After 17 years, Warner Bros. Records has announced a new partnership with Prince "that will see the release of long-awaited, previously unheard music, while giving the artist ownership of the master recordings of his classic, global hits," a press release states.
The deal also gives Warner Bros. the license to every Prince album released from 1978 into the 1990s.
As part of the deal, Prince's classic album Purple Rain will be reissued in a remastered deluxe version in time for the 30th anniversary of the album and movie.
Over the past few months, Prince has teased new music and the release of his full-length PLECTRUMELECTRUM. Warner Bros. will likely release the album as part of the deal with "other planned projects to follow."
"A brand-new studio album is on the way," Prince said in a statement, "and both Warner Bros Records and Eye (sic) are quite pleased with the results of the negotiations and look forward to a fruitful working relationship."
As Billboard notes, this deal marks a new era following the Copyright Revision Act of 1976 (effective 1978), which allows artists to terminate master recording copyright after 35 years. The time frame for Prince's debut album expired last year.
Prince publicly split from the label back in 1996, saying he was a slave to the Warner Bros. He changed his name to a symbol and condemned the major label system. His choice to come back to the label after the turbulent split allows him to avoid a risky and costly legal battle while regaining ownership of his catalog.
It is unclear whether he will gain ownership of his catalog all at once or as each individual album becomes eligible for copyright termination. The financial terms and length of the licensing deal were not disclosed either.
According to Billboard, Warner Music Group declined to comment further on the details of the deal with chairman and CEO Cameron Strange saying in a statement: "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."
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