🟣 NPG Music Club Edition #1 — Digital Release: 2001

Prince launches his groundbreaking online subscription service with exclusive audio, video, and the first NPG Ahdio Show The actual site was launched on February 14, 2001.

A landmark digital release marking the beginning of Prince’s pioneering online distribution era.

🟣 Summary

• Released 18 February 2001, NPG Music Club Edition #1 marked the official launch of Prince’s subscription‑based digital platform, the NPG Music Club (NPGMC).

• The release included exclusive audio and video content, free promotional downloads, and the debut of the NPG Ahdio Show, a long‑form curated mix of Prince‑related material.

• This edition delivered new studio tracks, remixes, live material, and multimedia content — all distributed digitally at a time when major artists had not yet embraced online releases.

• The platform offered tiered membership, with Basic Members receiving the Ahdio Show and select tracks, while Premium Members gained access to additional “Bonus Trax.”

• Edition #1 set the template for Prince’s early‑2000s digital strategy, blending music, video, and community‑driven content.

🟣 Highlights

• Released 18 February 2001

• Launch of the NPG Music Club

• First appearance of NPG Ahdio Show #1

• Includes new Prince tracks: When Eye Lay My Hands On U, High, My Medallion, Golden Parachute (clip)

• Includes Revolution‑era track Splash

• Includes NPG track Peace

• Includes Carmen Electra remix Dance Un2 The Rythm

• Includes exclusive videos: When Eye Lay My Hands On U and U Make My Sun Shine

• Early example of a major artist distributing music directly online

🟣 Track Details

Promotional Downloads (Free) — 18 February 2001

Audio:

• NPGMC Commercial — 4:22

• When Eye Lay My Hands On U — 3:39

Video:

• NPGMC Intro — 2:00

NPGMC Edition #1 — All Members

Audio:

• NPG Ahdio Show #1 — 56:40

• Splash — Prince and the Revolution — 4:05

• Mad — 5:32

• Funky Design — 3:46

Video:

• When Eye Lay My Hands On U — 1:09

Premium Bonus Trax

Audio:

• Peace — New Power Generation — 5:34

Video:

• U Make My Sun Shine — Prince & Angie Stone — length unlisted

NPG Ahdio Show #1 — Full Program

• Tora Tora — Intro

• Jacob Armen — Gothic Metal

• Tora Tora — Tora Tora Talks

• The Artist (with Nona Gaye) — Love Sign (Ted’s Funky Chariot Remix)

• Tora Tora — Tora Tora Talks

• Prince — When Eye Lay My Hands On U

• Femi Wanna Talk — Interlude

• Prince — High

• Rhonda Smith Joins By Telephone

• Rhonda Smith — Calling To Say Goodbye

• Ani DiFranco — To The Teeth

• Rhonda Smith — Mother Earth

• Rhonda Smith Talks To Tora Tora

• Cindy Blackman — Spanish Colored Romance

• Prince — My Medallion

• Prince — Golden Parachute (Instrumental Clip)

• Fonky Bald Heads — Passing Your Name

• Madhouse — Kamasutra Ouverture #8 (Remix)

• Montabo’s Hair Hut — Parody Commercial

• Carmen Electra — Dance Un2 The Rhythm (Remix)

• The Artist — I Like It There

• Tora Tora — Tora Tora Returns 4 The Conclusion

• Prince — Days Of Wild (Live Guitar Jam)

• The Artist — Mad

• The Artist — Funky Design

• Prince & The Revolution — Splash

• NPG — Peace

• Prince — When Eye Lay My Hands On U

🟣 All Variants (Complete List)

Digital Variants

• NPGMC Basic Membership download package

• NPGMC Premium Membership download package

• Free promotional downloads (audio + video)

(No physical formats issued.)

🟣 Reissues & Global Variants

• No reissues — content exclusive to NPGMC

• Some tracks later appeared on compilations or streaming platforms

• Ahdio Shows remain unreleased commercially

🟣 Production and Context

• Prince oversaw all content creation and curation

• NPG Ahdio Show #1 mixed by Prince and NPG engineers

• Videos encoded in early‑2000s QuickTime (.mov) format

• Represents Prince’s early adoption of direct‑to‑fan digital distribution

• Platform later won a Webby Award for innovation

🟣 Singles Released

• None — all content exclusive to NPGMC

• U Make My Sun Shine later released as a commercial single (2001)

🟣 Chart Performance

• No chart entries — digital‑only release outside traditional tracking systems

🟣 Mini Discography

• NPGMC Edition #1 — February 2001

• NPGMC Edition #2 — March 2001

• NPGMC Edition #3 — April 2001

🟣 Mini‑Timeline

• March–April 1991 — Initial recordings for When Eye Lay My Hands On U

• 2000 — NPGMC development

• 18 February 2001 — Edition #1 released

• 2001 — Monthly Ahdio Shows continue

🟣 Glam Flashback

• Edition #1 captures Prince at the dawn of his digital‑era independence — experimenting, curating, and releasing music directly to fans long before streaming platforms existed.

🟣 Tag Block

#Prince #NPGMusicClub #AhdioShow #NPG #DigitalEra #NowSpinning #ArchivePost #PaisleyPark

🟣 Image & Artwork Copyright Notice

All images, photographs, and artwork referenced or displayed in this post remain the property of their respective copyright holders. They are included strictly for historical, educational, and archival purposes under fair‑use principles. No ownership is claimed, and all rights belong to the original creators, photographers, designers, and publishers.

🟣 Sources

Prince Vault

NPG Music Club archives

Contemporary fan documentation

Ahdio Show #1 program notes

🟣 ALT TEXT (SEO)

Screenshot of the NPG Music Club Tekadence Player interface showing the WNPG 777 broadcast window and menu options for Ahdio Show #1 and promotional downloads.

🟣 Excerpt

Released on 18 February 2001, NPG Music Club Edition #1 introduced Prince’s subscription‑based digital platform with exclusive audio, video, and the debut of NPG Ahdio Show #1.