Prince Sues His No. 1 Fans

One word: Overrated!

And btw, I still don't consider downloading music "stealing". It's all doublespeak. I can't digitally download music for free, but I can record it off the radio as long as I don't try and sell it. ALL MUSIC SHOULD BE FREE!

Hey, I wouldn't want someone to think they have the right to freely offer my art up for free online if I spent a bundle and time to create it..
Sorry but PRINCE is right here. His work is his intellectual property and as with other copyrighted works, whether it's offline or online it's not for all to USE without written permission from the Licensor!!!
Fans, if you RESPECT your fave artist or musician or whatever. Please respect that his or her work are their INCOME.
Still crying the blues? Hey, what if you were in Prince's shoes?

Beside the fact that "Prince's Mom" and the likes are going to Hell at this point (repent, you might have a chance to turn your destiny around:), I see a lot of unnecessary hate expressed here, almost like if Prince had killed a kitten. You guys suck hard.

I think all this is barely a publicity stunt, since all publicity, good or bad, is good for popularity, therefore business (sadely).

I apreciate the more balanced/objective perspectives of 'bob rhodes' and 'roseann', and Floridaboy, gay or not who cares, has something alive beetween his ears.

My wife could never apreciate prince's music, and personnally he's not my favorite (i could do without the queen attitude), but an artist work has to be respected.

Steal a master painter's painting, and you're good for years in jail, that's all i'm saying.

I think he, and anyone else have the right to protect/defend their property (some do it with a gun) without having to hear you guys pityful whining.

With Love,
Johnny.

Ok I will have my say...I was going to just forget it..but...These people are fans of his, they make websites to not only say that they are fans, but it helps to spread the word, of his music of his songs, his concerts, etc..so why the hell would he punish them for it? I don't get it..what a waste of space he is. I have always been a fan..since the when doves cry days but not any longer.
All you people defending his over this is just idiocy, he does not deserve any fans..he is more washed up than Michael Jackson. Don't get me started on that fucktard.

Prince's only income is his recordings ,so he has every right to want them not to be stolen . Think of all the money he has lost online by these actions . He is no differant than M&M's , NASCAR , or anybody else that has a logo that would sue your ass right away if they knew you were using their hard work to profit from . As for the non-profit web sites , while they are innocent in one way , they allowed others to steal all the same . I have downloaded his music, but only after I bought it in the stores and paid for it , anyother way you cut it , it is stealing , your just trying to comfort yourself for stealing . The truth will stand when the world is on fire ! IF your a theif , except it , no matter what means you used to take something without paying for it is stealing !

SOMETIMES IT SNOWS ONLINE.......

Just because it's online doesn't make it free.

It took him years to make all those songs, big money invested in it too. What if YOU invested all this time and effort only to find it up on UTUBE and other sites where others may download it for free?
Like Prince? Then where's the fan's real respect and loyality?
He's human like everyone else and has to make a living from his efforts too........just like the rest of us.

Whoever wrote this is another loser-critic with a pen,just trying to generate enuff controversy, in hopes, somebody (pleeease anybody) notice ME!
It's not the smartest move I'll admit to go after fan-based websites, but Napster has ruined everything as far as album sales go...welp, that and the fact that Major record labels were so damn greedy by asking for too much for a CD, to begin with. So the Artist suffers..so what you say?-just try and get thru this world without music, turn your radio and enjoy the sound of static.Washed up?-hmm 70 million in ticket revenues..i wouldnt call that washed up..giving CDs away?..thats because the CD is just a promotional dinasaur (thnx again to Napster)for a bands up coming tour.Everybody wants everything for free (I'll bet the loser that printed this got paid tho...), and in this A.D.D. world, noone even appreciates free...

Hey, I wouldn't want someone to think they have the right to freely offer my art up for free online if I spent a bundle and time to create it..
Sorry but PRINCE is right here. His work is his intellectual property and as with other copyrighted works, whether it's offline or online it's not for all to USE without written permission from the Licensor!!!
Fans, if you RESPECT your fave artist or musician or whatever pease respect that his or her work are their INCOME.
Still crying the blues? Hey, what if you were in Prince's shoes?

JUST CAUSE IT'S ONLINE DOESN'T MAKE IT COPYRIGHT OR TRADEMARK FREE.

If I bought Purple Rain back in the 80's on cassette, would it be legal for me to go online and download Purple Rain without paying for it? I do OWN the "intellectual property" already, I just want better sound quality.

what about out of print albums? If someone downloaded an out of print album, would that be illegal? Since it is not available to be purchased, the artist or the record company wouldn't be losing any money.

He is going to sue the people that made him??? If not for the fans there would be no Prince.

And I'm supposed to care about this because...?

