Prince is a badass. He recently pissed off the entire music retail industry in the U.K. by including a copy of his latest album in each copy of a daily newspaper. This, of course, wasn’t the first time Prince has challenged the status quo. Jon Pareles breaks it down for the New York Times:

Prince’s priorities are obvious. The main one is getting his music to an audience, whether it’s purchased or not. “Prince’s only aim is to get music direct to those that want to hear it,” his spokesman said when announcing that The Mail would include the CD. (After the newspaper giveaway was announced, Columbia Records’ corporate parent, Sony Music, chose not to release “Planet Earth” for retail sale in Britain.) Other musicians may think that their best chance at a livelihood is locking away their music — impossible as that is in the digital era — and demanding that fans buy everything they want to hear. But Prince is confident that his listeners will support him, if not through CD sales then at shows or through other deals.

This article also creates a new law in the growing list of Adages Named After People: “Where the Internet truism is that information wants to be free, Prince’s corollary is that music wants to be heard.”