📰 The People’s Prince – Live (The Mail on Sunday): Jul. 2007

This Live magazine cover accompanied one of the most controversial and disruptive moments in Prince’s relationship with the UK music industry: the announcement that his new album Planet Earth would be given away free inside the following week’s Mail on Sunday.

📰 Overview

Published on 8 July 2007, this issue of Live served as the official pre‑release salvo for the Planet Earth newspaper giveaway — a move that infuriated UK record shops, delighted fans, and made global headlines.

The cover frames Prince as:

• a populist hero

• a rule‑breaker

• an artist bypassing the industry to reach fans directly

It’s quintessential 2007 Prince: bold, strategic, and entirely uninterested in playing by the industry’s rules.

The feature inside includes a track‑by‑track guide and a celebratory homage to Prince, positioning the upcoming release as “the album of the year.”

📰 Source Details

Publication: Live (The Mail on Sunday)

Issue Date: 8 July 2007

Format: Cover + two‑page feature

Provenance Notes: UK national Sunday supplement; part of the coordinated rollout for the Planet Earth giveaway.

📰 The Story

The feature contextualises the upcoming giveaway as a seismic moment in music distribution. It highlights:

• Prince’s decision to release Planet Earth free with a newspaper

• The shock and backlash from UK retailers

• The excitement among fans

• The global media attention surrounding the move

• The framing of Prince as a direct‑to‑audience innovator

Cover text includes:

• “The people’s PRINCE”

• “THE MOST AMAZING CD GIVEAWAY EVER”

• “He’s back – and in a music industry sensation, he’s giving you his stunning new 10‑track Planet Earth album FREE inside every copy of next week’s Mail on Sunday”

• “INSIDE: Live’s homage to Prince – and your track‑by‑track guide to the album of the year”

• “SEE IT • DO IT • SPEND IT”

• “The Mail on Sunday July 8 2007”

📰 Key Highlights

• Major pre‑release announcement for the Planet Earth giveaway

• Two‑page feature including a track‑by‑track guide

• Prince positioned as a populist, disruptive force

• A defining moment in 2000s music‑industry history

• Part of a coordinated media rollout leading to the 15 July 2007 distribution

📰

Live (The Mail on Sunday) — Cover and two‑page feature, 8 July 2007.

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📰 Related Material

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📰 Closing Notes

This Live cover captures the moment just before Prince detonated one of the most talked‑about release strategies of the decade — a bold, populist gesture that reshaped conversations about distribution, value, and artistic autonomy.

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