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In the late 1990s, after creative disputes with
Warner Brothers, Prince publicly
announced he felt like a prisoner to the record
label by writing "slave" on his face.
After Prince's contractual obligations with
Warner were fulfilled and he was "freed"
from the major, he turned to the Internet for
distribution. Through his web site,
Prince released an EP with seven different
versions of the song "1999," and a three-
CD collection of previously unreleased
material.
In 2007, Prince proved he not only was a
musical visionary but had marketing
ingenuity as well. He gave away his new album
Planet Earth with the Daily Mail in
the United Kingdom. The bold move paid off.
When Prince announced performances
at London's 02 Arena, the 140,000 tickets sold
out in 20 minutes, causing the Internet
booking site to crash. He added six more shows,
making a total of 21 sold out perfor-
mances.
Paul McCartney, whose young fans were born
decades after his Beatles' fame,
chose a fresh-thinking partner over his
old-school record company for the release of
his 2007 album Memory Almost Full. He ended his
long relationship with EMI
Records after discovering they wanted six
months to adequately set up and promote
his new release. McCartney wanted to get the
album out to his fans much sooner, so
he partnered with Starbucks to become the first
release on their Hear Music label.
To publicize the album release, McCartney made
one track available via iTunes
and later performed at the iTunes Music
Festival in London. He also held free con-
certs in several cities and kept his fans
updated on his MySpace page. However, one of
the biggest events the Starbucks alliance made
possible was a Global Listening Event
to celebrate the album's release. More than
10,000 Starbucks stores in 29 countries
and territories worldwide participated by
playing the CD in store all day long. An
estimated six million people were introduced to
McCartney's new album in a single
day and they could purchase it while picking up
coffee.
Pop superstar Madonna left her long-term
relationship with Warner
Music to sign a $120 million recording and
touring contract with concert
promoter Live Nation Inc. Shortly after the
2007 announcement,
Madonna stated that she was drawn to the deal
with Live Nation because
of the changes the music business has undergone
in recent years. "The par-
adigm in the music business has shifted, and as
an artist and a business
woman, I have to move with that shift. For the
first time in my career, the
way that my music can reach my fans is
unlimited. I've never wanted to
think in a limited way and with this new
partnership, the possibilities are
endless."
VOICES
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EXPERIENCE
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