Prince may have been a legendary musician, famous for his eclectic work and innovative musical ideas; but for someone who was praised for having such a modern take on entertainment, the artist had many apprehensions about the Internet.
As fans take to the web to mourn the loss of Prince, who died Thursday at age 57, they’ll be hard-pressed to find much of his music on YouTube – and for good reason. Prince was adamant about protecting his copyrights; he owned the song publishing rights to his music and vigorously pursued online outlets and users that used it without permission.
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In early 2014, he filed a lawsuit against 22 fans who shared unauthorized concert recordings on various websites — including dedicated Prince fan forums and Facebook. The musician sought $1 million in damages from each of the accused, for a total of $22 million. However, he ultimately dropped the suit.
Years before, he faced off with another internet user Stephanie Lenz, who uploaded a video of her toddler bopping out to his song “Let’s Go Crazy.”
According to ABC News, only 28 people had viewed Lenz’s video by the time YouTube sent her a notification that the video had been taken down due to a Universal Music Group request.
“The Internet’s completely over.”
For more than a decade, Prince was quite vocal about keeping his music off of services like iTunes. He complained that the services didn’t pay advances for music, comparing the Internet to a passing fad like MTV.
“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. The internet’s like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated,” he said.
“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.”
Eventually, some of his music was made available to some streaming services. But that ended in July 2015 when he pulled his music from all streaming sites except rapper Jay Z’s platform Tidal.
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In a tweet sent in December 2015, Prince thanked Tidal for giving him a place where he felt comfortable releasing his music.
He also stayed off social media until joining Twitter in 2013. Eventually he would start an Instagram account too. His first Instagram – posted just 26 weeks ago – shows the musician in a purple silhouette.
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Prince also wasn’t a fan of gadgets. In a June 2011 interview with The Guardian, Prince said he can’t stand digital music, nor the cacophony of ringtones it enables.
“Have you ever been in a room where there’s 17 ringtones going off at once,” he said.
Further to his hatred for ringtones, the artist also claimed to stay away from smartphones. In July 2013, when asked if he used an iPhone, he told V Magazine, “Are you serious? Hell, no.”
In January, he also held a “smartphone free” concert in Minnesota. No phones were allowed inside the venue, ensuring no one could share pictures or videos from the show.
– With files from The Associated Press and Global News reporter Nick Logan
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