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Former Corporate ‘Slave’ Prince Signs with Sony
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Prince, who used to complain that he was a “slave” to one former record label, has signed with Sony Corp’s Columbia Records unit after several years as an independent artist, both parties said on Tuesday.
The worldwide deal initially covers only the funk veteran’s upcoming album, “Musicology,” which Columbia will release in the United States on April 20. The album coincides with Prince’s first tour in six years, which begins on March 27 in Reno, Nevada.
“I look forward to working closely with Prince as we bring Musicology to audiences across the country and throughout the world,” said Don Ienner, president of Sony Music U.S.
Somewhat cryptically, Prince, 45, added in the statement: “I am really an artist and musician at heart, that’s what I do. Musicology has no boundaries or formats. It is long overdue to return to the art and craft of music — that’s what this album is about. School’s in session.”
Prince enjoyed his greatest success with Warner Bros. Records, which signed him as a fledgling artist in 1977 and released such big sellers as “Dirty Mind” (1980), “Purple Rain” (1984) and “Sign O’ The Times” (1987). At one stage, he renegotiated a lucrative contract that also made him a vice-president at the label.
But the relationship soured in the early 1990s, with Prince claiming that Warner Bros. could not keep up with his prolific output. To drive the point home, he performed with the word “Slave” scrawled across his face.
He embarked on the indie road in 1996 with a 3-CD release, “Emancipation,” which he quickly followed up with more increasingly idiosyncratic albums. He returned to the major leagues for one of them, 1999’s “Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic,” which was handled by Bertelsmann AG’s Arista Records unit.