The Unlikely Prince of Indie

Posted on 20. May, 2009 by refe in STRATEGY

Greg Kot, in his new book Ripped, focuses on the story of an unlikely but high profile independent artist – Prince. While the diminutive 80’s pop star and his music may not seem relevant to many of you, it turns out he is actually an interesting example of an artist bucking the traditional system and striking out on his own. In particular, his frequent release cycles and emphasis on touring have made him something of a forerunner. Prince had a deal with Warner that was reportedly worth up to $100 million, but he was unhappy with the control the label exerted over his creative process. Prince was (still is) a prolific songwriter and wanted to release several albums per year. The label limited him to one and also kept him from releasing Sign O’ the Times as a triple album in 1987. Apparently it is very unwise to cramp Prince’s style (and oh, what a style it is…) because after this he began to do everything he could to get under the label’s skin. He all but stopped touring, he wrote the word ‘slave’ on his cheek in black permanent marker, and famously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol.

When his contract finally ended, Prince released a new album, Emancipation and went into business for himself. Prince has always been a bit nuts, and being independent hasn’t changed any of that – if anything it has only highlighted it further. Within a couple of years of being ‘set free’ from Warner, Prince had released nine albums worth of material. Album after album flooded the market – experimental tracks, archived material, new music, and who knows what else. People thought he was crazy.

Yet, look at the industry today. We’ve got thousands of artists and millions of songs that are available at the touch of a button. The days of waiting three years between releases are long gone. I’m talking frequency here, not volume – nine full albums worth of material is way more than necessary. But if you release a couple songs every few months, your fans will stay much more engaged and you will have the opportunity to remain front of mind in a crowded marketplace. If you really still want to release a full album, you can compile them at the end of the year and sell it dressed up in creative, high quality packaging along with some extras you had saved for the occasion.

Also, look at the way Prince handles touring. He is constantly changing things up. He’ll spend a few weeks playing one venue, or give away free post-midnight performances at previously unannounced locations. When he does do a conventional tour, he makes it worthwhile. He once packaged his new album in the price of the concert tickets and everyone who came to his show walked out with his CD. The record shot immediately to the top of the charts.

This is creative stuff. Not all of it is going to work for new or unknown artists, obviously, but it can all be scaled and applied to wherever your career is at right now.

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