After five years, Prince’s NPG Music Club online site is being shut down until further notice. According to a statement released to NPG members, the music club has maximized its potential. “In its current form, there is a feeling that the NPGMC has gone as far as it can go,” reads the statement. “Has the time come to once again make a leap of faith and begin anew? These are questions we in the NPG need to answer. In doing so, we have decided to put the club on hiatus until further notice.”
Named after Prince’s New Power Generation backing band, the site debuted on Valentine’s Day 2001. Envisioned as a thriving online community of Prince fans, the site provided a conduit for fans to obtain new releases and non-album music, secure choice concert seats and receive passes to sound checks and after-parties.
Membership came in two options: $7.75 for basic monthly access or $100 for a premium annual membership. The site, which recently won a Webby Award, had also been dealing with ongoing complaints about its traffic-heavy ticket section. The complaints resulted in Prince lowering the membership price to $2.50 a month or $25 for a lifetime membership. There is no word on when or if the NPGMC will return.
