker, on 06/27/2008, -1/+2@ElAssoWipo

          Ok, lets put it this way:

          Do you realise how many musicians take songs, rework them, and resell them as their own? Rap and hip hop were almost entirely built on other people's music at one point. And people have been raiding classical music for years. There are more versions of Pachebel's Canon out there then you can shake a stick at, and hardly any of them give credit to Pachebel. But I guess that's OK since he's been dead for more then 70 years...

          Bottom line is that music, like everything else up until the last 100 year or so, was meant to be passed on and changed. It's the nature of humans...take something and try to improve on it. If you don't want anyone ***** with your music, there's only one way to guarentee it: keep your music to yourself. But then no one would ever hear it, so what's the point?
        • ElAssoWipo, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1"music, like everything else up until the last 100 year or so, was meant to be passed on and changed."

          You're making up morality to justify yourself.

          'Music" is a very broad term. Prince's songs, which he owns and nobody else owns, are not meant to be passed on and changed.

          And music is no meant anything. It's a series of sounds put to together in harmony. That's the only true thing you can say about music in general. Anything else is your opinion, not fact.

          And I hate to sound like your grandpa, but if everybody jumps off a bridge, would you do it?

          The fact that many people do something doesn't give it any value and certainly doesn't make it correct, moral or ethical. And appeal to popularity is a logical fallacy.

          And comparing the use of creative commons of people who have been dead for nearly 400 years to a living musician who still owns his music is absolutely ridiculous.

          YOU DON'T GET TO HAVE AN OPINION ON OTHER PEOPLE'S PROPERTY.

          And Prince, although I think he sucks, has INTEGRITY. I admire that more than his music.

          And the many musicians who take songs ask for permission to perform them for profit or to record them when the LEGAL OWNER of the songs is alive.

          "If you don't want anyone ***** with your music"
          You use the law and sue the idiots who do.

          That's like saying you should own nothing to avoid theft.
    • dpcamp, on 06/26/2008, -0/+21because your douchmanship and musicianship don't necessarily have to coincide with one another
    • minorthreat, on 06/26/2008, -11/+5his music sucks.. I think they should all be destroyed as well. The last CD I want someone to put in at a party is "81 tribute prince songs"
      • sherbertbones, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2Prince>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Minor Threat, its true
    • sinurgy, on 06/26/2008, -1/+10He's a very talented idiot but he sure is turning into an old curmudgeon. He's definitely headed down the "get off my lawn" route in life.
    • Iztikeit, on 06/26/2008, -2/+1He isn't an idiot, he's just very peculiar and particular. He's not your normal person, that's for sure.
    • blackdude, on 06/27/2008, -0/+3And you didn't read the article. As samard2002 sums it up below:

      'They are selling the CD set for 300,000kr or $60 US on their site and it hit #8 on the charts. Someone is making money. And the company doesn't want to pay 10 cents per song to the guy who wrote and composed all the music on their album? That they used without permission? And are marketing under his name?

      If any of you think Prince is out of line for telling this company to go to hell, you people have sincerely lost all touch with reality.

      Jesus, the digital only download of the album is $40 and they don't allow single track downloads! Don't tell me no one got paid from this. What a bunch of thieves.'

      Get informed for ***** sake, the article's right there. Even if you don't like Prince, that is rediculous.
  • Rapter09, on 06/26/2008, -3/+87"Norway's C+C Records distributed 5,000 of the box sets starting earlier this month, plus digital versions, and claim that no one made any money from the project. As a result, they didn't think they owed Prince anything except maybe a free copy."

    He's almost justified. That was a very idiotic move on C+C Record's part. As *record label* you should have accountability that goes way beyond if this was just some kid who made a mix tape. But still, Prince sucks.
    • Betaflame, on 06/26/2008, -0/+13They were cover's of his songs, not recordings of him. If he's claiming the rights over his cover of other band's songs why can't someone do the same to him?
      • Albear89, on 06/26/2008, -1/+42Didn't he cover Radaiohead's Creep - really really badly?


