Prince

Prince's tour advisor has defended the singer's decision to give away free copies of his new album with a British newspaper. Bosses at the Mail on Sunday gave away three million copies of the pop singers new LP Planet Earth last month after paying an estimated $500,000 to Prince for the license. However the marketing scheme was met with severe criticism from a string of high street retailers and music critics alike. But Prince's advisor Pail Gongaware insists the star simply wanted to "speak directly to the U.K." with his new work. He says, "The Mail (On Sunday) approached us about doing a greatest hits CD. Prince instantly said, 'Let's do the new CD instead.' He's a true artist. He didn't think about anything other than it was a chance for 3 million people in the U.K. to hear his new music. That's all he really wanted." "His plan was not to upset the music industry, but instead speak directly to a U.K. audience. It was a way to get his music not just to fans, but to people who may never have heard any music from him before."