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Control....key word. Prince played it right back with his symbol. You cant play a player, especially one as astute and aware as Prince. Dude studied every aspect of the business side of music. Prince was never weak. He was smart!

They gave Prince that contract with the intent of him dying in that contract and recouping ALL the money. There is a recurring theme with record labels i.e. take advantage of young artists, work them into depression, drugs, alcohol or whatever vice and then kill them when they become enlightened and reap all the benefits. These artists know they’re selling their souls to the devil but yet still do it. I found that perplexing.🤔🤔🤔

@MrDreywalker

5 жыл бұрын

Amen .

@angeliqueesprit9155

5 жыл бұрын

Way said.. Stay woke!✌

@NinjaDash360

5 жыл бұрын

Well he beat the odds. I'll tell you that much

@EBUNNY2012

4 жыл бұрын

Prince was not a young artist but a veteran when he signed that. He was 34-35.

@trefane6600

4 жыл бұрын

Perfectly said

Come is the greatest of his Slave period in my opinion. It's his darkest and most diverse. The opening title track is long but every moment is worthwhile with it's funky beat and jazz horns. This track alone is worthy of a review. Then I would The Gold Experience is his second best of his time period. Gold and Eye Hate U are easily some of his best songs. Eye Hate U is so emotional and hearts throbbing and Gold has some of Prince's realest lyrics.

I miss this man so much! I still get upset thinking about how he passed. I saw him 7 times in concert and 3 times at after concert bar type places. He is simply amazing. God, I thought I would be going to his concerts when myself and him would be in our 60s and 70s. Such a loss.

@namos3369

Жыл бұрын

You’ve witnessed what some of us can only imagine, kudos to you

@mariemccarter6412

Жыл бұрын

In my opinion Prince & Micheal Jackson did not get the credit they deserved they both were so talented I still cry when I think how they left this world way to soon I loved their music I loved them🙏🙏💞🌹🌹

Much different than most musicians- I always appreciated the various different great perks we got from being a Prince fan. The excitement of listening to his newest album (the music + messages seemed to always vary), the anticipation of his next album, + the mystique (the needing to know everything about but knowing very little of the private life) surrounding "our very private PRINCE"! His concerts were a blast-each unique + different! Now that he's gone we still have his past music + the music he left for us to discover...but it's not the same, for me anyway, without PRINCE being here AS I listen to the music! But I feel good in that we fans have each other and "PRINCE'S FRIEND" to remember the great times, support each other at times when one of us might "get a bit down" cause of missing him. Sometimes no one else can seem to understand this. I think we all can find understanding in this group cause I know there have been plenty of times I've felt that way + just come here. I finds lots of company! Thanks to "Prince's Friend" + all you other loyal Prince's friends!☺️❤️

Prince's artistic integrity (and I'm sure an element of bloody mindedness!) was never going to sit easily with a big commercial organisation like Warners whose main focus is on making money. To be fair to Warners I think they had huge respect for Prince's genius and valued him as a musician as well as a commercial asset. They tried to keep him by offering him more than they offered any other artist but Prince was always a free spirit and wanted to do things his way. It was both his strength and his weakness. I think he modified his view later when he gave fans what they wanted by playing his former hits at his concerts while still doing his new projects too. He always said that he wasn't concerned about hits but jokingly boasted that he had too many hits to play them all! That's why we find Prince endlessly fascinating and love him - he was a mass of contradictions, a complex individual and one of a kind!

@LG-kx8xl

6 жыл бұрын

Mandy. Watts I think I can speak on his behalf (Mega Love his entire life & all), but he'd be the first to say Money don't make you Free!

Prince signed something and did not read the fine print which took his masters rights away.many of us sign and never read all the small print.

@thetruthhurtsu

5 жыл бұрын

shady Lawyers work close with these record companies to RIP artist off.

@cool_cat007smoove3

5 жыл бұрын

Jacqueline Perry Too true

@moisesperez4605

3 жыл бұрын

I would be thinking, prince I’m talking about, that he would have his lawyers the reader contract even before it was signed, if it did happen, him pretty much giving away his masters, his lawyers did not do too just for him. Unless he, Wanted to do his, On negotiating,, Record labels, are always going to do was best for them, when you negotiate with the record company, when they agree on your terms, or certain terms you doubt yourself because, They usually agree with benefits them.

@FiveMCity

3 жыл бұрын

Fine print? Contracts are signed, knowing exactly what is in it. A similar thing was offered to me, they literally asked for my soul, I thought they were not serious, but no smile came across their face. I would give 3 years of my life, whatever they ask of me, and in exchange the life they know I wanted. However, the same man that required my soul, died exactly 3 years later in South America.

@JFmK-sh5nh

3 жыл бұрын

@@FiveMCity Stop spreading your childish superstitious view of the world. We've got actual answers nowadays. Stop being so scared.

Thanks for reviewing Prince's WB contract. It now makes more sense to me what was going on and why Prince did some of the things he did. I àppreciate all you do. Great job. :)

It's great hearing about this time period as we were kept in the dark about all of this. It's thanks to the hard core fans who sought him out and kept it going. I'm seeking to purchase 2 of the 4 albums you mentioned. I remember watching an interview when Prince said he asked them for his masters and wanted to buy them back. WB said yes you can get them back for a billion dollars. When Prince said that I looked at the incredulity and despair on his face and I immediately understood his battle with WB. The media portrayed it as something else they also did it to MJ who had his battles about 10 years later with Sony. I loved the 90s Prince era as it had so much heart angst anger and love love love in his music. Definitely a chrysalis period for him with the richness of sound that came after.

