Prince (November 11, 2016) – “Prince’s Museum Adds Tour Dates” News

POST-BULLETIN

Published shortly after Paisley Park opened as a museum, the November 11, 2016 Post-Bulletin reports on an expansion of the visitor experience at Prince’s Chanhassen studio complex. New themed packages were planned from December 1, including a Studio B recording experience, Paisley Park After Dark dance parties, screenings of Prince films and rare performance footage, and a Sunday Brunch Experience inside Prince’s private NPG Music Club.

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS

FEATURE	DETAILS
Artist:	Prince
Publication:	Post-Bulletin
Publication Date:	November 11, 2016
Page:	3
Location:	Rochester, Minnesota, USA
Headline:	Prince’s museum adds tour dates
Museum:	Paisley Park
Paisley Park Location:	Chanhassen, Minnesota
New Packages Start:	December 1, 2016
Additional Tour Dates:	Through March 31
Thursday Experience:	VIP Studio B recording experience
Friday Experience:	Paisley Park After Dark
Saturday Experience:	Prince movies and rare performance footage
Sunday Experience:	Brunch Experience VIP tour
Special Location:	Prince’s private NPG Music Club
Format:	News / Museum Update
Principal Theme:	Expansion of the Paisley Park museum experience following its opening

ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL

ORIGINAL POST-BULLETIN CUTTING

[IMAGE – POST-BULLETIN, NOVEMBER 11, 2016 – “PRINCE’S MUSEUM ADDS TOUR DATES”]

INTRODUCTION

PRINCE’S MUSEUM ADDS TOUR DATES	PAISLEY PARK
The Post-Bulletin reports on the continuing development of Paisley Park as a museum and visitor destination following its opening to the public.	The Chanhassen complex was preparing to introduce several new themed fan packages while also adding tour dates through March 31.

A NEW CHAPTER FOR PAISLEY PARK

FROM STUDIO COMPLEX TO MUSEUM	OPENED IN OCTOBER
Paisley Park had served as Prince’s studio complex and home.	The Post-Bulletin notes that the property had opened as a museum in October, placing this November report very close to the beginning of its life as a public visitor attraction.

NEW TOUR PACKAGES

STARTING DECEMBER 1	MORE THAN THE STANDARD TOUR
The museum announced that new themed packages would begin on December 1.	Rather than relying solely upon conventional guided visits, Paisley Park was preparing experiences built around recording, dancing, film, performance footage and dining.

THURSDAYS

VIP TOUR TICKET HOLDERS	STUDIO B
Thursday VIP visitors were to be offered a particularly distinctive studio experience.	Ticket holders could enter the Studio B control room and participate in an activity directly connected with the recording environment.

THE STUDIO B EXPERIENCE

RECORDING VOCALS	TAKING THE MIX HOME
VIP visitors could record vocals over a short segment of a Prince song.	The live mix could then be taken home, giving participants a personalised souvenir created inside Paisley Park itself.

A WORKING-STUDIO CONNECTION

THE CONTROL ROOM	PARTICIPATION RATHER THAN DISPLAY
The experience was centred within Studio B’s control room rather than being described simply as an opportunity to look at the space.	Allowing visitors to make a short vocal recording introduced a participatory element to the developing museum programme.

FRIDAYS

PAISLEY PARK AFTER DARK	EVENING EXPERIENCE
Friday evenings were intended to introduce another type of Paisley Park experience.	Guests could attend a Paisley Park After Dark dance party, extending activity at the complex beyond daytime museum visits.

PAISLEY PARK AFTER DARK

DANCE PARTY	FRIDAY NIGHT
The Post-Bulletin specifically describes the Friday event as an evening dance party.	Its inclusion gave the new programme a social and musical component distinct from the more conventional visitor experiences offered on other days.

SATURDAYS

PRINCE MOVIES	RARE PERFORMANCE FOOTAGE
Saturday evenings were planned around screenings.	The programme would feature Prince movies together with rare performance footage, giving visitors access to moving-image material associated with Prince’s career.

THE SCREENING EXPERIENCE

FILM	PERFORMANCE ARCHIVE
Prince’s film work would form one part of the Saturday programme.	Rare performance footage added an archival element, extending the museum experience into material documenting Prince on stage.

SUNDAYS

BRUNCH EXPERIENCE	VIP TOUR
Sundays were to introduce the Brunch Experience VIP tour.	Unlike the Thursday recording activity or Friday dance event, this package combined the Paisley Park visit with a meal.

THE NPG MUSIC CLUB

PRINCE’S PRIVATE CLUB	THE BRUNCH LOCATION
The Sunday meal would be served inside Prince’s private NPG Music Club.	Opening this particular Paisley Park space to VIP visitors gave the brunch package a setting directly connected with the internal life of the complex.

