It may have seemed like an unusual artistic union: Prince covering Radiohead’s angst-ridden classic “Creep“. But when fans, including Radiohead, flocked to YouTube for a glimpse of the Purple One’s unique rendition of the song, they found the video, recorded by a fan at a music festival in California, had been taken down at the behest of Prince’s litigious record label.
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke said he was told of the performance by text message and thought it “hilarious”. But when he was informed he could not see the song, for which his band owns the copyright, he was baffled.
“Really? He’s blocked it?” Yorke was reported to have said. “Surely we should block it. Hang on a moment … well tell him to unblock it, it’s our song.”
The Prince video, filmed by fans at the Coachella Valley festival in Indio, California on April 26, was last night reposted on YouTube.
Prince is like the RIAA. Think they own the fracking planet!
If I was Prince, I would want the evidence of that performance removed from the face of the Earth too.
That’s so fucking special. I bet Prince was wondering “what the hell am I doing here?”.
On the one hand, ‘commercial’ artist’s lawyers have to deal with our disaster of a copyright law, and lay claim to everything to keep anything.
On the other, who listens to Prince anymore?
Wasn’t there a time when Prince was thought strange compared with Michael Jackson?
Actually he did a good job. Some damn fine guitar work that night by Prince with that song.
Except for his consistently top-notch guitar solos, Prince’s performances tend to be hit-or-miss, with this one being quite a miss.
I seriously doubt that Radiohead will ever hear cries from their audience to “do it like Prince” 😉
#5
Ron, I believe you, he can play some serious guitar.
Yet, that RIAA etc nonsense, it makes me sick. I seriously believe that if they could get away with charging you for every time you hum a song to yourself, they would. That’s why I haven’t bought (or downloaded) anything that has the RIAA virus. Which means at least from one artist that’s in my top 5 list I haven’t bought his last few albums. Mind you, he’s at the level where every album sold counts. But I just can’t get myself to indirectly funding the copyright mob.
Prince, formerly known as Squiggly T Dot, is locked to the ‘past’ mentality. Only total control of distribution will satisfy his purple reign. Once an innovator, now a litigious courthouse groupie, he remains married to 1999.
Who cares anyway? Both Prince and Radiohead suck ass.
So did the video get taken down because Prince’s record company was trying to protect their copyright or because they were trying to protect themselves from getting sued from the real copyright holder?
I was think I can’t even remember a song by Prince. So I search videos and what did I find Purple Rain. A song about showering a lover. After watching the video, indeed it seems he like to make it rain on Sheena Easten. Water sports were so taboo in the 80’s.
To get a better idea what “Prince world” is like- check out “An Evening with Kevin Smith” DVD for his experience with the Purple One.
You mean to tell me that Prince, the Purple One, he who will not give “Weird Al” Yankovic permission to do a cover of his songs, did a cover? And then claimed copyright over it?
What were you expecting from an effeminate hetero guy in high heels?
#16
Do I smell a Prince fan?