Monday, November 19, 2012

"Welcome to the Dawn" - Prince's Websites (Updated)

As I mentioned last week, I've been collecting some Prince-related documents. One of those is Prince and ex-wife Mayte Garcia's wedding program. Prince actually posted it on his website, thedawn.com (now defunct).

Although his attitude toward the Internet has changed, Prince was one of the first major artists to utilize the platform to share his music, projects and, to an extent, his life with his fans. Since the mid-1990s, he's had several websites (all closed). I don't know much about them; researching the sites will be yet another task on my list. Here is a list of websites I know about so far:

  • The aforementioned thedawn.com. Right now, I only know that he used it to talk about his relationship wtih Mayte, but I'd imagine there were other uses (Prince fans, help me out here).

  • 1800newfunk.com. I've read that this site, like the phone service of the same name, allowed fans to purchase music.

  • love4oneanother.com. According to this City Pages article, the website was used to promote Prince's Love 4 One Another charity. I also read that there was a Mayte-related post on this site as well.

  • npgmusicclub.com. This was a site for Prince's New Power Generation Music Club (NPGMC), where fans could subscribe and receive exclusive music and other perks. The site helped Prince win a "Lifetime Achievement Webby Award" in 2006.

  • 3121.com. I vaguely remember this website that Prince started several years ago around the time his "3121" album came out. In fact, I think I watched a performance of "Joy in Repetition" from his tour at the O2 arena in London. Sadly, the site did not stay up for very long.

  • mplsound.com. Prince started this website around the time he released his three-disc set, "Lotusflow3r," in 2009. I didn't catch the website, but according to a Prince fan, the site featured songs from the album.

  • lotusflow3r.com. I clearly remember visiting this site, which Prince also started during the "Lotusflow3r" era, though I did not subscribe. It was really cool and interactive, but it vanished rather quickly. I don't think Prince ever offered an explanation.

That is everything I know. I'm sure I've missed some.

Because Prince occasionally used some of these sites to share announcements about his life, I'm hoping to find more scans of these web pages in the future.

Prince fans: what was your favorite Prince website?

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