        • CanadianRealist, on 06/26/2008, -0/+9According the the Digg story on this, even Radiohead wasn't able to see it.

          http://digg.com/music/Radiohead_to_Prince_Unblock_ ...

          Want to claim complete control of your cover of someone else's song?
          Well, now that you've set the precedent, sit down and STFU Prince. LOL
        • tayl0124, on 06/26/2008, -1/+6But did he pay for the licensing??? That is what this is all about!!
        • blahtastic, on 06/26/2008, -1/+5http://youtube.com/watch?v=54GtS3FvgXU

          Yes. This cover is the strongest argument one could make that there is no god. Or at least no music god. Second is Soulja Boy.
        • mikedaul, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Royalties for cover songs played at musical venues are usually covered by the venue's BMI / ASCAP / SESAC licenses. This is how bands can play cover songs at bars and whatnot.
      • enri, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3A musician usually owns the rights to their music (think sheet music) and lyrics. The record company owns the rights to an album recording (that instance of the musician playing the music and singing the lyrics for the album).

        It doesn't matter if you make a profit or not. The musician decides who can perform their music and lyrics. The record company decides who can redistribute their recording. That's how the copyright law works. Don't like it, write your congressmen.
    • jsully, on 06/26/2008, -1/+5If nobody made any money off of it may constitute fair use in Norway.
      • jerrycurley, on 06/26/2008, -0/+0Yeah...Prince probably never even THOUGHT of that!
    • samard2002, on 06/26/2008, -1/+39They are selling the CD set for 300,000kr or $60 US on their site and it hit #8 on the charts. Someone is making money. And the company doesn't want to pay 10 cents per song to the guy who wrote and composed all the music on their album? That they used without permission? And are marketing under his name?

      If any of you think Prince is out of line for telling this company to go to hell, you people have sincerely lost all touch with reality.

      Jesus, the digital only download of the album is $40 and they don't allow single track downloads! Don't tell me no one got paid from this. What a bunch of thieves.
      • writie, on 06/26/2008, -0/+4True. Whether they make a profit or not is irrelevant. They are a record company. They should know what rights are due.
    • flashingcurser, on 06/26/2008, -1/+2Prince could have handled this much better. He could have asked for a small fee or been really cool and found it flattering. 5000 copies, after all, isn't exactly going to put him in the poor house.
      • illegalcortex, on 06/26/2008, -0/+4He did ask for a small fee, implicitly. If you read the article, you would know that the law states anyone can make a cover without permission, they just have to pay 10 cents per song to the original artist. They didn't pay him. It's not about whether he liked it or not, it's about yet another label dicking him over.
      • elliam, on 06/26/2008, -2/+1How would it have any effect on Prince's wealth? Give your head a shake.
        • jerrycurley, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1So it is OK to steal from the rich, *****?
    • rockphotog, on 06/26/2008, -2/+1All the earned money are going to charity.
      • samard2002, on 06/26/2008, -0/+8Any time someone says "we're not making money" or "it's going to charity", they better be ready to open their books. I can pay myself $250,000 as a salaried producer and then say that the project didn't turn a profit. No why it didn't? We had a $250,000 producer.
      • solid12345, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2Right and Jim Bakker said that too before he went to prison.
    • innocentsinner, on 06/26/2008, -0/+6I always thought C+C was considered a Music Factory rather than a record label.
      • DCJoeDogaswell, on 06/27/2008, -0/+3You get a well-deserved digg, my friend. good on you.
      • shadeOfGrey, on 06/27/2008, -0/+2That certainly make me go hmmm...
    • gn0stik, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Guaranteed to be leaked.
  • TexasCanuck, on 06/26/2008, -11/+24Last time I listened to this douche, willingly, was when he did the theme-song to the batman movie... He's gone downhill since.
    • stretch611, on 06/26/2008, -3/+2The fact he is going downhill means that at one point he had to go uphill. IMHO, think never happened.
      • misguidedmonkey, on 06/27/2008, -1/+0I would totally ***** in his mouth if I could. He needs to ***** die.
    • KillsTheWeak, on 06/26/2008, -1/+0Actually he did a few songs on the Batman movie. The Batdance video was quite entertaining.
  • protogenxl, on 06/26/2008, -5/+83This is NOT the greatest song in world this is a Tribute.
    • dafragsta, on 06/26/2008, -2/+5And it saved our butts.
    • chrgrose, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1IT WAS THE GREATEST SONG IN THE WORLD!!!
      • Optiks, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1But on that fateful night, it didn't sound anything like this song.
    • apextek, on 06/26/2008, -2/+1when people stopped buying his crappy ***** because they could find a symbol in the record store.
    • FlyingSpaghetti, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3Watch out for that shiny demon!
  • rald84, on 06/26/2008, -4/+28when did he change his name from (crazy ass symbol) back to Prince?
    • eNyoron, on 06/26/2008, -0/+22He's the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince.
      • apothekari, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2He's the artist formerly known as the artist formerly known as Relevant.
        • misguidedmonkey, on 06/27/2008, -1/+0That's exactly why he needs to die. I wouldn't ***** his pussy with your dick.
    • Scrappy1850, on 06/26/2008, -0/+7when he got out of the record contract he wanted to sabatoge by making up a rediculous name.
    • unluckier, on 06/26/2008, -0/+11When his contract with Warner Brothers expired.
    • iet2004, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1because no one can pronounce a symbol unless it stands for "symbol". stupidity i tell you.
    • twiztidsinz, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2I thought he lost the rights to the name Prince because he signed a stupid contract and then eventually bought the name "Prince" back..