Maybe some of you do NOT undertsand the degree of what he is doing. There is a site . A fanclub site where NO illegal downloading is taking place. The fand share photos and even their Prince tatoos. They are tis huge of fans. And the Moron prince is suing the free fan club sites to not use his image. Even the ones of their personal tatoos on thier body. Doesnt matter to me. I already forgot what the idiot looks like. It would be like starbucks suing one of their coffee drinkers for telling someone thaty like the Double chocolate grande. ( I mean the words double chocolate grande is trademarked how dare touy say it to another person) To me this simply shows what an idiot this guy is. Imaging if he never had a hit record before. What a miserable little hormonal morno. Prince: the artist FORMERLY known as an artist .

This article is so clearly one-sided. It is likely because of a partnership between AOL and YouTube and/or the other sites being sued. The author is so clearly biased and jaded. The fact of the matter is that Prince is not suing his fans, he is suing websites profiting off of him. Like parasites, they are posting his images on sites and making money off of that by selling advertising space on the sites. These sites may be free to viewers, but the advertisers are paying and Prince is not getting his fair share. Sue them all Prince. Do it for all the artists known and formerly known and keep these people from profiting off the work of others they clearly do not wish to pay for.

i still don't get it. yes, prince has a right to sue over PIRACY of his music, but if he is going to sue his FAN BASES for posting THEIR pictures of him, THEIR art and (ok) his lyrics to his songs (because they adore him - not because they want to steal from him), then he is equally as indecent as the pirates. i think a lot of people aren't seeing the moral issue here, because of the legal issue of piracy. again, his fans probably already bought his music, paid to see him in concert. they aren't stealing from him - they are honoring him. that's what fans do. haven't we all quoted someone that we admire? as long as his fans aren't claiming his words as his own, or selling his music, bootleg, then who are they hurting?

Purple pain...pur-ur-apul pain! That's all I have to say.

WEB SHERIFF TELLS PRINCE FANS TO PIPE DOWN: Internet monitoring
company says backlash should target label, not the singer.

*The Internet monitoring company hired by Prince's label to
target sites that are using his likeness and music without permission
has accused fans of expressing their anger at the wrong party.

As previously reported, three of Prince's top fansites have
joined forces to create Prince Fans United with aims of fighting any
legal action from Web Sherriff, the company hired to protect the
singer from copyright infringement.

But, Web Sheriff claims Prince himself has nothing to do with
the lawsuit threats -- it is the work of record label.

"At no time is Prince suing his fans and this is not about
freedom of speech," said Web Sheriff's managing director, John
Giacobbi, according to SF Gate. "The current issue is one between
Prince's record label and three unofficial Web sites and relates to
the use of Prince trademarks and photographs, many of which are
Prince's copyright

Read the facts People. Prince has nothing to do with this crap. All you P haters all are doing is putting more wood on the fire and you don't even know what is burning!

While I won't take away credit for the talent that he obviously possesses he clearly forgets how and who got him to the top of the mountain that he is sitting on. SHAME ON YOU PRINCE. To all the thieves that are too cheap to pay for the music SHAME ON YOU TOO.

There was a time when "has been" stars used to exit the proverbial “final-stage,” gracefully and gently... Few were even lucky enough to die, while they were at the top of their game! The rest, for the most part, simply aged and just dropped off the radar screens. Oh they would haunt our television sets, to be sure, with umpteen gadgets (or worse yet: CD's covering music from 30, 40, even 50 years ago) in the hopes of getting us to let loose with our credit card numbers (seems c.o.d's have gone the way of the dodo and the dial-phones.) At least, that has been the accepted way, until now!

Prince, the vertically-challenged-purple-wonder, never a conventional fellow on the other hand, has decided to go "super nova!" Whether he really does have the “mass” for such an event remains yet to be seen. Surely he’ll win a few “default” judgments, since the Pirate Bay could care less about any court judgments, save Swedish.

End result? Well, his purple-pecker-headed “highness” (and he must be high on something) will earn a very “special” mention in the Pirate Bay website and garner much ill will around the globe. It is already too-easy to make fun of him and now with all this mess, it will be a slaughter! Folks, it doesn’t take Stephen Hawking to figure out that it is a rather bad idea to piss-off your fan base! Oh Prince had his moments (when he decided to give away his latest CD for free and reap the attendance fee’s from his series of concerts in the UK) and Hitler too, had the period from 1940 to 1942! In the end, these recent acts (suing fan websites, YouTube, the Pirate Bay, etc.) may go down in history as being the silliest series of notions, since Hitler decided that it would be a good idea to invade Soviet Union! And we all know how that turned out!

I do have a few Prince “stuff” in my collection, namely from my college days, back in the mid 1980’s and surely I would smash them to smithereens, in absolute protest if it were not for eBay! (How much do early Prince LP’s & 45’s in mint-condition bring now-a-days, anyway?)