http://www.vanityfair.com...bio-201110

The tail end of 1993 marked a crisis point for Prince and Warner Bros., the company that had made him a star: several months after the artist unveiled his unpronounceable new name , album sales were down and record execs were growing impatient. In an exclusive excerpt from the upcoming biography Prince: The Music and the Masks , author Ronin Ro tells the tale of how all of this calamity very nearly spelled the end of a decades-long partnership.

By Ronin Ro

COURTESY OF ST. MARTIN’S PRESS.

Adapted from Prince: Inside the Music and the Masks, by Ronin Ro, to be published this month by St. Martin's Press; © 2011 by the author.

He still owed Warner five albums. He could give them that much vault material whenever they wanted. Then, as , he could release new stuff on a smaller label. It’d be a dream come true, to finally release as much music as he created. “I just wish I had some magic words I could say to Warner’s so it would work out.”

During one meeting, a Warner executive said, “We don’t want any more Prince albums.”

“That’s the name on the contract,” he answered.

“That’s not the name people know you by now.”

If he was going by , they wanted ’s new work. But he said, “You didn’t sign him.”

Claiming he’d stop playing old Prince songs added to Warner’s frustration. Mo Ostin, Waronker, and other top executives and attorneys met to discuss his “retirement,” his refusal to submit new music, and his name change. He was retaliating for Gold Nigga, they felt, hoping to use “alternative media” for new projects while handing them old stuff. Some in the room called it breach of contract. But—thanks, some said, to Russ Thyret—they wouldn’t take immediate legal action. If anything, they were relieved. For once, he wasn’t in their face, asking them to release more music. They could also create a stopgap greatest-hits collection.

That summer both sides retreated from a potential legal battle. They told Prince about the greatest-hits collection. He reluctantly supported it. Though his Paisley Park Studios vault held about 500 unreleased songs, project producer Gregg Geller of Warner Bros. didn’t use many. Warner filled it with classics like “When Doves Cry” and “1999,” and rare single B-sides. But Prince soon stepped forward to offer four unreleased numbers: his new song, “Pink Cashmere,” his late-80s ballad “Power Fantastic,” his smooth new dance-rap “Pope,” and his 50s-inspired new rocker “Peach,” most of which featured playing by the New Power Generation. He even threw in his live version of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” with Rosie Gaines, recorded during an invitation-only Paisley Park event with revamped music.

Some reporters claimed Prince was discarding a celebrated trademark. But Prince felt when the lights went down in a concert hall, and he spoke into a microphone, “it doesn’t matter what your name is.” Jokes and references to “Symbol Man,” “the Glyph,” and “What’s-His-Symbol” crept into stories. As did accusations this symbol was part of a renegotiation strategy or scheme to escape his contract. Prince claimed he was just drawing a line in the sand. “Things change here.” He was seeing which media outlets respected him. And if something frustrated him, Prince remembered that Muhammad Ali saw reporters and fight fans call him Cassius Clay for years. Privately, however, Prince knew this decision was shrinking his audience even more.

“It was the worst period of my life,” he later told Salon.com. “I was being made physically ill by what was going on.” But he had started on this path and couldn’t give in. He had to keep putting on a brave front. He told another writer at Paisley Park, “Here there is solitude, silence. I like to stay in this controlled environment.” People were saying he was out of touch. Fine. He’d create 25 to 30 albums and “catch up with Sinatra so you tell me who’s out of touch.” Detractors could say what they want. “One thing I ain’t gonna run out of is music.” A magazine wrote that fulfilling his Warner contract with vault songs while releasing new ones somewhere else as didn’t “hold much promise as a legal theory.” And before Prince knew it, the media had a new name for him. After a British journalist described him as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, others adopted the phrase. It seemingly ridiculed his decision, but American newspaper writers used it, too. So did TV stations. He frowned. “I’m not the Artist Formerly Known as Anything. Use my name.”

By July 1993, he wanted to release a song as on another label. Warner chairman Mo Ostin said no. They could find a way “but they’re afraid of the ripple effect, that everybody would want to do it,” Prince felt. But Warner wasn’t the only problem. It was the entire industry. “There’s just a few people with all the power.” After declining to play the MTV Music Awards “suddenly, I can’t get a video on MTV, and you can’t get a hit without that.” He came to respect Pearl Jam, who had recently decided not to film any more videos.

Unable to release music as , Prince decided to cram new music into other media. August 21, he premiered Glam Slam Ulysses, a play that offered a modern take on Homer’s Odyssey in his new Glam Slam club in Los Angeles (his renovated club). The production cost several hundred thousand dollars and included 12 dancers, and 13 new songs. But the Los Angeles Times called it “silly.” Once it flopped, Prince kept moving these new songs from one project to another.

Around him, people felt Prince was wasting money on what insiders called “things of little or no commercial value.” These included the erotic stage version of Ulysses, a cheaply packaged “poly-gender fragrance” called “Get Wild,” stage sets and rehearsals for tours he never took, and videos. If someone told him no, he grew exasperated. A business manager urged him to spend less, and he told her, “I don’t need a mother.”

