Prince takes a Schillings approach to fans

Prince has had a remarkable and controversial career. He has produced a number of fine albums but he has made a number of odd moves including changing his name to an unpronounceable love symbol. Not long ago he gave away a copy of his latest album free with a Sunday paper here in the UK, but if Prince giveth, Prince can also taketh away.

Prince's latest decision, however, is likely to provoke a backlash from his fans: he has threatened to sue fans for breach of copyright, His lawyers have forced his three biggest internet fan sites to remove all photographs, images, lyrics, album covers and anything linked to the artist's likeness. A legal letter asks the fan sites to provide "substantive details of the means by which you propose to compensate our clients [Paisley Park Entertainment Group, NPG Records and AEG] for damages".

A coalition named Prince Fans United, representing Housequake. Princefans and Prince.org has been formed to contest the action on the basis that it was an attempt "to stifle all critical commentary about Prince". They added that the "cease and desist" notices went as far as calling for the removal of pictures taken by fans of their Prince tattoos and their vehicles carrying Prince-inspired licence plates.

"It's a really short-sighted and futile move," said Nicola Slade, editor of the industry newsletter Record of the Day. "Prince has got a lot of fans and as he's decided to take a more left field approach to releasing his material, he should be nurturing the relationship. I'm shocked, really." Alex Burmaster, an analyst at Nielsen Online, said: "It's a paradox that a musician who has done so much to bring himself closer to his fans, particularly with his 'them and us' crusade against the record labels, should be engaging in a course of action that effectively removes the raison d'etre of fan sites. “

This move follows an earlier attack on copyrighted material available on websites including YouTube and eBay. Using the services of internet company Web Sheriff about 2,000 clips have been removed from YouTube, including one posted by a mother of her baby dancing to Let's Go Crazy and Prince's. Lawyers at the Electronic Frontier Foundation have vowed to contest the claim on her behalf, saying the song is hardly audible and constitutes fair use.

A spokeswoman for the fans' campaign said the sites had always tried to work with Prince's management. But it appeared that Prince wanted to edit his past and there was "no sign" of his lawyers backing down, she said. "He's trying to control the internet 100% and you can't do that without infringing people's freedom of speech," she added.

Macho, Macho Man

Annoyingly, yet one of the big stories of the past week or so passed me by utterly. It wasn’t until last night’s Mock the Week did I learn that Russian president Vladimir Putin had gotten a Prince Albert and had been photographed in various macho poses while on holiday in Tuva in the far south of Siberia. On further reading I discovered that he had been photographed in various macho poses while on holiday in Tuva WITH Prince Albert of Monaco.

According to the International Herald Tribune the Russian paper Komsomolskaya Pravda published a huge color photo of the bare chested president, under the headline: "Be Like Putin." along with a guide showing exactly what exercises were required to build up a torso like that of the Russian leader.

The photographs have had Kremlin watchers spending long hours trying to work out what sort of political message they might convey. One Russian radio talk show host speculated that the pictures were meant to enhance Putin's personal appeal to voters and thus a signal that he doesn't plan to relinquish power when his current term as president ends next year. Russian gay chat rooms and blogs claimed that Putin, by stripping to his waist, was somehow pleading for more tolerance of homosexuality in Russia — where gays and lesbians are for the most part forced to remain closeted.

The 54-year-old Russian leader has long cultivated an image of machismo and manliness. Well-known as a downhill skier and black belt in judo, Putin has appeared on national television engaging in other manly including a truck, operating a train and copiloting a fighter jet. The new set of photos could thus be another manifestation of his mystique. However, Stanislav Belkovsky, head of the National Strategy Institute think tank, took the view that they were nothing more than an effort to reassure Russians that Putin knows how to relax — and was preparing for retirement.

Personally I think the photos give an absolutely clear message: Putin, tiring of life at the helm of a massive and troubled nation has decided on a new career path and will be joining the Village People once his current term ends.

The only problem is that he can’t seem to make up whether he want’s to be the Cowboy or the Soldier...