Because fans outside the UK also want a copy of it

Jul 13, 2010 13:26 GMT  ·  By
Prince’s new album “20TEN” is free with newspapers, sparks bidding frenzy on the Internet
   Prince’s new album “20TEN” is free with newspapers, sparks bidding frenzy on the Internet

Prince has a new album out, one that he chose to name “20TEN” out of a belief that 2010 will prove to be a year that “matters.” Going against the trends and, some say, to some extent fighting progress, the singer has decided to release the album only with copies of a British newspaper, which virtually means that fans outside the UK have no chance of getting it. Unless, of course, the downloaded off the Internet – the same Internet that Prince was saying was dead.

In a recent interview with the Daily Mirror, the newspaper carrying free copies of the “20TEN” album, the rocker said that he believed the Internet to be just a trend – and one that was nearly dying, while we’re at it. He even compared it to MTV, which proved to be a stepping stone for the music industry, but which soon lost touch with the fanbase and steered towards reality television from music videos. Ironically enough, there’s a bidding frenzy for Prince’s new album on this non-existent Internet, Contact Music informs.

“Prince may regret his decision to give away his new album for free with British newspapers – entrepreneurial readers are selling copies online for more than $20 (£13.30). The Purple Rain hitmaker struck a deal with the UK’s Daily Mirror and Daily Record to hand out his new disc 20TEN with copies of the newspapers on Saturday (10Jul10). He insisted it was the right move as it would circumvent internet piracy and would cause him ‘no stress’,” Contact Music writes.

Precisely the contrary occurred. “But the singer might already be ruing his decision – hundreds of copies of the CD have gone onsale on various websites, attracting bids of more than $20. One star who won’t be bidding on the record is Sir Elton John – the Daily Mirror reports he ordered five copies of the paper to be sent to his home by courier on Saturday to ensure he got hold of the album,” the same publication informs.

Aside from helping him fight online piracy, this way of distributing his brand new album was also meant to be an innovative way of having his music reach the fans. Ironically enough, in 1997, Prince was honored with a Webby Lifetime Achievement Award for, among other things, being the first artist to release a full-length album exclusively on the Internet.

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