@michelleottley5292

5 жыл бұрын

Comparable to thriller which came out around the same time as as purple rain, it behooved prince to revamp as j venture in Paisley park and actually ended up being a headache long-term. Prince was Always looking for new sounds / artists etc he was aVisionary. It was a good negotiated k in the beginning stages.

I'm glad you made this video. A lot of people thought Prince was just being weird when he changed his name to the Love Symbol and had slave written on his face. All he was doing was just rebelling against Warner Bros.

@PrincesFriend

5 жыл бұрын

exactly!

I agree with you with regard to his musical output during the 90's: while his music was at times frustrating, it was also much better, in my opinion, than anything prior to SOTT. Now, don't get me wrong, I like Purple Rain and Around the World in a Day, etc, just like everyone else. But to me, his sound really began to mature and improve in the albums after that time. I REALLY liked his newer stuff: Rainbow Children, Chaos and Disorder, Hit and Run, Musicology, etc. It's easy to look back and say he could have done this or that, but if he had continued to just release Purple Rain type songs, he would have ended up still being popular and in the vein of The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Metallica...those kind of groups who release the same song (sound) over and over again. Prince just wasn't that kind. And I'm glad for that, because there are songs that just blow me away, especially as they get older and I go back and listen to them know with "new" ears.

@alwaysastudent

6 жыл бұрын

i love the later music as well, exactly because of what you said... His later works had a maturity in them his earlier works did not. WB never would have allowed him to release something like the New Power Orchestra, or even N.E.W.S. My favorite Prince albums are The Rainbow Children, N.E.W.S., Expectation, and the like. The switch is perhaps because he finally had the creative freedom to do these things, without contractual obligations. i feel the same way about Michael Jackson. i heard some of his unreleased music (that most likely will never be issued officially); and he did classical music, etc. i don't think those works will be as accepted by the general populace. i notice that people who truly appreciate Mr. Nelson's music have a wide base of musical interests, and look beyond Purple Rain. i do think his one/two-off return to WB though, Art Official Age, is one of his best albums as well. If Prince Stuck to Purple Rain, Controversy and 1999 we most likely would not be celebrating him today in the ways we do, even though those albums were heralded at the time. I feel the same way, if MJ stuck with Thriller-type albums. People talk about how Thriller was his best album, but his later albums pushed boundaries Thriller did not- politically, spiritually, etc.

@kandikane923

6 жыл бұрын

I think Emancipation was Prince's best work, it is absolutely incredible, a masterpiece.

@foosdontcry

4 жыл бұрын

Real artists evolve their sounds and Prince was definitely that type of artist which makes him a true great

@dominiquejones3805

2 жыл бұрын

@@kandikane923 that 2nd disc

@BoosterGoldEarth6

8 ай бұрын

Uhmm Michael Jackson did try to do thriller. Bad album was thriller 2.0

1990's are my favorite Prince music I think the stuff that he did and didn't release is so underrated

@draelyon8125

3 жыл бұрын

I agree thank you saying that much love

@JFmK-sh5nh

3 жыл бұрын

Then neither of you are really Prince fans. 😑

I feel that the Artist Era was Prince's most defiant years because he railed against musical landscape and didn't give a fuck about what people thought. He was perfectly free on stage but on record a slave with a lot of artists especially black artists was throughout the industry and it was very unfair for him. Artist should control their music and Prince was definitely right. We see that years later when Michael Jackson was in his dispute with Sony. But the difference was he pretty much owned Sony Music because of that catalog even though they wouldn't admit it. Prince was fighting for ownership of his masters. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World was the first of many that he solely promoted on his own outside of that contract. He proved them wrong and still felt blacklisted. He couldn't even license his own music to do other projects because Warner bros. had him in such a bind. I had read a letter Prince wrote in 1996 talking about how he felt like was being used by Warner bros. as a pawn to sell records and that he didn't own his own name anymore. It was really unfortunate what happened to him but it was so needed because it shows how the record companies have ruined artistry and the industry as a whole in not letting artists have complete freedom. Prince should be given more credit for starting the internet selling trend of streaming albums online. He really paved the way for the medium that now it's the ideal way for getting new music. He was a true trailblazer.

@davidmarcelloenglishcoach9885

7 жыл бұрын

I'd love 2 read that letter, please post it. please.

@changeiscomingtruth9882

7 жыл бұрын

Beautifully said Toni, thank you! great job

@ToniWellons

7 жыл бұрын

+David Marcello English Coach medium.com/@anildash/message-from-the-artist-c611535da21c

@BB-lx7wm

7 жыл бұрын

Toni Wellons thank you I've always wanted to see that letter the fans found but was suppressed by the media. It says it all what we thought. Was going through my own trauma in 1995 so that period is a blur so to actually see this letter from him now after all these years is fabulous.

@ToniWellons

6 жыл бұрын

+B B I didn't know about this letter until a few months ago. I was a 90s kid, and I didn't understand why Prince changed his name. Discovering him now, I understand why. Hearing his perspective, makes me think of more artists being treated this way in the Industry.

I love Prince 90s era of creativity. Prince produced many awesome tracks. The dispute Prince had with Warner Brothers prevented much of the material he produced from being marketed and presented to the record buying public in a fair and accessible way. The name change Prince embarked on (when he used the glyph - love symbol - rather than his name Prince) promoted an element of confusion and turned away many fans from his music. That really was a tragedy for so much of Prince work, which in my opinion are works of pure genius. Now after Prince passing, the story of Prince is legendary, comparable to the Sporting Legend, Heavy Weight Boxing Champion of the world Muhammed Ali (Casius Clay) when he also made a stand against the establishment of the day. These people are Pop icons, contemporary hero's. Prince was way ahead of his time as a musician, business man, marketing genius and record producer.

GREAT JOB....for years I've wanted this explained....thank you!

