Is Prince the prototype?

When he died in 1991, genius Miles Davis was convinced that the best hope for the future of music rested in the diminutive hands of one man: Prince. Fourteen years later, Prince's music is still going strong, and there's still no one else like him. Miles's prediction is even more on the money in another sense, though, and it has nothing to do with notes on a scale.

Prince's battles to retain control of his music are the stuff of industry legend at this point. He's always been headstrong when it comes to record labels, somehow commanding producer-level control on his debut album when he was 19 years old. Then, in 1996, Prince started selling his music purely from his own record label, and last year, he put that label online at NPGMusicClub.com. The site captures the artist's personal style, from the mixing studio in which virtual Prince resides to the distinctive spelling on the site (for example: "4 tech support, please emale"). Otherwise, the store's a lot like the general online music stores, charging 99 cents for singles and $9.99 for albums. In contrast, members of his music club pay 77 cents and $7.77, respectively.

This is starting to resemble the digital music marketplace columnists such as myself have been prattling on about for years: a more direct and efficient connection between artists and fans that allows both parties to keep more of their money.

But it goes without saying that few artists enjoy the clout -- or, for that matter, the gumption -- that gave Prince permission to fly solo with his own label and online store while still enjoying success on a massive scale.

The new deal makers
That's already changing. Companies such as CDBaby, IODA, and IRIS Distribution are already helping independent artists get their music onto music stores such as iTunes and Napster, while allowing the bands to keep a larger percentage of their royalties than they would have by going through a traditional label. This is starting to resemble the digital music marketplace columnists such as myself have been prattling on about for years: a more direct and efficient connection between artists and fans that allows both parties to keep more of their money.

The next step is for more artists to take a Princely approach, if you will, creating their own online stores that reflect the reasons their fans like them in the first place, as well as give them something to be or stay excited about. I know, I know; every band in the world seems to have at least one Web site (here's my current fave), but I'm talking about something useful and robust, where you can buy music that will actually play on whatever MP3 player you have. These dedicated sites would give you one band's music, available in every secure format, and maybe recordings of live shows in an open format such as OGG or FLAC. If the music industry can't figure out a way to sell music that plays on anything, maybe bands need to take matters into their own hands -- the same sort of thinking that worked so well for Prince. That way, hardcore fans can get closer to the artist and come away with the music they need.

Which Discovery Channel?
This does not mean that the new deal makers I mentioned above and the music stores, such as iTunes, would disappear. People usually don't become hardcore fans on their own; they need to be exposed to the right stuff. This exposure can occur in a number of ways, like in a small downtown venue, through word of mouth, or in a marketplace of some kind. This is where online stores and digital deal makers would still play a significant part. Someone still needs to 'discover' bands or allow people to discover them on their own.

As more artists' contracts with labels run out, the way Prince's did, maybe we can look forward to more single-artist online stores such as his. If you've used MP3.com much, you know that you can browse multiple music stores from the same search box. Who knows? Maybe that search could eventually extend to registered artists' own online stores as well. (Note: I'm just an editor at MP3.com, so this is pure conjecture.)

What do you think? Should more artists follow Prince's lead and build their own online music stores?

Eliot Van Buskirk is technology editor for MP3.com.
Additional editing by Tom Espiner