      But really the important question is... Who the ***** cares? it's Prince....
    • Chairboy, on 06/26/2008, -0/+4When the banks wouldn't cash checks made out to (swirly pictogram).
    • laurasmith76, on 06/26/2008, -2/+10No, it was a stroke of brilliance. Prince was stuck in his WB record label and could not record under the name "Prince." By choosing a symbol instead of a name, everyone was forced to say "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince." It was basically a scam. People still called him Prince. Nobody adopted the symbol and he was able to resume being Prince pretty easily. If he'd picked a name like "Strawberry Jam," it might have stuck and there would have been brand confusion. This way was better. He may be a douchebag, but he's a smarty-pants douchebag...I'll give him that.
      • FlyingSpaghetti, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3So close! You had my digg until the "smarty-pants" part.

        -1 digg
  • Ultra200, on 06/26/2008, -22/+64prince SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • edwartica, on 06/26/2008, -2/+14yeah, I'm sure he does actually.
    • stonebear, on 06/26/2008, -0/+4Being 4 feet tall kind of lends itself to that.
    • sherbertbones, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1This is also the same guy who said gay marriage is wrong...so take what he says with a grain of salt
      • stretch611, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3While I normally do not agree with Homophobes, I do agree with him saying prince sucks.
      • Ultra200, on 06/30/2008, -0/+1GAY SEX IS WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • finista, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4WE DO IT LIVE!
  • KingVegas702, on 06/26/2008, -19/+4His name is not prince its.... (insert sign here)
    • SkippyDoorknob, on 06/26/2008, -0/+11He went back to "Prince" many years ago.
      • RudeTurnip, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2fyi, his actual, first name by birth is "Prince."
  • Oubipaws, on 06/26/2008, -2/+30I do believe that the record company made a huge mistake not just paying him up front, but he is still a giant douche for causing all this drama.
    • edwartica, on 06/26/2008, -3/+2Well, I've always said he was a pantywaste, so calling him a douche....
  • jeffh992, on 06/26/2008, -3/+100The Tribute CD formerly honoring Prince
    • CannedMango, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1First Prize!
    • drgirlfriend, on 06/26/2008, -0/+8The CD Formerly Known as The Tribute To The Artist Formerly Known as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.
    • Fubarepublic, on 06/27/2008, -0/+0How can he claim copyright if he is no longer the person the music is about?

