Right royal retail row.

Prince's Mail On Sunday decision makes him enemy number one with music sellers

By Ben Cardew & Gordon Masson

The Mail On Sunday's revelation that it will launch the new Prince album, Planet Earth, as a covermount to its 2m-plus readers, rubbed salt into the wound of the UK's music retail sector last week.

As it emerged that indie retail chain Fopp was in administration talks with Ernst and Young (see p3), Sony BMG pulled out of its album deal with Prince in the UK, in an effort to appease retail partners.

Dealers attending the Era New Music conference at London Calling were incensed, led by Era co-chairman Paul Quirk promising to personally de- stock Prince's back catalogue in his own store.

"There will definitely be a reaction from the retail trade. If you let this go without doing anything, then what next?" Quirk says. "These albums are the bread and butter of a lot of retailers."

He adds, "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince should know that with behaviour like this he will soon be the Artist Formerly Available in Record Stores."