THE Daily Record’s editor, Bruce Waddell, and senior management at the Glasgow-based tabloid, will this morning be scrutinising early circulation sales figures for Saturday’s paper.
The Trinity Mirror red-top devoted 85 per cent of its front page on Saturday – at least in early editions – to promoting a free Prince CD, bagged with the Saturday Plus! Magazine, inside the paper. All last week the giveaway had been extensively promoted in the paper.
It meant that the drama of the police cornering of shotgun killer, Raoul Moat (the front page splash in most national newspapers), was consigned to a foot-of-the page one-par story with a huge poster-style heading: ‘Got Him’.
The Record, which had claimed an exclusive interview with Prince, last week, carried the heading, ‘Prince – I’m so Proud my New Record is in the Record’ on page 11, and opened the story with: “Music legend Prince spoke of his pride at releasing his incredible new album FREE to readers of the Daily Record today. His CD 20TEN has been acclaimed as a return to the classic days of memorable Prince Hits.
“The American singer, who has banned YouTube and iTunes from using his music, said giving his album away to hundreds of thousands of readers of Scotland’s favourite daily newspaper was the ‘best way to go’. He added: ‘No charts, no internet piracy and no stress. Period.’”
The tabloid added: “It’s a historic collaboration – the first time a major recording artist has released a new album through a national daily newspaper in the UK. It will NOT be available to buy in the shops or to download.”