Alternative media could also mean movies. So Prince agreed to provide songs for director James Brooks’s latest film. The 53-year-old’s debut as writer-director, 1984’s Terms of Endearmentwon three Oscars, including best picture. His 1987 film Broadcast News frowned on network news stations and infotainment. His latest, I’ll Do Anything, was a father-daughter story with Nick Nolte, Tracy Ullman, and other cast members singing songs. Prince handed Brooks all-new works called “Wow,” “Make Believe,” a title track, “Don’t Talk 2 Strangers,” “My Little Pill,” “There Is Lonely,” “Be My Mirror,” and “I Can’t Love U Anymore.” He offered two others, “The Rest of My Life” and “Empty Room,” but Brooks rejected them early in production. (By August 1993, Brooks had finished the film. Columbia Pictures held the first test screening. “Audience response was calamitous,” Time reported. “One hundred people walked out, and opinion cards showed they hated the songs.”)

September 7 and 8, Prince was in London, with Rob Borm, director of the “Gett Off” video, filming his shows. But just as Prince was about to take the stage, according to Bruce Orwall in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Borm asked about the $450,000 Paisley Park still owed him for the “Gett Off” video. “You should know better than to talk to me about money, especially before a gig,” Prince snapped. Prince went onstage to perform, but his attorney and business manager soon delivered similar lectures. Facing angry creditors, Borm called his own attorney for advice. The lawyer advised Borm to pull his crew, come home, and start negotiating for payment. The tour ended by September 1993. And back home, Prince finally dismissed his band, the New Power Generation.

That same month, there were changes at Warner. A corporate realignment plan now had Prince’s longtime supporter Mo Ostin reporting to Warner Music Group chairman Robert Morgado instead of the company’s top man, as Ostin had for years. Fearing a loss of autonomy, Ostin resigned. His departure inspired more resignations and realignment plans, leaving the world’s largest record company nearly paralyzed. Still more acts and executives learned Ostin was leaving, and planned their own departures as soon as contractually possible.

Prince, or , was a lousy talent scout, other Warner executives in Burbank decided. Paisley Park Records had costly penthouse offices in Century City, California, and a staff of nearly 20, but had changed top executives three times in one year. Prince reportedly never stepped foot in the place. They saw Prince authorize overgenerous projects, like sending a film crew to Egypt to shoot footage of Carmen Electra, he allegedly never even released. Then Carmen’s album flopped. By the time Paisley released new albums by Mavis Staples and George Clinton in late 1993, Warner’s interest had faded. They faced the facts: the label wasn’t profitable.

We know.

http://prince.org/msg/7/369145

I didn't know. Thanks for the post.

They saw Prince authorize overgenerous projects, like sending a film crew to Egypt to shoot footage of Carmen Electra, he allegedly never even released. Then Carmen’s album flopped.

That was Mayte, he had filmed in Egypt.

I think the text is a bit confused as to when things happened. It would have been better to keep things chronologically.

Genesia said:

We know.

http://prince.org/msg/7/369145

That really was a chaotic period.

scififilmnerd said:

They saw Prince authorize overgenerous projects, like sending a film crew to Egypt to shoot footage of Carmen Electra, he allegedly never even released. Then Carmen’s album flopped.

That was Mayte, he had filmed in Egypt.

I think the text is a bit confused as to when things happened. It would have been better to keep things chronologically.

Welcome back.

Timmy84 said:

That really was a chaotic period.

When I read that part about it making him physically ill, I could only think, "No wonder he looked like shit."

Genesia said:

Timmy84 said:

That really was a chaotic period.

When I read that part about it making him physically ill, I could only think, "No wonder he looked like shit."

It makes sense.

So glad to see Ronin Ro doing this. He offered an incredible glimpse into Suge Knight when he wrote a book about Death Row Records. Can't wait to buy a copy

scififilmnerd said:

They saw Prince authorize overgenerous projects, like sending a film crew to Egypt to shoot footage of Carmen Electra, he allegedly never even released. Then Carmen’s album flopped.

That was Mayte, he had filmed in Egypt.

I think the text is a bit confused as to when things happened. It would have been better to keep things chronologically.

wrong

it was carmen electra

check out the video trailer for her lp

perhaps you should check your confusion?

bobbyperu said:

So far it's not really the inside look that was promised. Just telling a well-known story all over again. But we'll see when the book comes out.

I have this book for a couple of months now, very nice to read, but nothing new or spectacular we didn't already know

Timmy84 said:

That really was a chaotic period.

It certainly was.That's one era that I don't really like to revisit ("the slave years").

jonylawson said:

scififilmnerd said:

That was Mayte, he had filmed in Egypt.

I think the text is a bit confused as to when things happened. It would have been better to keep things chronologically.

wrong

it was carmen electra

check out the video trailer for her lp

perhaps you should check your confusion?

They spent over $2 million promoting the Carmen Elektra album

SoulAlive said:

Timmy84 said:

That really was a chaotic period.

