Prince’s tumultuous relationship with Warner Bros., which led the famed artist to change his name and talk smack for years about the label, has been resolved. Today the label announced it had struck a deal with the Purple One, which will allow for the release of unreleased music and giving Prince ownership of master recordings of his work. The deal formalizes the label’s relationship with Prince through an exclusive global licensing partnership that covers every album released from 1978 into the ’90s. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Obligatory press release gush from Prince: “A brand-new studio album is on the way and both Warner Bros. Records and Eye are quite pleased with the results of the negotiations and look forward to a fruitful working relationship.”
Obligatory press release gush from Cameron Strang, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. Records.: “Everyone at Warner Bros Records is delighted to be working with Prince once again: he is one of the world’s biggest stars and a truly unique talent. We are also very excited about the release of new and re-mastered music from one of his greatest masterpieces.”
The surprise announcement comes just in time for this summer’s 30th Anniversary celebrations of the artist’s breakthrough album and film, Purple Rain, which were released in 1984. For the first time, Prince will be releasing a digitally re-mastered, deluxe version of this classic album. According to the label, Other planned projects will follow.
Update: April 19, 2014 At midnight Prince released a brand new song, “The Breakdown.” It’s available for purchase on iTunes.