Nobody ever has accused Prince of being overly in touch with reality. Not when refusing journalists the use of notepads or tape recorders during interviews. Not when he changed his name to a symbol. Not when his sassy pirouette flashed a bare backside during the 1991 MTV Music Video Awards, or years later when a well-timed lean and strategically placed backdrop broadcast his guitar’s phallic shadow into 93 million households during a Super Bowl halftime performance (image at right, courtesy of usatoday.com).

But his most recent stunt – giving away copies of his latest album, “Planet Earth” to 3 million people – ranks near the top of the list of rockstar selfishness. Officially released Tuesday in the U.S., the Minnesota-born artist’s 26th studio LP has been in the hands of millions for more than two weeks, after free copies were included with the July 15 edition of The Mail on Sunday – a British tabloid sold for $2.80.

The problem is, those records weren’t free – few things ever are – and music retailers and other artists are going to end up paying the price.

Including promotional CDs and DVDs is a semi-regular practice in the United Kingdom, with publications such as the music magazine MOJO often packaged with various artist compilations. The Mail on Sunday before has distributed a series of re-releases, such as Duran Duran and Peter Gabriel. But “Planet Earth” marks the first album to make its exclusive debut via the print news media.

Although Prince was on the forefront of music distribution when he became one of the first and most notable names (or at the time, most notable symbols) to sell music through a personal Web site, the financial effect of giving away entire records will not be as self-contained as opening an online store. Everyone can sell music through his or her Web sites; not everyone can divvy out a few million LPs. In doing so, Prince has set a precedent that smaller-market acts quite literally won’t be able to afford. By turning music marketing into an only-for-the-rich system that mirrors political campaigns, he is breaking down the all-inclusive system of DIY Internet sales that he helped to establish a decade ago.

In response to the “Planet Earth” push, the heavyweight Sony/BMG, which usually distributes Prince’s records, has refused to send copies to U.K. retailers – a decision that rightfully has storeowners livid. So what began as a creative route for people to get a first copy of the album now has become the only way to get it in all of Britain. A move that will further the shrinkage of retail outlets accelerated in the past year. Last fall, word spread that that Spillers Records in Wales, the world’s oldest record shop established in 1894, might close from poor numbers. And last month, Fopp, the U.K.’s largest indie retailer, Towered and laid off more than 700 employees amid its closure.

It’s not a good time to own a record store, especially when one of the world’s largest acts is devaluing your livelihood. Giving away “Planet Earth” will further the misconception that music is free, and convince Oink-savvy browsers that if they wait long enough, artists will get fed up with battling downloaders and just hand over the goods.

But the thing is, Prince didn’t do that at all. Those 3 million copies of “Planet Earth” didn’t come out of the pioneering musician’s pocket. Sure, the subscribers of The Mail on Sunday got them freely, but the publication didn’t. And therein lies the misconception about this crippling giveaway. Neither Prince nor the tabloid will say how much the upfront cost was of buying the exclusive rights and products for this type of promotion. But make no mistake, it wasn’t cheap.

So instead of being the common person’s giant, innocently sending off his art at no cost in rebellion against the conglomeration of music, Prince is merely a business genius. The Mail on Sunday deal chalks up 3 million sales from the get-go – a figure that the musician has failed to reach since 1991′s “Diamonds and Pearls” tallied 6.5 million. According to the RIAA, no Prince record has sold fewer than 225,000 copies, including a jaw-dropping 19.88 million scans of “Purple Rain.” But during the past decade and a half, not one has reached the number sold to The Mail on Sunday alone, including “Love Symbol” (2.7 million), “The Hits 1″ (2.75 million), “The Hits 2″ (2.25 million) and “Musicology” (2.5 million).

This isn’t a giveaway at all, but rather a lump sum purchase. It’s not Spillers, or Fopp, or even iTunes. It’s Sam’s Club. It’s buying in bulk. And Prince has pulled the purple sequined doorag over everyone’s eyes under the guise of “free.”

Yet if The Mail on Sunday point of purchase weren’t enough, Prince also will distribute a copy of “Planet Earth” to each person as they leave his upcoming gigs at London’s O2 Arena. With three weeks straight of sold-out performances at the 20,000-seat venue, the free disc should soften the blow to fans paying $62.30 a ticket and God knows what for tour memorabilia.

For somebody in the middle of a giveaway for the ages, he sure seems to be making a hefty profit. The only thing is, he’s the only one. But with blinders on, it’s impossible to see how his bankrolling “free” discs will help close the same record stores that rolled out more than 900,000 copies of his debut in 1978 and haven’t stopped hocking his products. That same shortsightedness could prevent the countless new bands inspired by the R&B rocker from ever reaching a fraction of his financial stability.

We’re in the midst of a changing landscape, where bands are finding it harder and harder to make a full-time living from their craft. With the growing singles-driven market of iTunes and sites of the like, complete LPs are becoming viewed as insignificant by hunt-and-peck songsters. “Planet Earth” has sped up that transition away from full albums by declaring itself worthless.

Ask anyone involved in direct marketing. Once something is given away – be it a coupon, a drink refill, club membership, whatever – it’s all but impossible to turn back and charge for it.

As Prince, music retailers and other bands soon will find out, it makes no difference if that thing only is perceived to be free. People are fickle. Welcome to reality. Welcome to planet Earth.

Northwest Herald, July 26, 2007