The Artist Battles Arista Over Marketing Of "Rave" Album

The Artist Formerly Known as Prince is refusing to release a remix of his latest album "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" until distributor Arista propels his singles into the charts, according to a statement posted on the Artist's newly launched website. He also alleges that the record industry is using various accounting techniques to pay artists less money.

In the "Paisley Transmissions" section of the NPGonlineLTD.com website, the Artist wrote that his own label NPG will delay the release of a remixed version of "Rave" until Arista's president Clive Davis "makes good on his promise" to deliver "a couple of real hit singles to 'the top of the charts.''' The Artist declared that he would not shoot a video until this happens.

"[A]s soon as a single is 'locked' at radio (Arista's job, not NPG's)," the Artist wrote, "a video will b shot and a promotional campaign put in2 effect. [The Artist] 's heart and soul went in2 the making of this record, and his xpectation is that Mr. Davis and Arista will honor their agreement with him. Videos r xpensive and without firm commitments from all parties, the money could b better spent elsewhere."

An Arista spokesperson declined to respond directly to the Artist's claims. She said that the Artist had spoken to Davis on Thursday, March 9, and they were discussing the album. The Artist posted his statements about Davis and Arista on Friday, March 10.

"The Artist and Clive Davis have had a long working relationship, and Arista continues to be committed to making the already-gold album, 'Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic,' an amazing success," the spokesperson said.

"Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic'' debuted on the Billboard Top 200 album chart at number 18 on Nov. 27, 1999, but tumbled down the charts in the weeks following, except for a temporary boost from number 104 to 96 in the week between Christmas and New Year's. The album continued to fall after that, eventually leaving the charts at number 197 on March 4, 2000. The Artist's discussion with Davis took place the week after his album ended its chart run.

Record labels sometimes set targets for album sales and for the number of radio stations that they will get to play singles, but the exact marketing plan that Arista developed for the Artist is unknown. Contractual obligations for the album's sales are also unknown. The label is allowing him to sell the album from his commerce website, but only up to 100,000 copies, according to his publicist.

On the "Freedom News" section of his website, the Artist explains his view of the royalty payment system to fans. He contends that artists are not getting fair royalties from their record companies because of the way that companies deduct "packaging charges" from the retail price (which is the base figure from which royalties are calculated). The Artist believes that the charges are higher than what it actually costs to package CDs and cassettes.

He also takes issue with the practice of "Normal Distributor Free Goods," in which, the Artist claims, the record companies give retailers 15 percent of their shipments for free. The record companies don't compute royalties on these albums, but are still paid in full for them by retailers because the record companies boost the total wholesale cost of the shipment, the Artist alleges.

Arista's spokesperson refused to comment on the costs of packaging charges. Nor would she comment on whether Arista sent shipments to retailers in which the total cost was boosted, but marked 15% as free goods and then paid the Artist less money.

The Artist intends to use the "Freedom News" section of his website to allow other artists to post their concerns about the record industry and the way the business is run, his publicist said. Currently, a link called "The Bigger Story" highlights the Artist's account of singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke, who was dropped by MCA and then decided to sell her album herself from her website.

He also wants to run an interview on his website with AOL head Steve Case, asking him "60 Minutes"-style questions about Internet companies and whether they will offer better royalty terms and distribution opportunities for artists than the major labels, the Artist's publicist said.