Well, I was a tour dancer for prince 84, 86, 89, 90, to 97. Most of your info is dead on! Do you have a p.o. box? I want to send you something! Nice Work!

@JoseSanchez-sp2ex

5 жыл бұрын

Van evans maybe u should write a book and have it done into a movie the prince years. Good luck to you. Hope it gets put out.

@jahvongeorge4216

3 жыл бұрын

Vans Evan wow u have any pics with prince

Man. Prince was given possibly the greatest record deal in history and pissed it away. Yes, eventually he "won" and was let go from Warners, but he tanked his own career, which never came close to recovering. Maybe a couple more big hit albums at the start, and he could have ended the six-album-deal with a double or a triple album? Prince's biggest problem is that he's too fast, too restless. By the time it comes to promoting an album, he's already moved on to other projects. His music was miles ahead of anyone, but he didn't take the time to sell it, and in the long run, it really hurt his career. And sure he didn't care, and he was still able to record and release whatever he wanted, but as the years went by, fewer and fewer people were listening, and that's just a bummer. Cool video, man. Thanks.

@cool_cat007smoove3

6 жыл бұрын

Ethan Sloan Well said.

@mrsmith1148

6 жыл бұрын

not hardly cash money records had a way better deal look it up, revisit that statement. all he got was 25 cents on a record with no freedom. Madonna - $120 million (2012) ... Robbie Williams - $125 million (2002) ... Adele - $130 million (2016) ... Bruce Springsteen - $150 million (2005) ... Jay Z - $150 million (2008) ... Lil Wayne - $150 million (2012) Ethan Miller/Getty. ... U2 - $200 million (1993) Thomson Reuters. ... Michael Jackson - $250 million (2010)

@johnbenjamin9937

6 жыл бұрын

Remember always these are Advances similar to.loans at a investment bank. Cannot call it a loan because record co's are not chartered by Fed's or state regulations.. So all must be recouped by the record label for each album/cd...one would have to sell millions (5 mil - 10 mil ) to breakeven or make a profit eventually the artist will be dead....Music is a Sunk Cost the worst cost in business.... best deal is a joint venture deal but you better be selling or have millions laying around.....to do this called financial leverage.. Artists takes years to get there.

@michaelhammond7115

6 жыл бұрын

Wrong .25 an album is peanuts compared to owning your own soul and getting paid without a middle man.... plus he could release as many or as few albums as he wanted...."pissed it away" unreal. At any moment he could go grab 20 songs and throw out an album.

@thejimmyjsmoovenetwork7804

6 жыл бұрын

Ethan Sloan you sound dumb as hell

thank you so much for your explanation. It has been such great help. Hugs from Madrid, Spain.

Signing a contract is binding i think and instead of thinking you can do what you want he should have asked what they wanted before signing. Then again they both probably had lawyers and everything. At the end I don't think he did it for the money. Signing a contract at this level is way higher then what 'normal' people ever did so i can't really judge any of them

Thanks for breaking it down. I was under the impression that he wanted full ownership of his master tapes of his previous records. Personally I think 1999, Sign o the Times and Diamonds and Pearls were his best records!

@dominiquejones3805

2 жыл бұрын

Love Gold Experience also

Prince was schooling youngsters way back then. In 1982 I wrote Controversy on my bedroom door. My father made m paint my whole bedroom and door over. Those were the days

Thanks for explaining Prince's contract & situation back in the 90's

He matured right a long with us all

It's very difficult dealing with stars when they are alive now that he's deceased his music is being played on commercials

Great breakdown. I think all aspiring artists should watch this video. Where did you get the actual contract photo that you placed in the thumbnail?

@PrincesFriend

6 жыл бұрын

It was one used by a news station when it was first reported

There is a letter that Prince wrote that was on his website during this time period I'm going to send it to you. There is also an article that took place in Monte Carlo before The Gold Experience came out. Those were new songs and it and Prince talks about that in the article. The Vault albums were older songs that WB didnt release until the Rave albums came out in 1999 and 2000. Keep in mind that is when the licencing for the name "Prince" had expired and that is when he changed his name back. WB owned his masters and owned his name. It explains it in the letter Im gonna send you

@davidmarcelloenglishcoach9885

7 жыл бұрын

wow. I'd love 2 see that letter, pleaseeee

@laprib9650

6 жыл бұрын

R Mm, why don't you put the letter out here that Prince wrote and was on his website for us to see also?

@laprib9650

6 жыл бұрын

I would love to see that letter. Thanks.

@sheisawarenow3753

6 жыл бұрын

R Mm, good to see someone who remember what the issues were and exactly what was going on at that time.....people continue talking about the contract; monetarily, while at the same time omitting those two important factors....ownership of “Name” and “Masters” which were everything to Prince....when he saw what was going on with his name....

@toyah2805

5 жыл бұрын

Hello can I have a copy of that letter!

Great info thanks!👍

I'm ashamed to say that I have played instruments on and off for around 30 years and could barely identify any of his music and know it was Prince. I thought I was too cool to listen to Prince lol. Just this week I found him through a jam session recording while playing the keys. I couldn't keep up at some points, like lost. I'm not a great muso, but I know my way around. One listen I have 95% of songs worked out. But what I lack,and love about Prince is his creativity, whimsical yet serious personality that's infused into his music. He's an extremely generous artist, as he is essentially opening his audience's ears and hearts to let them into his mind. Now I can't get him outta my mind if I wanted to. I'm so glad I finally found another inspiration that has lifted me out of my jaded mindset on music. I can't thank Prince, his collaborators, and fans enough. I feel like I've finally found my estranged extended family. Life is going to only get better as Continue to listen and learn from Princes genius. My body's broken, but my mind has finally lit up after years of depression. It's all fun from here on. 💜💜💜

The value of $100,000,000 in 1992 is the same as around $211,000,000 today, so that's the potential relative worth of the deal as of 2022! Insane

This is great love the news Happy TGIF to you hope you have a great weekend my friend 😁💜💜💜💜💜

People can say what they want about Prince's musical output but look at how music is released today. Any and everyone can make a song tonight and have it available the next day. True artist don't fit in the mold of record labels. This is how we get the best of them. Just let genius do what they want and since Warner stifled him now we have to wait for Paisley to take their sweet time to figure out how to create compilation albums, remix and remaster demos then try to sell music to us in a package that wasn't curated by the genius himself. We lose as consumers.

