(AP Photo/Liu Heung Shing, File)
In life, Prince fought for artist’s rights and against his original label, Warner Bros.’ control of his music. In death, his estate may have scored a victory for several of his already released works. Sony which was Michael Jackson’s longtime label and which releases catalog music through its Legacy imprint, which has successfully re-released albums by classic artists like Miles Davis, announced that they now have the rights to 35 of Prince’s albums.
The Japanese-owned global music conglomerate (NYSE: SNE) announced Wednesday that it inked “an exclusive distribution agreement” that covers 35 previously released album titles owned by the estate of Prince Rogers Nelson.
Troy Carter, who advises the estate, issued a statement on the agreement:
The Sony team’s enthusiasm and deep knowledge of Prince’s music make them the ideal partner to release these iconic bodies of work. We’re looking forward to working with the heirs and Sony on giving fans what they’ve been waiting for – more great music from Prince.
The Prince catalog will be distributed by Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony.
Among the album titles included in the deal are The Gold Experience (1995), Emancipation (1996), Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (1999), The Rainbow Children (2001), 3121 (2006), Musicology (2004) and Planet Earth (2007).
It doesn’t end there. By 2021, the agreement allows Sony to distribute a dozen Prince non-soundtrack catalog albums produced by the artist between 1978 and 1996.
According to the prepared statement, those albums include the self-titled Prince (1979), Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), 1999 (1982), Around The World In A Day (1985), Sign ‘O’ The Times (1987), Lovesexy (1988), Diamonds and Pearls (1991) and [Love Symbol] (1992) as well as hit singles “1999,” “Little Red Corvette,” “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” “Raspberry Beret” and much more.
Sony Music president Richard Story praised the deal, adding that he was “honored” to play a part in making Prince’s work available for generations of listeners and “future fans.”
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