Prince drops new single "FREE URSELF" exclusively on Tidal | OkayPlayer
...perhaps this is Prince telling me and the world to, in fact, free ourselves from the streaming bubbles we’ve been confined to.
via OkayPlayer: www.okayplayer.com/news/prince-free-urself-mp3.html
tidal.com/track/51844380 - 30 sec clip for non-subscribers
It increasingly seems that His Royal Badness has staked his claim to the next generation of online music distribution, releasing this new track exclusively on Tidal after limiting his past Warners catalogue and some relatively rare NPGMusicClub releases to Jay-Z's service. Whether this is a shrewd move - from the man who helped pioneer online music during it's relative infancy - is moot. Personally, for someone who previously declared the internet "over" it seems to sit somewhere between putting all is eggs in one basket and a transparent attempt to keep up with the latest trend in an attempt to reach a wider audience - but then Prince is the kind of person with the longevity and the kudos to pretty much get away with anything, even in a musical sense.
As for the track? I managed to find my own copy outside of Tidal (shh!) and it stands up pretty well - more old-skool Prince in pop mode with a real Funky tag, less by-numbers than a lot of his recent stuff, including what I've heard from HITNRUN PHASE ONE that I've managed to hear without subscribing to the service (I'll surely buy a physical copy when I have enough pocket-money :D ). I actually really like it!
Just as a side note, you can find my own stuff on Tidal here, soon including the Strange People EP. Dig if you will, and if you want to support direct, grab a copy on Bandcamp.