The Buzz by Mike Schaffer

Iconic musician and noted weirdo Prince has officially either become the smartest man on the planet, or is continuing his lifelong assault on common sense.  (Remember, this is the dude that changed his name to a symbol.)

He said the following to The Mirror:

The internet’s completely over. I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can’t get it.  The internet’s like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good.  They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you. – The Artist Formerly and Currently Known as Prince

Whoa.

That’s a pretty ballsy thing to say, dontcha think?

The Internet is done?  Gone the way of “Yo! MTV Raps?”  And “Remote Control?”

You may recall that rock band Metallica had some run-ins with the Internet because they wanted to get paid for their work.  As cool as stealing music may sound, for artists, even millionaire artists, it’s theft.  They did something good and deserve to get compensated for it.  I get that.

However, Prince is complaining because he won’t get paid in advance from iTunes?  How about you get paid for what you sell?  Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?

So, is the Internet over?  Is it just like MTV?  Will we look back on this period of time fondly in 20 years and wonder where it all went?  And, most importantly, if the Internet is “over,” can we save it?

(Also, I was going to put up a Prince song for you, but he had pulled his music from the Internet, practicing what he’s preaching…)

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