      I mean if you change who you are you can't say I am who I was yet I am who I am now...

      Musicians and fame....***** skitzo...
  • Hercules, on 06/26/2008, -4/+53Men of his stature are in 'short' supply :)
    • greenlight2001, on 06/26/2008, -0/+19He sure does has a very 'short' temper.
      • freezerburn666, on 06/26/2008, -3/+16hes got a small dick
        • nmnnotmyname, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2I can't help but mention how perfect that was.
    • sockpuppets, on 06/26/2008, -1/+14If I ever open a chocolate factory he'll be the first one I ask to work for me.
    • alvination, on 06/26/2008, -4/+1***** YOU. Short people are people too!
    • wetterberg, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1I don't know man, there are those who think "little" of him...
  • musicmanryan, on 06/26/2008, -4/+68Prince was a pioneer in Deep V-neck t-shirt wearing.
  • RizenBB, on 06/26/2008, -7/+52They actually had 5,000 people to distribute copies to?
  • 9mmCensor, on 06/26/2008, -8/+44***** prince and his legal *****. put this on BT ASAP.
  • malechite, on 06/26/2008, -9/+17***** Prince.

    Not that i like Prince at all, but what better way to say thank you to the other artists who like his music and decide to make a tribute album than to sue.
  • neio, on 06/26/2008, -8/+27Douchebag.
    That is all.
    • BrendanSheehan, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1That is all? Now you're mixing him up with my hero! ;)
    • mercurialsaliva, on 06/27/2008, -0/+1The word is GAY!
  • jbrand45, on 06/26/2008, -9/+16Hey, Prince . . . greedy much?
    • BNash577, on 06/26/2008, -2/+4Didn't he release an album for free in the newspaper or something?
      • BNash577, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1Why are people digging this guy down? Prince released his album "Planet Earth" for free in the UK. It was in "The Mail" Sunday edition on July 15th!
  • polaris23, on 06/26/2008, -7/+17what an ass!
  • OC73, on 06/26/2008, -6/+12Well, he always danced like he had a stick up his ass, so this only makes sense.
  • troopa, on 06/26/2008, -5/+50"slapped with a lawsuit by the short-tempered star."

    SHORT-tempered. Hahah! We are making fun of your height!!
  • kidjay, on 06/26/2008, -7/+26what a ***** douchebag.
  • cscalfani, on 06/26/2008, -6/+11Does he have a short temper or does he have a temper and happen to be short?
  • edwartica, on 06/26/2008, -7/+8Makes me wish I was a Prince fan so I could obtain this album and make a couple hundred copies - plus torrent it out.
  • klint, on 06/26/2008, -8/+28Where's the torrent? Somebody leak it! I hate Prince, but I'd download it just to spite him.
    • Lythium, on 06/26/2008, -0/+7The same thing apparently occurred to the author of the article: "When this giveaway first began, there were 5,000 copies of the compilation in circulation. Thanks to Prince's lawsuit and the publicity it will generate, we expect that number to balloon significantly in the coming weeks."
  • DroppedGT, on 06/26/2008, -10/+2Prince can slam dunk!

