Make no mistake about it, the Mail will have paid a pretty penny for this. Factor in mechanical payments and publishing owed on this and Prince is almost certainly making back what he would expect to see on any retail sales. In short, it is a stroke of pure genius....

Let me explain something to anyone here who has yet to figure this out. The industry is in nowhere near as bad a state as everybody would have you believe. People are buying CD`s - sales this year are up in the UK - and bands are making records in larger quantities than ever. Ites the bit in the middle - retailers and distributors - that are the fly in the ointment. Because of this, they will be largely gone within the decade and labels and bands will sell the vast bulk of their product directly to the general public far cheaper than they now can on-line. It is the only way forward and anybody who fails to see this is, Ifm afraid, simply in denial. Too many people currently have their hands in the cookie jar....