Prince Ready to Unleash 'Planet Earth' in Late July

Prince has big plans for his new album, 'Planet Earth,' which will be released in the United States on July 24^th via Columbia records. If Prince has his way, it will go down as his most exposed album since 1984's 'Purple Rain.' Whether or not people will be 'buying' it, remains to be seen. Prince has decided to make two big promotional splashes that have given fans the opportunity to get his music for free. It is a philosophy that has fans excited, but has music executives fuming.
Prince began his promotion for 'Planet Earth' by teaming up with Verizon Wireless to promote the album's first single, 'Guitar.' Any Verizon subscriber could get the single for free by participating in an online demo of a new music service. The promotion enabled fans to hear the new single, but also got Prince's face all over television sets across the country. The infectious pop song probably caught the ear of many people who hadn't heard a song from Prince in years.

It was later announced that Prince plans on giving away 'Planet Earth' with the UK tabloid, 'The Mail.' Many within the music industry are furious with Prince for such a promotional move. Record stores are upset that a potential big seller will be given away for free. Record company executives in the United States are likely upset that an album they plan on distributing will be given away more than a week before it's released in the States. Prince, however, wants to get his new music out in the UK where he will perform 21 concerts starting in August.

Prince has always been willing to go head-to-head with the music industry. As creative as he is musically, he's just as creative with how his music is distributed. As many recall, he had a longstanding feud with Warner Brothers Records. After his deal with Warner Brothers expired, Prince released his music independently. He eventually created the NPG Music Club, where he would release songs online to members of his fan club. Prince's mainstream popularity took a hit because of his independent status, but he gained creative control over his releases.

After nearly a decade as an independent artist, Prince returned to a major label with 2004's 'Musicology.' Prince came back with a bang, as 'Musicology' sold nearly 2 million copies. It took some creativity to get there. Prince went on an extensive tour to support the new album and each fan was given a copy of 'Musicology' with the purchase of a ticket. Due to a technicality, each of those CD's was counted as an album sale for Prince. This maneuver kept Prince in the top ten for weeks. It was an innovative distribution technique that worked very well.

Prince has taken a lot of heat within the music industry for his approach to selling records. From going independent in the mid nineties, to giving away his albums in the 2000's he has ruffled many feathers. In the past few years the music industry has been in chaos with declining album sales. Meanwhile, Prince's career has been rejuvenated. Maybe the industry should follow Prince's lead, it seems to be working.