Is Prince coming back around to the Internet? 15 years ago, he was ahead of the curve, planning to sell a box set through his own website. (That did not go well.) Then five years ago, he went on a crusade against YouTube, threatening lawsuits against that site and others that made his copyrighted material available without permission. In 2008, he made sure every recording of his cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” was taken down from YouTube—even after Radiohead asked that the recordings be put back up. In 2010, he declared the Internet “completely over,” like MTV.
Is Prince coming back around to the Internet? 15 years ago, he was ahead of the curve, planning to sell a box set through his own website. (That did not go well.) Then five years ago, he went on a crusade against YouTube, threatening lawsuits against that site and others that made his copyrighted material available without permission. In 2008, he made sure every recording of his cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” was taken down from YouTube—even after Radiohead asked that the recordings be put back up. In 2010, he declared the Internet “completely over,” like MTV. But now he’s got a new music video, his first in a few years, and he’s put up an official version of it—on YouTube.
But now he’s got a new music video, his first in a few years, and he’s put up an official version of it—on YouTube. Maybe the Internet isn’t so dead, after all? Whatever the man’s feelings about online communication, he sounds great. The song is called “Rock and Roll Love Affair.” No word yet on whether a new album is imminent.
