From what I understand, things have been a little off-kilter in the Prince community as of late, in regards to infringement threats. I know it started w the treatment of the PR/First Ave tribute vid (which disappointed me greatly), but it has since grown. Here’s my take...
I could talk for 7 hours about my full thoughts on the situation, but the short answer is: it’s complicated. Lol. Posthumous tributes to him, where no one is selling music/videos/movies illegally should be acceptable. Even if you think HE would’ve had it taken down. Here’s why...
He was an enigma. His opinions evolved throughout life (which is healthy/normal) & he often seemed like a walking contradiction (he wholeheartedly projected the epitome of that alterego/2 side/Gemini life).
He didn’t like artists covering his music, but he loved what Princess was doing (rightfully so, because they’re AMAZING).
He didn’t want fans selling bootlegs, but he collected bootlegs of other artists & came around to admitting that he didn’t mind FREEsharing later in life.
He didn’t want fans selling bootlegs, but he collected bootlegs of other artists & came around to admitting that he didn’t mind FREEsharing later in life.
He spent countless hours storing thousands of recordings & videos in the vault, but then said it wasn’t really up to him what happened to them when he passed.
He disliked others performing his songs in concert, but then performed many other artists’ songs in concert.
He disliked others performing his songs in concert, but then performed many other artists’ songs in concert.
He fought tooth & nail over rights to his art, but then (allegedly) didn’t have a will to present what he wanted to do with said art after he departed from this plane.
This is why, I actually believe that he looked at his mission on Earth like this: he KNEW he was born gifted & in turn, he gifted the world w his lessons, his conversations w fam/friends/mentees/young artists & most of all; the joy & strength that his music delivered to so many.
But I truly feel like he wasn’t concerned with rights & financial details (which unfortunately leads to family battles & court cases more often than not), after he reached The Dawn.
He wasn’t married at the time of passing & didn’t have a living child, so I feel he just wanted to transition & be at peace; with the hopes that others would remember him & his words & his music.
If he was still present on this plane, he might still be complaining about YouTube and streaming services and compulsory licensing. But he came around to Tidal later on in life & therefore, might’ve come around on more. We’ll never know.
It sounds insane I know, but I honestly feel like he floated on to the next dimension (which can mean a plethora of difft things depending on your religion/spirituality), without a care in the world about cease & desist letters. They are just a worldly tool & he is otherworldly.
So what does this mean for the estate? For one, they shouldn’t be harrassing fams. For THEY are the ones who will uphold the legacy, NOT the lawyers complaining about avatars, screennames & social media tributes.
I know firsthand how complicated the social media/copyright debate can get. I’ve been in the actual meetings at record labels where this topic is discussed & I’ve voiced my opinion, hoping to enact change for the future. But I’m not naive, and I know how it’s done.
Labels/pub companies have employees whose sole job is to follow algorithmic results that target any & everyone that posts “their” content. Emotion, logic & reason is not part of the process. This is how posts like the First Ave/PR fan tribute get taken down.
It’s a shortsighted practice that I believe doesn’t dig deep enough into the usage of each post. Is it educational? Is the poster making money off it? Is it slanderous? If not, *I* personally think it should be left alone.
Social media is how we communicate nowadays. Sending your friends & followers vids, clips, playlists, memes & gifs is the 2018 version of “come over my house, I wanna show you this new video...”.
Technically, was anyone ever supposed to be recording off the radio? Or making personalized mixtapes to distribute to a new boyfriend? Or copying music vids off MTV onto a blank VHS to pass along to friends at school? No. But it was an accepted (& necessary) practice.
This is why I feel that policies NEED to be updated as it pertains to the sharing of pop culture on social media platforms. It should always be illegal to sell someone else’s product without a license. You can’t copy & sell concerts, albums, photos, etc. without a license.
But posting an abbreviated clip to discuss w your people honestly doesn’t hurt anyone. If anything, it helps. It’s promotion. It pushes fans to search for longer clips of what they see. And (newsflash), if you have FULL product available for purchase, they’ll open their wallet.
And *we* know that 2 minutes of Prince anything is never enough, anyway. It will never show a full vid or song or concert. It’s just an amuse-bouche. You can satiate admirers’ appetites by providing the full meal elsewhere. (So do it.)
So what do I think the estate should be doing instead of wasting time concerning themselves w people who have Prince’s initials in their screenname? POST MORE VIDEO FOOTAGE. RELEASE MORE MUSIC. Those are the same people who would link to it if they could & will buy what you sell.
Link to the good people upholding his legacy with love. Don’t harrass caring folks who tirelessly present music lessons online or produce educational symposiums or present knowledgable podcasts. WORK WITH THEM. Pay THEM for their research, insight & access to the community.
Some old school fams were mad when (some of) Prince’s catalog was released on streaming services. But without that access, the unfortunate truth is that new fans will stop searching. There will be no growth in his base. He wouldn’t be celebrated properly. It is a means to an end.
In conclusion, know that I feel this way about ALL (great) music historians on here. The best thread-makers & conversation-starters should be lauded & corp entities should be thanking them & paying them. Welcome them into the fold. Their passion + promotion = potential profit.
In truth, I have friends whose accounts have been deleted after their following grew & their community conversations on sports, music, fashion & pop culture were deemed problematic bc of vid footage. But networks, radio stations, awards show producers, etc. should be HIRING them.
There are (certain) people who I’ve seen present at Yale or NYU who, even tho they were NOT looking for money, and they were free educational conferences; COULD grab the fambase’s attention in a plethora of ways. Utilize them.
Hire them for release events. Hire them for research or roundtable discussions on curation decisions. Hire them to prevent another liner notes debacle (PR Deluxe?). Involve people like @anildash & @Duane_Tudahl & @SlingshotAnnie who do the work. Anyway, thanks for listening.
