One of Prince’s representatives has denied reports that his legendary vault of unreleased music is being put on sale for $35m (£29m). According to Billboard, the three major music labels Warner, Universal and Sony have been in talks to secure rights to the music. Billboard said the sale was being handled by estate advisers Charles Koppelman and L Londell McMillan.
However, McMillan took to Twitter to hit back at Billboard, insisting: “Please don’t believe that absurd article on the vault. There are so many false rumours.” He agreed with one tweeter’s insistence that the quoted price was too low, calling it “unacceptable”, and called on Billboard to “correct your ‘vault’ story. Please get your facts together.”
Irresponsible journalism on #Prince should be a crime. Don't put out garbage please! ☔️
— L Londell McMillan (@LondellMcMillan) October 13, 2016
The contents of Prince’s vault have long been the stuff of musical legend. It is believed that it contains thousands of hours of recorded music spanning the length of his 40-year career before his unexpected death in April 2016. Owing to the conplicated series of contracts Prince had with different labels, there are likely to be significant disputes over who owns the right to certain pieces of music, depending on who he was signed to at the time of recording.
It has also been reported that the deluxe edition of Purple Rain, announced as part of the artist’s 2014 Warner Bros deal, could be released in early 2017, along with a new greatest hits compilation later this year. Other deluxe reissues of Prince’s classic albums are expected to follow.
Prince appears on Forbes’ current list of the top-earning dead celebrities. Sales of his music soared following his death from an accidental drug overdose, placing him in fifth on the list with estimated earnings of $25m. The only musicians above him are Elvis Presley with $27 and Michael Jackson, who topped the list with $825m earnings.
A judge is still to rule over which family members will be officially declared heirs to Prince’s estate.