Extra Trivia point: What you alluded to with Prince wanted a break also involved the short lived musical 'Glam Slam Ulysses' with Carmen Electra in which a lot of the Come songs featured.

Very insightful, great video.

Wow, amazing. I never know all of that in this much detail. Great video.

@PrincesFriend

3 жыл бұрын

Thank for checking it out. There’s a lot to uncover when you dig a bit

Thanks for the details, good research!!

@michelleottley5292

5 жыл бұрын

Mj had 200 songs he owed the label only 2 songs as a set. Prince Always had new music

Wow, my first video of yours and i'm DEFINITELY subscribing! Incredible. 💜

I was under the impression that Warner Brothers trademarked Prince's name in this contract, which meant that they owned his name, all the work copyrighted under the name, Prince, and thus if he left Warner Brothers Records, he would lose all rights to his name and music. Can anyone confirm if my assessment is correct?

Great info. I had no idea that 'Chaos and Disorder' tracks were supposed to be on the same album that Gold Experience/Come were meant to be. It makes me want to re-listen to the songs with that in mind. Though i prefer all of Prince's music from Diamonds & Pearls through Chaos & Disorder. It wasn't till he was finally free to make his 3 disk dream album, Emancipation, that i wasn't feeling the music much anymore. Don't get me wrong, it had some good songs (mostly on third disk) but overall felt like too much fluff.

@easysinmusic216

5 жыл бұрын

You are a smart one! His most a.axing albums came during that time. NPG ERA!

His band NPG and fierce live energy and shows was magic in the 90's though

Prince albums were all great!!!

@Ocean_Jack

3 жыл бұрын

Prince's albums after the early 90s were awful. Rave unto the Joy Fantastic was anything but fantastic.

@PrincesFriend

3 жыл бұрын

Disagree chemiah, but we all have different ears

Even before listening, I couldn't even get past his Beautiful penmanship! I so Love this Man still.❤❤❤❤❤

Prince was not properly promoted. Some of his music did not belong in a regular pop station or Hip Hop station

@BoosterGoldEarth6

5 жыл бұрын

Can we get a interview

@PrincesFriend

5 жыл бұрын

With who?

@turntableone4356

5 жыл бұрын

A lot of soul artists who were big in the 80s went into the 90s and suffered in terms of sales and popularity due to the changing landscape of black radio...black radio in the 1990s got rid of the soul bands and black male in suit and tie and opted for the sagging pants thug hard looking performers like R. Kelly, D'Angelo and TLC.

@JJDPROMEDIAPRODUCTION

4 жыл бұрын

Yes he was !( Marketed correctly) Record companies want hits! Like Jimmy Jam and Terry and Michael were putting out. he was mad because the music he was doing was not resonating with the masses.

Prince was right, the record company own those singers, rappers, because they're so excited to become famous and don't ask questions before signing in blood. Prince still to me out smarts Warner Bro. and they hated the man and that's really sad. How is this man writing all his own songs but they make all the money and did nothing, sing, play instruments, dance, not jack. Young people wake up. Oh I forgot they own the broadcasting for the music to heard. RIP Prince I still to this day don't believe the way they say you died. Don't believe it!!!!

Thanks for the explanation on all this. The early-mid 90s was definitely not his weakest era as many people think. In my opinion, it was his best. From Emancipation on, I lost interest and consider that to be his weakest era. Partially due to his adoption of organised religion and also due to the fundamental principle that too much freedom actually hinders artistic growth. There needs to be something to rally against. And the 90s gave him the balance of angst and idealism. It was just perfect.

Thanks for the interesting video. 'The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sales' was part of this contract too if I recall. Warner's also effectively shut down Paisley Park Records [Leading to NPG Records].

You nailed it on this.

@PrincesFriend

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you much 👍🏽💜

Cool thanks this is was really interesting to see now i’d just love to see hear how MJ’s contract with Sony faired out in full depth

Great review!!! I didn't know the details of his contract! I did hear the contract was worth more than Madonna & MJ at the time. Prince was "Blackballed" by the Music Industry in the 90's which we all know hurt him commercially! Musicology was his "Saving Grace" commercially!!! Like myself his "True Admirers" stayed with him through the peaks and valleys!!! O(+>

@PrincesFriend

6 жыл бұрын

His valleys have some of my favorite songs in it, so to me they aren't even really valleys. #onlymountainsforprince

@1963CamEra

6 жыл бұрын

Prince's Friend Wow! Great statement about his valleys. Emancipation is my favorite Prince album of the "90's".

@kl3620

6 жыл бұрын

Princes Friend. It's funny that you use the term "Peaks and Valleys". Beside Prince, my other favorite long time group were the Bee Gees. Maurice Gibb used the exact phrase, "Peaks and Valleys" to describe their long term career. It's the valleys, that to me, have produced the best music. I could care less about commerciality (but then I'm not trying to get paid), I'm concerned about the raw art.

@laprib9650

6 жыл бұрын

I agree with you T. Eugene Ricks, Jr. Emancipation is the one Prince album that pulled me back in to his music when I saw him on Oprah playing that for her. I guess it was at his home in his studio (or whatever he called that room). Wow!

