Hidden in the bowels of two storage vaults in Paisley Park, hundreds, possibly thousands, of unheard songs recorded by Prince await release to expectant fans. Unfortunately, fans will have to wait. Prince died in April 2016 without a will. This has made probate of his estate difficult at best. New upheaval has made release of this previously unheard music even less likely to occur in the near future. Universal, in the midst of a $31 million deal for rights to the music, has accused representatives from Bremer Trust of misleading and possibly defrauding the company. According to Universal, it was not until they closed the deal that they became aware that some of the rights they paid for conflicted with rights owned by Warner. It now looks as though Universal wants to back out of the deal.
See Ben Sisario, Disputes over Prince’s Estate Throw the Future of His Vault into Question, The New York Times, June 25, 2017.
Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
