Prince's Message to Everyone: Stop Bootlegging My Stuff

Prince has a message 4 U: Stop UR illegal downloading! To prove he means business, the Purple One is prepping lawsuits against major file-trading sites like YouTube, eBay and Pirate Bay to reclaim control over bootlegged tunes, videos and merchandise. No legal docs have been filed, but the singer recently hired London-based company Web Sheriff, which has been trolling the Net for sites selling unlicensed goods (everything from Prince-adorned socks to key rings) to provide evidence should the star decide to take the battle to court. "This isn't necessarily about money," says Web Sheriffâ's president John Giacobbi, who has wiped off 2,000 illegally uploaded videos from YouTube and shut down about 300 eBay auctions, as well as multiple multiple overseas sites selling unauthorized merchandise. "Prince feels very strongly about his artistry -- he wants it to be reflected the way he wants. There's no problem with some guy selling his twenty-five-year-old copy of Purple Rain, but we object to a Chinese sweatshop turning out Purple Rain shopping bags and selling them by the thousands."

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Song Stories

“Satisfied”

Tom Waits | 2011

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.

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