    http://www.imeem.com/people/It0-Hw//video/ZeUfszmn ...
  • Iaianrocks, on 06/26/2008, -6/+7Holy ***** Prince is 50 !! Damn he is old .... Wonder if he can still do the no handed dunk. (charlie murphy)
  • bstolzberg, on 06/26/2008, -5/+8Dear Prince, since you are such a whiney pussy I will never ever buy any of your work or support your projects. You f'n crybaby.
    • apextek, on 06/26/2008, -0/+2... and I support the downloading of all your great songs just so everyone can enjoy them and your pussy ass doesn't get a dime :)
  • galvo, on 06/26/2008, -4/+7Pretentious musicians FTL!
  • DanteDefiance, on 06/26/2008, -4/+14Why is Prince being such a penis face?
    • apextek, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1its hard to not be when your born with a penis on your face
  • opensourcer, on 06/26/2008, -7/+1These artists need to learn to duck and cover when the Highest is in town. He might PFUnk them up.
  • TaneshaR, on 06/26/2008, -6/+0What a B***!
  • thorspower, on 06/26/2008, -7/+3This is when the album should get leaded out to the internets that way it will live on forever forever f-o-r-ever f-o-r-e-v-e-r.
  • Snafu7, on 06/26/2008, -7/+4Well, Prince is pretty much a douche bag.
  • briLo, on 06/26/2008, -5/+4Is there an unknown competition going on lately between has been artists who feel compelled to get fans to hate them???
    Once you think Metallica ha it in the bag, somebody else pops up to take the lead.....
  • getatmedigg, on 06/26/2008, -5/+16Torrent pls!
  • Foamed, on 06/26/2008, -9/+42………………..,-~*’`¯lllllll`*~,
    …………..,-~*`lllllllllllllllllllllllllll¯`*-,
    ………,-~*llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll*-,
    ……,-*llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll.
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    …..lllllllllllllllllllllllllll/………;;;;llllllllllll,-`~-,
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    …….llllllllllll,-~*…………………)_-..*`*;..)
    ……..,-*`¯,*`)…………,-~*`~.………….../
    ……...|/.../…/~,…...-~*,-~*`;……………./.
    ……../.../…/…/..,-,..*~,.`*~*…………….*...
    …….|.../…/…/.*`......……………………)….)¯`~,
    …….|./…/…./…….)……,.)`*~-,……….../….|..)…`~-,
    ……/./.../…,*`-,…..`-,…*`….,---…...…./…../..|……...¯```*~-
    …...(……….)`*~-,….`*`.,-~*.,-*……|…/.…/…/…………
    …….*-,…….`*-,...`~,..``.,,,-*……….|.,*...,*…|…...
    ……….*,………`-,…)-,…………..,-*`...,-*….(`-,…

    *sigh* Some people just don't get it. It's a damn tribute album. A tribute to him!
    • ventralnet, on 06/26/2008, -4/+3is that a wheel of cheese
    • SpectreFire, on 06/26/2008, -1/+13Sick ailing cancer orphan kids: Happy birthday Prince! We pooled all of our medicine money together to buy you this cake with your face on it!

      Prince: ***** you bitches! No one uses my face on a product and gets away with it! I'm gonna sue your tiny asses!
  • langdonalger, on 06/26/2008, -13/+13prince is awesome.
    • sherbertbones, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1He sure is, despite his lame attempts to secure his music. People need to separate the music from the man!
  • Revolutionista, on 06/26/2008, -5/+10What a self-involved douche.
  • rootsm3, on 06/26/2008, -8/+7Isn't this a good thing? Who wants to hear his music?
    • madk, on 06/26/2008, -4/+6Prince is actually one of most talented guitarist in the world.
      • cklein121, on 06/26/2008, -4/+2Yeah.. maybe behind Clapton and Hendrix and Allman and Berry and B.B. King and Page and SRV and Garcia and Diddley and... ok, Prince sucks.
      • xEn1gma, on 06/26/2008, -4/+0This guy serious?

        Haha, yeah, a real shredder.
      • madk, on 06/27/2008, -0/+2Neither of you have any clue. Do a quick YouTube search and be enlightened.

        Here is a good one from the George Harrison tribute show:
        http://youtube.com/watch?v=D7sT1HRV2qU

        Check him out at about 3:30
    • MillionsLivio, on 06/26/2008, -1/+4I love Prince's music, even his weird personality, I just dislike this ***** he's been pulling lately. I find it kind of hypocritical he released his last CD "for free" in a newspaper, yet goes insane when people download his music or make a tribute album to him.
    • digitul, on 06/26/2008, -3/+2im positive he's more famous and has more talent than your favorite musician
  • iambiguous, on 06/26/2008, -6/+1So, do you think he's trying to control his future image at the sake of his current one? What positives could he possibly get from banning tributes? (Even if the tributes are terrible!)

    ex - Tool, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin have tributes and a lot of them are badass. Anyone heard the String Tribute to Tool? ...Amazing.