@laprib9650

6 жыл бұрын

Memories! I wasn't a long-term Prince fan because I was mostly into Gospel music. I still think that Prince was a genius and I will never forget him. I met him only once accidentally while walking to one of my favorite stores in a large shopping center. He walked over and put my hands into his hands and I didn't know who he was at first. I was wondering who is this man holding my hands. It was only after I had started walking on to the store I was headed to that it dawned on me who that man was that held my hands. It popped into my head that "that was Prince!" I turned around to look for him and didn't see him. Dag!

Great breakdown. Now I really understand the brothas struggles with the record company.

Good information

Prince is my favorite musical entity of all time... HOWEVER, I never really understood his hatred of WB. Seems like from the very beginning they bent over backwards for him. Letting him do all the producing of his early albums, letting him sign his friends and girlfriends to record deals, letting him make movies. MJ, Madonna, and even Bruce Springsteen weren't doing all of that and they all sold way more records than Prince did. (Obviously, Madonna made movies but not in connection with her record company) Even in the 80's, only 3 of the 9 albums Prince released were commercial blockbusters... 1999, Purple Rain, and Batman. The fact that WB was willing to make that huge deal with him in 1992 is pretty amazing considering his hit or miss track record (saleswise) after Purple Rain. Since the industry standard had switched to CDs over vinyl and CDs could hold roughly twice the amount of music as a vinyl record, that should have solved Prince's desire to make "double" albums, if not "triple". I understand wanting to own the master recordings but all of Prince's other gripes about his contract seem silly to me.

@ishmailmuana5911

Жыл бұрын

This is my thing with Prince. I understand his point of view, but when you look at the context of his entire relationship with Warner, he was truly going out of his way to make things difficult at times. At the end of the day, we're far past that now.

The Beautiful Experience and Get Wild from NPG exodus album were a taste of a new era for Prince once he unshackled himself from the chains of the Warner contracts. I had such high anticipation for the new triple album emancipation.

Thank you for this video. Did you ever personally know Prince? He was my cousin. Music and being a multi instrumentalist runs deep in our family

@PrincesFriend

2 жыл бұрын

Never met him myself sadly. It would have been a dream. Nice to meet you though, Darryl. Hit me up anytime and welcome to the community. And so glad you liked the video.

@beloved3244

2 жыл бұрын

@@PrincesFriend thanks brother 🔥✊🏾

Princes triple album was economical. A triple album could’ve easily sold for $25 in the 90s if packaged correctly, but with the marketing costs of just one which would HUGELY increases profit margins… not to mention they would’ve saved the $10m per album, they’re getting 3 for 1, Prince was giving them value for money. At the same time I feel like Prince was scamming them and playing victim to get away with it knowing the public would side with him

The albums that he turned in to WB to make up for the deal were: The Hits Come The Black Album The Gold Experience Chaos & Disorder The Vault: Old Friends For Sale If I'm not mistaken, I believe he still had one more hits package due in the contract, which ended up being "The Very Best Of Prince", which he was going to counteract with "The Very Best Of O(+>" on NPG. If my facts are correct at the time, TVBOP was released because "The Rainbow Children" was about to be released as his first new official album under the Prince name and WB was capitalizing off of it. On top of all that, strictly in industry terms, the real reason why his face wasn't on any O(+> indie releases was because in the industry, at the time, he was unable to use his own name in conjunction with his likeness to promote the album due to his contracts still in effect with Warner. They let him pursue his indie efforts, but they still owned the "Prince" name until 1999. The 1992 overall contract (including publishing) was technically for - you guessed it - 7 years. Thus, "NewPower Soul" being released under the NPG band name while having his face on the cover. Also, probably why he was allowed to use the Prince name as producer for "Rave" and setting up for the aborted "High" album in 2000.

This was really interesting! I find all the contracts and deals really confusing. Thanks for breaking it all down. I love all the early 90s albums like D&P, O(+> and Come. I think they're amazing. I haven't heard The Gold Experience yet, but I love Emancipation!

@PrincesFriend

7 жыл бұрын

+Ashley White you're in for a treat if you missed the Gold Experience

@ashleywhite9858

7 жыл бұрын

Prince's Friend Yes, everyone says that The Gold Experience is amazing. Hopefully I'll be able to get it soon.

@Mrazmatmahmood

7 жыл бұрын

Ashley White you can listen to it on tidal!

@ashleywhite9858

7 жыл бұрын

MrAzmatMahmood Yes, I don't have Tidal. I want to get the CD eventually, so I might as well just wait until I get the CD.

@ashleywhite9858

7 жыл бұрын

MrAzmatMahmood I'm interested to hear the alternate mix of The Most Beautiful Girl In The World on TGE. Everyone says that it's better than the single version.

