Giving away albums for free was not new for Prince . In 2004 , he gave free copies of '' Musicology '' to all concert goers during the tour of the same name . Similarly , the '' Planet Earth '' album was given away with tickets to his 2007 concerts in London . As a result of the decision by Sony BMG to not distribute the album in the UK , record store chain HMV announced it would stock the 15 July 2007 edition of '' The Mail on Sunday '' in lieu of the CD , admitting that " selling the Mail on Sunday next week will be the only way to make the Prince album available to our customers , which , ultimately , has to be our overriding concern " . On July 10 , 2007 , several days before the official UK release through '' The Mail on Sunday '' , a low quality version ( recorded from a stream ) of '' Planet Earth '' was leaked onto the Internet . Prince forwent $ 4.6 million in licensing fees , but the promotion paid off with his subsequent sold out 21-show concert run at London 's O2 Arena , earning him a gross of $ 23.4 million , and thus an $ 18.8 million profit
tour of the same name
Musicology Live 2004ever
Planet Earth (Prince album)