Royal Treatment

Prince ran his own version of a DM campaign last month, with a very simple call to action: Listen.

The music icon chose to distribute 3 million free copies of his latest album “Planet Earth” in the U.K. newspaper The Mail on Sunday. Fans have since posted the 10-track album — which will be sold in the United States and other countries — online on numerous music-sharing sites. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp's Web site cbc.ca reported that when asked why he chose to give away his latest CD, Prince called the tactic — are you ready? — “direct marketing.”

“I don't have to be in the speculation business of the record industry, which is going through a lot of tumultuous times right now,” the CBC reported the Minneapolis-born artist as saying.

This month, Prince — who has a long history of fighting against the traditional record-business structure — is slated to give 21 concerts in London, where he's expected to hand out more copies of his new album.

And lest you think Prince is against commerce, check out his official Web site www.npgmusicclub.com, where you can find things like information about his new fragrance line 3121. Hmmm…just what does purple smell like, anyway?