Just one word......PERFECT👌💜👏👏👏🔝🎸🎵

@PrincesFriend

5 жыл бұрын

oh thanks! and this was an older video. lol

@giannipascia4034

5 жыл бұрын

@@PrincesFriend vintage its better sometimes lol

Watched the entire video before making a comment, that being said, this could not be rightly described as being an examination of any substance... it's not really based in reality as it relates to business...It seems to me to be a quick restating of old PR sound bites, which are never factual, in fact they are designed not to be. Not trying to be overly critical here, it's just that when we are talking about matters that really only those who have an interest in the music business would be watching, it's important to provide substantive information...More importantly, when we discuss an artist as monumental, as influential, as progressive as Prince, we must have context that accurately reflects his life & times...it's just too important...and imperative for us to get it right. For example, What were the combined album sales from the projects released before the deal? In order to avoid contradictions, what was the individual overhead on the projects? What were the total profits? What is the relevance of his "Hard Core" Fan/Supporters base...This is really important, so that we can get a realistic grasp of the numbers...I say this knowing what the numbers were/are...I myself and knowing others who upon every release would purchase every release both commercial and bootlegged without actually having heard the music before hand or seeing any sort of relavent promotion...Let's just be real...Prince didn't need the kind of marketing push that the others you mentioned needed... Prince supporters knew what they were going to get...This would suggest that Warners didn't expend any relevant capital toward this end...Why else would they propose a !00 Million dollar deal to an artist who wasn't selling, at least 100 Million dollars worth of product?Are you suggesting that they did this out of the kindness of their hearts? Of course you aren't but the video would lead some to that conclusion...As it relates to publishing, Prince was under an administership with Warner since the beginning... That's the reason he signed with them in the first place...He never did any sort of pub deal that would relinquish or dilute his control over his music...hence, in years past, you would not be able to find it on the internet. short of peer to peer...The issue with Warners was over ownership of the Master Recordings... Which if you look at the facts, he did, in fact own...They just extorted him and he had to accept it...for a period of time...So that we may put the whole subject in it's proper context, let me state, PRINCE WAS NOT A MAINSTREAM ARTIST OR ACT! Never was....His career cannot be examined through that lens...Frankly, his intent was to use Warner as a releasing and distributing resource...His only mistake was not realizing that he was doing business with gangsters.

@kandikane923

6 жыл бұрын

Well stated and you are so right, Prince wasn't a mainstream artist nor do i believe he wanted to be but he was put into that category to some degree, he was such a standalone multi talented artist on a much higher level than most, he could create and play all genres of music so amazingly well. No one can really compare to him and Prince knew what had to offer and i am so proud he put up good fight to have ownership of his music, may he rip now. Love u 4ever Prince

@ptahsabaqrayay8816

4 жыл бұрын

Yes I Agree With What You Said! Right On Point. And let Me Please Add That Prince Was The Only Artist Hu Could Annouce A Concert That He Was Playing A Day Before The Show And Sell Out In One Hour! And Would Have To Add Two , Three Or More Shows. No Other Could Touch Him!!! thAnkh You PRINCE!! TRUE JUSTICE FOR U AND PEACE WITH BLESSINGS!! YOUR MURDERERS WILL GET THEIR PUNISHMENT!!!

@justtester_9962

4 жыл бұрын

@@ptahsabaqrayay8816 I think you could do that (concert) with MJ too and probably a much bigger venue. Madonna too probably.

This was my favorite era i was all in!

@PrincesFriend

7 жыл бұрын

+Lenny Beason agreed there

I loved the albums that preceded after his contract dispute with Warner Bros. For friends of Pronce this was awesome. I remember when the "Come" album was released. It accompanied me in Europe on my France tour back 95. Alot of thhat music which was being released had some awesome gems. I'm not mad at all. I was like more music the better. There was one point,I was trying to assimilate this music which was being released so exponentially. I was Prince congested. Remember life is moving at te same time. But, Prince was right there. I call the 90's his most inventiive era creatively.

Maybe he should've worked everything out BEFORE signing. It just seemed laughable. Fine print must always be read. Don't let anyone rush you.

LOVE SYMBOL MY FAV PRINCE ALBUM

@PrincesFriend

4 жыл бұрын

It is really good

As always great review. That being said, when you reduce this down to its basic elements, this spat with Warner, screwed the fans.

@PrincesFriend

4 жыл бұрын

Interesting view. Can you elaborate?

I understand why Prince asked for more because Prince shared the stage with many talents that he had to pay for! So smart on Prince part! He wasn't a dummy, he learned for the previous contract! Plus Shelia E. said that when she did the lovesexy tour she owned Prince 1 million dollars. Prince always got his way!

@thejimmyjsmoovenetwork7804

6 жыл бұрын

Monique Williams thank you which is why he got sued by Levi Spicer

@neowa

5 жыл бұрын

Actually that's incorrect what happened with Sheila is she went into debt on her own from overspending and Prince paid off the $1 million debt.

It's basically what put a target on Prince's back. He made several people angry.

I wonder what would happen if Prince had done Purple Rain, promotes it until he releases Sign O The Times, and when he gets to the contract, Warner would let him do 'The Dawn' triple album. What would that alternate timeline would result in? of course he still would do The Gold Experience and Diamonds and Pearls.

I a Prince fan since 1984, but you seem more into Prince than I!! Have you ever met him, or seen him in person?

I loved this video

@PrincesFriend

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Trying to give some useful info in between the fun bits 😂

thanks for the history lesson bro

@PrincesFriend

3 жыл бұрын

Any time!

So much. I dont begin to get the contract stuff but the thing I got mad at Prince about was him saying he wouldn't give his best work because he was mad at WBR. What he 4got was the records are 4ever and his less than stellar albums would kinda suffer.(Not by me) Having said that I still havent found an album I dont like at least most of the songs. I understand him wanting to emancipate after WBR told him they didnt care what he wrote that it all belonged to them. But he made some mistakes. Who doesnt? And its hard to fight the labels. You cant please everyone, tho. He is putting out too much music, he got greedy, he was arrogant, his music after PR sucked. Prince was tied up by WBR and he didnt like it. His throwaways are better than a lot of people's best. One person's trash is another person's treasure. His after PR is still good to me. I rarely go back to the 80s. I was with him from For You. I could go all year and not hear Raspberry Beret or Starfish, or Paisley Park or LRC or even Purple Rain. In fact now that Computer Blue has the extended version I never listen to Purple Rain. Anyway, yes, he made some mistakes with the contract, I guess, but the reason we have the Vault is because he could never produce all that was in his head. It must have been extremely frustrating for him. He produced more music in a week than most produced in a year. Frustrating! ANd WBR was trying to slow him down even more. All his later music DID NOT FLOP, and some of us actually prefer the non commercial music. It was a mess contractually, I get it. But he did what he felt he needed to do. I love what came out of it. Always will.