FOUR DAYS – FOUR EXPERIENCES

THURSDAY / FRIDAY	SATURDAY / SUNDAY
Thursday: Studio B vocal recording experience Friday: Paisley Park After Dark dance party	Saturday: Prince movies and rare performance footage Sunday: Brunch Experience in the NPG Music Club

MORE TOUR DATES

THE MUSEUM SCHEDULE	THROUGH MARCH 31
Alongside the themed packages, Paisley Park was increasing the number of dates available for tours.	The Post-Bulletin reports that additional dates were being offered through March 31.

AN EXPANDING VISITOR EXPERIENCE

TOURS	SPECIAL EVENTS
The conventional museum-tour element remained central to Paisley Park’s developing public role.	The newly announced programme shows the complex already expanding into participatory recording, dance events, screenings and food-based visitor experiences.

PAISLEY PARK AS AN ARCHIVE

THE BUILDING	THE CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT
The significance of Paisley Park extended beyond memorabilia displayed inside a museum.	Studio rooms, performance spaces and the NPG Music Club allowed visitors to experience locations that had formed part of Prince’s working environment.

STUDIO B

MUSEUM SPACE	RECORDING HISTORY
The Thursday plan specifically involved the Studio B control room.	The proposed vocal-recording activity was therefore intended to make the actual studio environment part of the visitor experience.

FROM OBSERVATION TO PARTICIPATION

SEEING PAISLEY PARK	DOING SOMETHING INSIDE IT
A traditional museum visit largely asks visitors to observe objects and historic spaces.	The programme described by the Post-Bulletin added opportunities to record, dance, watch performances and dine within Paisley Park.

AN EARLY MUSEUM DOCUMENT

NOVEMBER 2016	SHORTLY AFTER OPENING
The cutting dates from November 11, 2016.	Because the article states that Paisley Park had opened as a museum in October, it captures the visitor programme while the new public role of the complex was still developing.

THE HEADLINE

PRINCE’S MUSEUM	ADDS TOUR DATES
The short headline immediately identifies Paisley Park through its new function as a Prince museum.	The additional tour dates provide the basic news story, while the body text reveals that a much broader range of themed experiences was also being introduced.

A COMPACT NEWSPAPER CUTTING

SMALL STORY	CONSIDERABLE INFORMATION
The Post-Bulletin item occupies a relatively compact newspaper space.	Despite its size, the cutting documents the early museum, extended tour schedule, four different themed programmes, Studio B and Prince’s private NPG Music Club.

WHAT THE CUTTING DOCUMENTS

PAISLEY PARK	NEW VISITOR EXPERIENCES
Museum in Chanhassen Prince’s studio complex and home Museum opened in October Additional tour dates through March 31 New packages beginning December 1	Studio B recording experience Personal live mix Paisley Park After Dark Prince film screenings Rare performance footage Brunch Experience NPG Music Club

CONTEXT AND NOTES

HISTORICAL CONTEXT	ARCHIVAL SIGNIFICANCE
The Post-Bulletin cutting appeared on November 11, 2016, shortly after Paisley Park had opened as a museum in October.	This timing gives the small article particular archival value because it documents how the visitor experience was being expanded during the museum’s earliest period.
The new themed packages were announced to begin on December 1, while additional tour dates were being added through March 31.	The article therefore provides a contemporary record of the museum’s planned development rather than a later retrospective description of the programme.
The cutting specifically identifies Studio B and Prince’s private NPG Music Club as locations incorporated into the new visitor packages.	These details help document how spaces associated with Prince’s working and private environment were being adapted for the public museum experience.

CONCLUSION

PRINCE’S MUSEUM ADDS TOUR DATES	PAISLEY PARK EXPANDS ITS EXPERIENCE
Only weeks after Paisley Park opened as a museum, the programme was already moving beyond the straightforward guided-tour model. Visitors were being offered opportunities to make a recording in Studio B, attend a dance party, watch Prince footage and experience brunch inside the NPG Music Club.	The Post-Bulletin cutting is brief, but that brevity makes its detail especially valuable. It captures Paisley Park at the beginning of a new chapter, when Prince’s studio complex and home were being transformed into a public archive and visitor experience while preserving connections with the creative activities that had taken place there.

SOURCES / COPYRIGHT & ARCHIVAL USE

SOURCES

Post-Bulletin

November 11, 2016

Page 3

Original supplied Post-Bulletin cutting

Paisley Park

COPYRIGHT & ARCHIVAL USE

All newspaper scans, photographs, museum material and original text excerpts referenced in this entry remain the property of their respective copyright holders. This Chronicle entry is a transformative, non-commercial archival summary created for historical documentation and educational reference. No ownership of the original material is claimed or implied.