Prince Settles A 18-Year Dispute With Warner Bros.

Prince now owns the rights to the music he recorded on Warner Bros. Records after years of disputes and battles with the record label.

Warner Bros. announced Friday it had reached an agreement with the pop icon, who was signed to the label from 1978 to the mid-1990s, during which time he released key projects like “Purple Rain,” “1999,” “Diamonds and Pearls” and “Around the World in a Day.”

Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Prince’s new partnership will include the release of “previously unheard material” from his nearly two-decade tenure on the label. A 30th-anniversary edition of “Purple Rain” will be released this summer.

Prince, 55, said in a statement that he’s “pleased with the results of the negotiations” and looks “forward to a fruitful working relationship.”

The agreement comes years after Prince’s relationship with Warner Bros. soured as he failed to gain possession of the music he recorded for the label. He changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and wrote the word “slave” on his cheek. He also vowed to rerecord the 17 albums he released on the label and sell them on his own.

After Warner, Prince began releasing music in 1996 over the Internet, but didn’t match his previous successes. He struck deals with Arista Records and Columbia Records, where he saw a comeback with the Grammy-winning “Musicology” in 2004.

The singer has also released many albums through his own label, NPG Records, following his split with Warner.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer also said he’s working on new music apart from Warner Bros. Prince has recently been performing with the all-female trio 3RDEYEGIRL.

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