Unlike David Bowie, it seems as though Prince remained primarily with Warner Brothers (Gotta love contrasts) What was happening to David Bowie in 1992? Has anyone done a Venn Diagram to compare the two?

R.I.P. Prince

U did great bro. It's complicated and tricky 2 explain. Well done.

@PrincesFriend

5 жыл бұрын

thanks so much!

@denisecappelletti2648

4 жыл бұрын

OK I met Prince at his Glam Slam Club Miami Beach he did a small concert only like 100 people we sat at tables Mayte was with him plus a band this was 1994 even then I saw a sadness about him I am not sure why at the time.

@denisecappelletti2648

4 жыл бұрын

That whole thing with Warners he told me he was getting married and then everything that happened with Mayte and the baby

Yes!!! Thank you!!! "House Rules" are always in effect -Change Copyright/Work For Hire Law - lemme C Ya try. ;)

Really like your show and the honest, sensible content. Do you have any knowledge on the 2014 contract and what it looked like with WB? I get the feeling it left WB sore and pissed especially in distribution when Prince locked down to only go through Tidal and was offering his fans the opp. to sale his CD's. Media keeps saying Prince didn't bother with contracts, but WE ALL KNOW that one existed so where's it at?

@PrincesFriend

6 жыл бұрын

I'd have to do some more research, but that information isn't as readily available sadly. I'll start looking around though.

@myonie22

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

It would seem to me that the 3 times Prince had an idea for a triple album the resulting creative output more than justified the idea. It makes you wonder how Prince's creative arc may have changed if the triple album projects were released by WB as Prince intended. How much more may have unfurled from him on the strength of seeing his musical manifest as he desired to present it to the world.

@PrincesFriend

3 жыл бұрын

Exacyly

Thanks again Princes Friend for a great content rich episode. I would love to know where the 3 or 4 lead people from Warner Bros charged with "handling" the Prince 'account/relationship" then, are now? In corporate terms they tried to patronise him with a unique but "over-featured" deal in the hope of keeping him too busy to give them any grief. But they failed to recognise his compulsion to create rather than his non existent need for a quasi corporate A&R status hound role. They confused their value system with his. A contract designed by a committee. Tone deaf relationship management to defer the inevitable day when he would challenge them for his masters. When he got his masters in 2014, and was unmarried - his legacy incentivised his death warrant by persons unknown but close to him.

The Times had this to say about Michael Jackson's Sony Contract. I'm not sure where you are getting the $60 million Dollar Contract from. "Industry executives who have followed the negotiations said the contract called for Mr. Jackson, who is already the highest-paid performer in the record business, to receive an advance higher than the $18 million he was reported to have received for the final record of his current contract. That would mean that Mr. Jackson would be paid more than $108 million for the six new albums alone, on top of whatever he might receive for the movies, television shows and records he might produce, write or star in."

@PrincesFriend

6 жыл бұрын

Feel free to provide a link as well.

now I've got 2 go back to chaos and disorder. I listened 2 it once, and thought it was a throw away 2 get out of contract. The other albums, especially Come and Gold Experience, were 2 of my favorites.

@PrincesFriend

7 жыл бұрын

Prince respected music too much to do anything throw away. They may not have been everyone's favorite songs, but they were written at the same time as Come and Gold Experience to be part of a 3-disc set. Geez, Chaos & Disorder has a few of my all time favorite tracks, mostly Right the Wrong and Same December.

@glshe067

7 жыл бұрын

Prince's Friend I should have known better. Thanks Friend!

I watched this video twice to better understand some things. So, Prince apparently pulled back on the deal that he initially agreed with, right? What I still don't understand is what made the deal so unfavorable to him. As for the output during that 92 and after timeframe, I remember being a fan that eagerly anticipated each of his releases only to be disappointed that it didn't give me the same music feeling that I had from the music he put out from 78-86. There were a few bangers, but like many fans, I wanted something more on the standard he had set. At least this video helps me to understand why creatively Prince's work wasn't that strong. It was just a release of work that was in the vault. It was nothing new. I guess it all confirms how complicated the industry is and how it can zap an artist's energy and spirit.

It's like Pepe Willie said He was so focused on having the largest Wrekka Contrak in music history, he was willing to accept whatever stipulations they threw at him and in the end, he found himself in the rears with WB. Its a damn shame things went the way they went. He got what he wanted but didn't like it when it was laid out before him. It shows how relentless he was when it cam to bending people to his will. Not to mention WB seeing how marketable he was as well, up until he started trying put out multiple albums per year with little promotion of those albums.

Michael jackson was the highest paid entertainer ever . He signed a deal with sony in 1991 for 1 billion dollars and he would receive $10 million per record . Michael jackson was so hard to sign by any record company because he was the person that owned Beatles catalogue so he already was the richest of all musician/entertainers . He was and still is the only artist that signed to SONY SOFTWARE ( the parent company ) rather than SONY Entertainment divisions . It was said that Michael would receive $108 million from Sony and additional royalty for his record sales and songwriting . But where Michael Jackson fell to this trap prince was clever and smart enough to know that he was being played . So PRINCE WAS THE BRAVEST OF ALL MUSICIAN IN THE HISTORY .

