erikastrada

Racism is a system of advantage based on race and supported by institutions, policies and practices that benefit dominant groups and disadvantage subdominant groups. It is a social expression of power and privilege. Today on Muse, @just-prince-things, @graffiti-bridge,  @low-e-1995, and @darlingnisi discuss systemic racism, what that REALLY looks like, and how it is reflected in the Prince fandom.

Circulating images from books, released or unreleased, is copyright infringement. It happened with Steve Parke’s book, it happened with Mayte’s book, and it’s happening with Afshin’s book that comes out next week. In addition to being illegal, it’s a crappy thing to do, and the authors DO care when their work is leaked and circulated online without their permission (and usually without credit). 

If you’re bummed you won’t be able to see all the amazing One Night Alone era photos or get a peak into 3121 parties from Afshin’s book, or you’re a die hard Rave-era fan and desperate for more stories of that time from Steve Parke, fear not, there is a way you can see them all - BUY THE BOOKS! I know, it’s a crazy concept, but that’s how it works! Prince himself shouted it from the rooftops pretty much his entire career - not everything can or should be available online for free, the best we can do is support artists by paying them fairly for their work. 

It’s pretty easy to click the reblog button especially when it’s a new, exciting photo and we’re all guilty of it (myself included), but the very least you can do is try to avoid circulating a photo or story if you know it is leaked from a book, and certainly don’t circulate photos or stories from books yourself. The best we can do is support these artists by buying legitimate copies of their works and respecting copyrights. 

SOME BOOKS TO CONSIDER FOR EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS AND STORIES:

Picturing Prince: An Intimate Portrait by Steve Parke

Prince: A Private View by Afshin Shahidi 

Prince: Chapter and Verse, A Life in Photographs by Mobeen Azhar

The Most Beautiful: My Life With Prince by Mayte Garcia

The Rise of Prince: 1958-1988 by Alex Hahn and Laura Tiebert

Dig If You Will the Picture: Funk, Sex, God and Genius in the Music of Prince by Ben Greenman

The Gold Experience: Following Prince in the ‘90s by Jim Walsh

Prince: Fashion offered by Paisley Park

Prince: Guitar & Bass offered by Paisley Park

Gymfans!

WHAT DO WE WANT?

A free livestream without insipid commentary and infantalizing scoring with routines played throughout-no breaks to watch people stand around.

WHEN DO WE WANT IT?

Hi friends! I do illustrations as well as cross stitches, I just opened a shop for prints and wanted to share. If you ever wanted a defiant little baby highland cow on a laptop cover or some watercolor succulents on a phone case, please check out my shop here. Thank you!