Given the fact that Prince once painted the word “slave” on his face to represent his relationship with Warner Bros., it seemed unlikely that the relationship could ever be repaired between one of music’s most successful artists and his former record label.
But on Friday, Warner Bros. announced that they have entered into a new partnership with one of their biggest artists offering him ownership of the master recordings of his music in exchange for a licensing partnership that covers virtually all of his releases through the 1990s.
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Although the financial terms weren’t specified, the arrangement paves the way not only for reissues of Prince’s classic albums, but for a new studio album and “other planned projects” to be determined/ revealed later.
The announcement comes just two months before the 30th anniversary of Prince’s breakthrough album and film Purple Rain, which the artist plans to digitally re-master and rerelease in a Deluxe Edition. Exactly what this means is unclear, but given Prince’s prodigious output of b-sides, remixes and alternate versions of even his most famous songs, fans may get their hands on a wealth of previously unheard music, not to mention versions of beloved songs that sound better than ever before.
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The licensing agreement covers all of Prince’s recordings from his 1978 debut For You through his work in the 1990s, when he completed the original terms of his contract.
Read an in-depth analysis of Purple Rain to commemorate the film’s anniversary by clicking here.
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