How to Take Control of Your Intellectual Property - PRINCE, musician

New Power Generation-the name of your band, your website, your record label-is particularly fitting. How have you managed to gain so much power over the record industry where other stars have failed?

Career-wise there was a big turnaround when ALL the middle-men were replaced with oxygen. One of the things working in r favor is that NPG is self-contained. We produce r art, package and manufacture it with no cost whatsoever 2 the record companies. Thus they don’t have 2 give us advances. They don’t claim control or ownership of the product because they don’t pay 4 anything. Everything is above the table now and the deal stays “clean.” Hopefully. (laughs)

Does your NPGMusicClub.com site scare the labels?

We didn’t create r Musk: Club 2 make other labels nervous. It was created out of necessity. We make a lot of music and needed a worldwide distribution service that works as fast as we do. Labels take a lot longer 2 “set-up” records (Never quite understood y).

U can get music from r club in the time it takes 2 open an emale. 4 once, eye have a distribution service that actually works FASTER than eye do. It’s heaven 4 a musician who writes as much as eye do.

Is the Industry changing because of this technology?

The industry is trying 2 change, but they r used 2 the old thinking. They still want 2 own the copyrights that they distribute , when in fact most of the label chiefs nowadays have never set foot in a recording studio, let alone know anything about producing hit records. They usually sign “producers” 2 work-4-hire contracts and “buy” the copyrights from them thru designer publishing deals. Most producers sign these deals so they can get some “rims” 4 their hummers. (laughs) That’s one of the reasons y there is no concert business. Y pay hard-earned bread 2 c somebody who can’t really reproduce what their “producer did in the first place when u can c them 4 free on MTV?

How do you go about finding the good people on the business side-lawyers, managers. accountants?

U don’t! (A good manager? Did u really ask that? .. .laughs even harder/ had 2 get tissue)

How can people stay true to their art and still succeed?

One of the best ways 2 succeed in the music business (IMHO) is 2 get ur spiritual base 2gether first. Most kids need 2 hone their decision-making skills first “Y do eye want 2 make music?” “Do eye really have something 2 say or am eye just trying 2 get famous?”"How far would eye go 4 my dreams’?” Kids 2day should leap-frog over stars of the “past.” Do something NEW...say something that has NEVER been said b4! Challenge the current system 2 do better 4 its citizens!

Thanx 4 the rap. Peace.