Prince Hates iTunes, Says 'Internet Is Completely Over'

By PopEater Staff Posted Jul 6th 2010 12:12PM

The Internet officially ended its bold and exciting run of relevancy, according to pop culture touchstone and 'Batdance' singer Prince.

"The Internet's completely over," the 52-year-old recording artist told the UK's Daily Mirror. "The Internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."

The bizarre interview is touted as Prince's first sit-down with a newspaper in 10 years. Writer Peter Willis was forbidden from bringing a recorder, camera or cell phone into Prince's Minneapolis recording studio/lair.

"Prince decided the album will be released in CD format only in the Mirror," Willis writes. The star's 33rd studio release, '20TEN,' will be packaged free with the newspaper and other British and European dailies this weekend. "There'll be no downloads anywhere in the world because of his ongoing battles against Internet abuses. Unlike most other rock stars, he has banned YouTube and iTunes from using any of his music and has even closed down his own official website."

What's Prince's take on the whole thing? "I don't see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won't pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can't get it." No word yet on American distribution for the unorthodox venture.

The writer, an unabashed Prince-o-phile, calls the album "instantly infectious," "a return to his early blistering form" and "amazing."

And why '20TEN'? "I just think it's a year that really matters," Prince says. "These are very trying times. People, especially young people, don't have enough God in their lives."

The mysterious Prince, whose name was once a symbol, was short about several questions. His childhood? "I don't talk about the past." Former rival Michael Jackson? "Next question."

Read the full interview.

Tags: Prince

Comments

(41)

Tuesday 06 July

By Reggie

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I like Prince but I have to say he seems more contentious than anything. Not forward thinking or progressive, just mean and a bit out of touch with the times, though I do agree with him about the MTV thing but that's a whole other subject.

Sunday 11 July

By buggs

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Very true..... oH, i saw somthing interesting about him on youtube that he gets spiritual advice from a i-robot that is posessed by a chick named "TYKA" it sounds believable considering he is a bit off center!!! search youtube under _Prince gets advice from a what? THanK's!

By tacco

I found it on YouTube under {Prince gets spiritual advice from a what??} it was pretty funny a quite believable yes. Tacco

By lovelush

I agree he aint no progressive thinker and he dont have any nuts in his pouch!! the internet aint going no place purple kid..
Oh, yes yall need to check that voodoo queen of the spiritualy undead world thing going on , cuz das some funny sh*t!! haha!! youtube is here to stay... Prince gets spiritual advice from a what?? isnt "tyka" his sisters name? lovelush

By Steph

I think Prince didn't just party like it was 1999, but got stuck there too. I get what he was trying to say about MTV but MTV stands for music television. That's a whole other issue though because not much on MTV has much to do with music anymore. The internet world and all technology will just keep growing and growing even if it's lost its relevance to him personally.

By Jupiter Jane

Prince is living in his own fantasy world these days. Yes, he is an amazing singer and musician. For him to feel the internet is on it's way out of fashion is his old-timeness speaking volumes. He needs to grasp new technology or be left in the dust. He has the nerve to say young people don't have enough God in their lives, when he used to wear see-through butt floss on stage and hump the floor. What a hypocrite!

Wednesday 07 July

By joe

There are thousands of singer songwriters that are unheard , and far better than prince...don't you ever get out? I have several that are friends and family. or do you only listen to the media fed junk?

By Nate

Jupiter Jane - I wish I could disagree with you because I was a huge Prince fan and followed him almost 2 decades but sadly I can't.

All of the obscenely rich "artists" apparently don't realize that without the media hype to make them so self important, no one would ever have heard of them, and they would be just as poor as most people. Greedy, selfish people. If you have something to share with the world, share it. After the first ten or twenty million, do you need more? I understand wanting full acknowledgement of thier work.... and copyright protection, But do they need to squeeze every dime out of every young kid's pocket? They love only themselves.

By Jessica

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Maybe I need to read the entire interview, because I don't see where he was bashing the media. It looks like he was just bashing the internet. And are you kidding that no one would know who Prince is without the internet? What rock did you crawl from under?

By kaysings

Why should anyone care what "Prince" thinks about anything? He was "over" at least ten years ago. Self-absorbed little twirp...

By N2

WELL IF PRINCE THINKS THE INTERNET IS OVER, IT MUST BE!!!!DUH
ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT GETTING BACK INTO THE LIMELIGHT, AND POPEATER BOUGHT INTO IT.

By Ross

Price speaks !!!! The sky is going to fall !!!! MTV sucks !!!! Loved it in the early eighties!

By billy

PRINCE is a remarkable talent.He is really amazing.A genius??
BUT......he is a narcissist and a maniacal egomaniac and nuttier than a old outhouse rat.
He was once a very risque pervert shagging any beautiful woman he could get hold of...lacing his songs with filth and sex charged gutter trash...... now he is a ...Jehovah's Witness???!!!!
He fell for thier mind control tripe hook,line and sinker.
He is a perfect case study for mental health professionals.Bloody nutcase.

By honestabbe

Yahoo! Prince! for telling the naked silent truths about what the 'web' has done to the music industry. Brought it to it's knees. MTV included. It's never about quality and niche anymore- it's only about the G-D money. Don't blame him one bit for calling it what it is, and being respectful about it, instead of acting like some self-righteous blowhard talentless twenty something, names, unnamed. Truth and honesty. You'll only get it from the 45 and up generation folks. The rest?? Not so much. Quite sad, in reality.

By james

Please, he's just greedy. All the internet has done to the music industry is put it back where it used to be. Back in the day, records were released as novelties. A way to advertise the artist more than anything else. Actual performances is where the artist made their real money. These lazy, greedy corporations/artists are just mad that they have to start working for their money again.

By Doobie

Indeed, he's correct about giving away music. The internet has destroyed more than the music industry though ... look at newsprint and postal mail. The internet is to blame for a lot of this country's job woes. People need to wake up and see that.

By Ed

Prince...........you are a idiot!!

By Triodethom

How is he making a living with this . At a time when even Molly Hatchet has a web site with 99 cent down loads and play a tour from shrimp fests to venues in Europe and are still in business without a hit in 30 years how does he make money ?
The only two sources of money for an artist is selling downloads and playing live in the 21 century with album sales way behind . I once had the displeasure of meeting this man in Cincinnati OH when he recorded there . Not a professional by any means more a DIVA than anything else.

By gobluespartyon

Prince is wrong the internet will never be over as he claims just like TV it will never be over either.

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