    He's either a dumbass or brilliant.
    • dougmc, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Can't he be both? At the same time?
      • iambiguous, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1He's proving it to be the case, now isn't he?
  • chamblah, on 06/26/2008, -5/+2and no torrent anywhere that i can find
  • ZeroVector, on 06/26/2008, -3/+4Ah turning more fans away. Not very smart.
  • freezerburn666, on 06/26/2008, -12/+3there's a reason why purple is the official colour for gay. u all remember the telly tuby incident....
    • MillionsLivio, on 06/26/2008, -0/+3The Joker loves purple, thus your argument is flawed.
      • com2, on 06/26/2008, -3/+3the joker is gay too. There now the theory works.
  • Goldbricker, on 06/26/2008, -2/+34I know it's much easier to just trash the guy, but I agree with him. They put this together with the idea of cashing in on his name and didn't even cut him in as is mandated. I don't accept their explanation that they didn't think they had to pay him anything. Anyone that is in the music industry enough to get a CD produced with 50 artists would be savvy enough to understand that there is some potential for legal trouble.
    • thescimitar, on 06/26/2008, -4/+3I have a feeling that I could get fifty random bands to cover one Prince song each in nyc, record it in a friend's loft, then get 5k cds made, and self distribute them, and I bet I could do it for under 5k in investment.

      I have no sympathy for Prince here, or rather, his legal team. This could very well be a bunch of people that are just enthusiastic about Prince, making "tribute" recordings on mediocre equipment that they finance themselves.

      It may not be so, but it's completely possible. 5000 cds is not many at all.
      • Goldbricker, on 06/26/2008, -0/+4And the moment you decide you want to offer it for sale you better be prepared for Prince's attorneys to rightfully come down on your ass. I'm no fan of big corporations, but right is right. You can't make money off of someone else's work without paying the price.
    • tayl0124, on 06/26/2008, -1/+6Does anyone know a single person that would bring together this many artists, record, mix and so on, plus have 5000 Cd's made, and distribute them for no money?? I don't think so. Unless everyone involved is doing it for free. than I would say that someone is making money. Even if they are recouping the costs of production. (IE paying the sound engineer.)
  • WiretapStudios, on 06/26/2008, -1/+6With all the RIAA and music lawsuits going around these days, they should have known better. That aside, that is one strange little man.
  • Frumbler, on 06/26/2008, -4/+12So if I use cover songs from a bunch of famous artists and then call it a "tribute" I don't have to pay them any money? I don't even have to ask them? All of you calling Prince an idiot seem to be implying this.
    • nesagwa, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1Prince did the same with covers he did in concert and Youtube videos of said covers.

      Does Prince own the rights to the songs he covered without permission now?
      • ricker2005, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1He actually didn't do the same thing. There's been a distinction for a very long time between live material and recorded material. And the distinction is that under fair use you can cover other artists' material live without their permission and without paying royalties. You can't do the same thing for an album, tribute or otherwise.

        To summarize, Prince is a douche regardless and the guys who set up this record are idiots.
  • Daggity, on 06/26/2008, -5/+29Not even Prince wants people listening to his music!
  • madk, on 06/26/2008, -1/+18I'm torn on this one. The recent douchebagery of Prince almost forces me to hate this move no matter what. But in reality a company produced and sold a cover album without paying any royalties.
    • max420, on 06/26/2008, -3/+2Yeah, but they are giving the thing away, so who cares.
    • sfacets, on 06/26/2008, -1/+1So what? After what Prince did last time, you'd think he would need some tribute. The internet already hates him.
  • unluckier, on 06/26/2008, -4/+7Prince covered Radiohead, and then had any of the videos removed from Youtube.
    http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/30/music. ...
    What an idiot.
    • tayl0124, on 06/26/2008, -0/+1Is there maybe a law that states the he can cover a song live? But maybe he knew that he couldn't record it and distribute it, and that is why he pulled the plug on people getting it out there.
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