Publication: The Atlanta Journal And Constitution [US]
Date: February 26, 1998
Section: Features
Page Number(s): 06c
Length: 411 Words
Title: "Artist's Marketing Bucks Bootleggers; Mail Orders Filled First, CD Available At Chain Stores"
Written By: Sonia Murray

CD of the Week: Crystal Ball, The Artist. NPG Records. 42 tracks.
Grade: B+

The Verdict: Listen to the "Crystal Ball" and what do you hear? The ambitious and impressive material that crowned Prince most talented of the 80's single-moniker pop stars (Michael, Madonna), and not too much of the flab (Cloreen Bacon Skin") you would expect on a CD of set-asides.

Fans have been asking for some of that old Prince, and the Artist has delivered in full with a sometimes-great multidisc set in a pretty regular package. (He promised an actual crystal ball.) The collection of vintage bootlegs plus an incredible acoustic CD entitled "The Truth" arrived in stores this week. The Artist first declared last summer that it would be available only through mail order after signing up on his Web site (www.love4oneanother.com). Then, closer to the first "scheduled" release date - somewhere around Jan. 1 - he said Best Buy would sell it; then it showed up at Blockbuster Music last weekend. The chain-store availablility may be perceived as a concession to "the system," but it was actually a way to kind of go around it. The retailers are purchasing the music from a warehouse, which got the music from the Artist's Paisley Park. Usually a record label forms a partnership with a record distributor such as BMG or PGD that's responsible for getting the CDs and tapes to the store. "Cutting out the middleman, which is what I'm all about these days, means more money in my pocket to [pay] the bills," said the Artist, adding that his last CD, "Emancipation" - because of its royalty structure - earned him the most money he's made since 1984's 10 million selling "Purple Rain." Though the critically heralded "Emancipation" didn't have the sales to match "Purple Rain," the

Artist says, "I got more than the average artist out there talking about, 'I have a platinum record.' Yeah, that's about all they got. Something to hang on the wall. "And with 'Crystal Ball,' I will finally get some of the money some of these - some of these 'people' - have made trying to enslave me, selling bootleg copies of my records for all these years. I'm breaking the chains!" "Crystal Ball," which started shipping to those on the mail-order list Jan. 29, "has already served NPG Records well," the Artist says in a Feb. 18 entry on his site. "This is the way 2 keep the real meaning of 'currency' active in the world community."

Article accompanies by photo used in Jan 9 article (third finger down...) with caption: The Artist formerly known as Prince says he won't release a new studio album until 1999, though he has contributed lead vocals and production to the New Power Generation CD, due this year.