Prince Ready to Unleash 'Planet Earth' in Late July

Prince has big plans for his new album, 'Planet Earth,' which will be released in the United States on July 24^th via Columbia records. If Prince has his way, it will go down as his most exposed album since 1984's 'Purple Rain.' Whether or not people will be 'buying' it, remains to be seen. Prince has decided to make two big promotional splashes that have given fans the opportunity to get his music for free. It is a philosophy that has fans excited, but has music executives fuming.
Prince began his promotion for 'Planet Earth' by teaming up with Verizon Wireless to promote the album's first single, 'Guitar.' Any Verizon subscriber could get the single for free by participating in an online demo of a new music service. The promotion enabled fans to hear the new single, but also got Prince's face all over television sets across the country. The infectious pop song probably caught the ear of many people who hadn't heard a song from Prince in years.

It was later announced that Prince plans on giving away 'Planet Earth' with the UK tabloid, 'The Mail.' Many within the music industry are furious with Prince for such a promotional move. Record stores are upset that a potential big seller will be given away for free. Record company executives in the United States are likely upset that an album they plan on distributing will be given away more than a week before it's released in the States. Prince, however, wants to get his new music out in the UK where he will perform 21 concerts starting in August.

Prince has always been willing to go head-to-head with the music industry. As creative as he is musically, he's just as creative with how his music is distributed. As many recall, he had a longstanding feud with Warner Brothers Records. After his deal with Warner Brothers expired, Prince released his music independently. He eventually created the NPG Music Club, where he would release songs online to members of his fan club. Prince's mainstream popularity took a hit because of his independent status, but he gained creative control over his releases.