ABSTRACT
YOU USED TO BE Prince Roger Nelson, later you became just Prince, then, on your thirty-fifth birthday in 1993, you changed into a peculiar runic hieroglyph, seemingly made up of male and female gender symbols. No one knew how it was supposed to be pronounced, so, people now refer to you as the artist formerly known as (afka) Prince. It is 1995 and you are frustrated: you have made it known to the world that, like James Brown in his heyday, you wish to release about four albums per year. But your record company will not let you; to do so would defy every known principle of marketing. The music industry has learned that the best way to exploit the market is by using a three-year product cycle long enough to convert a big-selling album into a blockbuster. You are less interested in maximizing revenues, more in making records: you want your music heard.