Interesting review. Don't know if you have seen the documentary called 'Slave Trade - How Prince re-made the music business'. It documents his post 80s period right up to 3rd Eye Girl with a big chunk on him leaving WB, predicting the rise of the web etc. Recommended. Have mixed feelings on his 90s output. His quality control was all over the place, making the albums less consistent IMHO

The Act 1 tour was awesome

What about the 2014 contract.

your friend met me in a dream & taught me to play “1999”

So basically, Prince's contract/slave years era where he was badmouthing WB was the "Monique's Netflix Boycott" of the early 90s? LOL I'm kind of like Prince in the sense of; if I'm doing my thing and bringing the company A LOT OF MONEY then just back off at let me do what I do. I hate being micromanaged...However, where I don't side with Prince is that you shouldn't sign something like that and then not fulfill the obligations and purposefully stay with the company even after they want to pay you out of the deal. You know that I think during this era, that is why I never really heard much if any of Prince's music because it was never really promoted! Even on Spotify, I scroll through the albums like; "Wait, when did this come out in the 90s???" Kind of like how MJ had to go through the child molestation charges era, Prince went through the contract era and that is probably why both artists had songs out that I really didn't hear because their careers were being pushed aside (especially by the media) because they were dealing with the legal system in one way or another.

@bethfaile3833

6 жыл бұрын

The Haves and the Have Nots Review Prince had actually started handling his own distribution of his work in the 90s. He performed, recorded, and promoted his own work...mostly through NPG and he had a website for members where he sold his albums. He was only 17-18 when he signed the WB contract...he was young and had no idea what was included or omitted in that contract.

Thanks for the explanation. So "Come" + "The Gold Experience" + "Chaos and Disorder" equals (more or less) the music of "The Dawn"?

@PrincesFriend

6 жыл бұрын

+Christian S. That is exactly it!

Never will be a day I feel 4 record companies

@PrincesFriend

3 жыл бұрын

😂

thank you for not eating in this video

Where can a copy of this contract be found?

I remember working for a fortune 500 company and writing SlaVe on my Face. Nobody said anything for 2 days and then Human Resources left me an email and wanted to meet with me. Long story short. I removed it fast!!!!!!!!!!😁 Loved Prince innovations

@PrincesFriend

3 жыл бұрын

😂

@ABN6565

3 жыл бұрын

@@PrincesFriend for real my brother. 😂😂 Appreciate the channel as well. You got it right about Warner too.

@PrincesFriend

3 жыл бұрын

I worked in a call center at the time and honestly they treated me pretty well I would maybe have done the slave thing too if they didn’t but it’s funny that it requires a lot of freedom proclaim you are a slave huh?

I always asked myself what songs did artist put out that labels forced them to, good to know that Prince had entire projects that basically were the label forcing it's hand.

@PrincesFriend

Жыл бұрын

I mean yes and no. It all would have seen the light anyway. It was just faster. 💜

@johndoejrjr

Жыл бұрын

@@PrincesFriend I appreciate you, I'm sure I'm doing exactly what Prince wanted to do with his artistry atm, but with mine. I couldn't have done it without his story. Very underrated Intelligence came from Prince.

Is it a coincidence that Prince's recording career started to slip (and never really recovered) when he got rid of his managers, started his feud with warner brothers, changed his name & changed labels? It seems to me he had no business people giving him advice at this point or he just wasn't listening. Warners refused to release the 3 LP crystal ball album a few years before. Why did he think they would let him release the 3 CD the dawn album?

@PrincesFriend

7 жыл бұрын

+Brian Inglis it depends on what you mean by slipping. In later years Prince sold less albums sure, but it was mostly due to poor promotion and possibly distribution channels imo. The music was always top-notch and he stilled banked off those albums pretty damn well since he was selling direct and keeping the majority of profits.

@Realigndadjmusic

6 жыл бұрын

Yesss!

@brianinglis3805

6 жыл бұрын

Prince's friend - everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have been collecting everything prince i could get my hands on since 1986 when I was 13 years old trawling second hand record stores (no internet back then) in Sydney Australia for every album, b-side, extended version etc. in my opinion prince's post warners feud albums were always disappointing. (I bought every one of them when they came out hoping he'd got his mojo back) the only 2 good albums were in my opinion - the rainbow children (despite the JW speeches) and his last album hit n run phase 2 (a return to his 70s roots).

@1963CamEra

6 жыл бұрын

Brian Inglis Prince was all about creating the music he wanted to not about commercial success! Prince in his first MTV interview stated he wanted to create all kinds of music! In my opinion he didn't want to be put in a box! Prince "The Genre Buster". O(+>

All of them are on Amazon.com

News!!!!! Prince music videos are now up on iTunes!!! 😱

@PrincesFriend

7 жыл бұрын

They've been up for weeks. I've even done a couple of update videos to remind people to subscribe. lol. Glad you're on it now though. :)

Well the problem with most of the music industry contracts is that it consists in advances on albums releases. Much higher the amounts are much controled you are by the labels ! So whatever if Prince was promissed 10 millions per album released, if the sales don't cover that advance you have to pay back or be under the label's orders... Many musicians have been blocked by that and Prince or George Michael were not the first and the latest...because we are talking about money on one side and art on the other...

Interesting on all PF. Thank you. I wanted to ask ...If he signed an extended contract on 8/31/92 and was totally done time thereafter, why does his Art Official Age album 2014 have WB listed on it? If he was done with his contractual miseries earlier in his life...wonder why go back to WB? I’ve wondered on this. Do you know why?

@PrincesFriend

4 жыл бұрын

He signed a new contract at that time.

@1DeLeon

4 жыл бұрын

Prince's Friend Do you mean the ‘92 K (K means contract) was in place all up until he passed? Some of his work doesn’t have WB on it, this was the only one I noticed had WB on it.

@PrincesFriend

4 жыл бұрын

in 2014 when he signed to get his masters back, he signed new deal... that's what you're seeing. But he made deals for some albums and not for others. he was tricky that way. :)

Prince is temperamental. known for his grand over the top tempertantrums.#Afriend2

@PrincesFriend

5 жыл бұрын

and that's part of his appeal. :)