It certainly was.That's one era that I don't really like to revisit ("the slave years").

i agree it was chaotic but mostly due to prince's nonsense, crappy business sense and him acting like a child. he made most of the mess his was in, all by himself. i don't really like to revist those years either but mostly bcos of the bad hair and worse music... although the symbol cd isn't as bad as people have said it was, imo. more of a sleeper cd.

SoulAlive said:

jonylawson said:

wrong

it was carmen electra

check out the video trailer for her lp

perhaps you should check your confusion?

They spent over $2 million promoting the Carmen Elektra album

Ridiculous. Leave the kooky side projects alone please.

MadamGoodnight said:

SoulAlive said:

They spent over $2 million promoting the Carmen Elektra album

Ridiculous. Leave the kooky side projects alone please.

Prince is notorious for kooky side projects, notoriously overspending and not paying his bills.

But really, he is not an idiot.

In fact, he may even have been so shrewd to have authorised that much outrageous spending in those years, mainly to speeden up the termination of his contract with Warner.

It's a really big error and I'm surprised no one caught it... he acted as if Prince was only going to share the song The Undertaker when it was, in fact, an entire album of guitar-driven jams.

Tremolina said:

MadamGoodnight said:

Ridiculous. Leave the kooky side projects alone please.

Prince is notorious for kooky side projects, notoriously overspending and not paying his bills.

But really, he is not an idiot.

In fact, he may even have been so shrewd to have authorised that much outrageous spending in those years, mainly to speeden up the termination of his contract with Warner.

Yeah I read it in that sense too. He's not dumb at all. You gotta be shrewd to do what he was doing then. Though I don't particularly agree with the way he DID it lol

What is widely regarded as the best book around? One that covers the same or similar to what's in DMSR, but brings us up to the present day...

I have got my eye on Prince: Life and Times... Although I gather it's more style than substance?!

DSMR is the best book out there.

The only book that I want to read is the one that Prince writes. It's known that Prince is bad with business and worst with friends. I don't need to hear that again to know it's true. I want to hear Prince's defense.

muleFunk said:

DSMR is the best book out there.

The only book that I want to read is the one that Prince writes. It's known that Prince is bad with business and worst with friends. I don't need to hear that again to know it's true. I want to hear Prince's defense.

The only way you'll get it if he actually allows anyone to write it because it ain't coming out.

"his new song, “Pink Cashmere,” his late-80s ballad “Power Fantastic,”"

Pink Cashmere was from 1988 (hardly "new") and Power Fantastic was from 1986 (hardly "late-80's").

These factual approximations say a lot about the book itself, I guess.

[Edited 10/21/11 21:47pm]

Why do some music biographers always manage to fuck up the dates of when a certain song came out?!

Tremolina said:

MadamGoodnight said:

Ridiculous. Leave the kooky side projects alone please.

Prince is notorious for kooky side projects, notoriously overspending and not paying his bills.

But really, he is not an idiot.

In fact, he may even have been so shrewd to have authorised that much outrageous spending in those years, mainly to speeden up the termination of his contract with Warner.

He pimped the hell out of WB good

Then again he gave them Purple Rain

I have zero interest in this book.

rap said:

Timmy84 said:

Tremolina said:

Prince is notorious for kooky side projects, notoriously overspending and not paying his bills.

But really, he is not an idiot.

In fact, he may even have been so shrewd to have authorised that much outrageous spending in those years, mainly to speeden up the termination of his contract with Warner.

Yeah I read it in that sense too. He's not dumb at all. You gotta be shrewd to do what he was doing then. Though I don't particularly agree with the way he DID it

Yeah, his methods left a lot to desire. Style especially I feel.

However, I can still understand why Prince did the things he did (the name change, "prince is dead", the slave thing, the alternative ways to get his music out, the notorious overspending, the public blackballing of wb, the petitions, giving wb more and more mediocre music to release etc.).

If he hadn't done that. If he hadn't been such a "bad boy", but if Prince had played nice and did all they expected him to do, he would have probably been under contract with WB for 10 more years. Releasing a new album only every two years or so, with every new album another failed attempt of following the commercial trends, instead of setting them himself. Possibly even longer than 10 years, depending on the options to continue the contracts.

In the meantime he WOULD have gotten a LOT of money in advances from them, but the recorded music would not be his intellectual property, nor would his name and likeness. He would have to do what WB would would want him to do and thus that also means: promote the hell out of your shit, go on every stupid TV show we want you too and do no more (kooky) side projects, nor find any other (new or alternative) ways to get your music out. In other words: Be a very rich "slave". As in slave to WB, but also to the money and fame.

It's clear Prince saw this and that it didn't make him happy, at all. Prince has always been a freedom fighter, but paradoxically, at the same time also an enormous control freak, especially when it comes to his music and money. Thus he always had discussions and problems with WB already about what he could and could not release (CB), who owned what, who (got) paid for this etc.

Now, if an artist wants to get out of a recording and music publishing contract, plus in Prince's case also a sort of a joint venture agreement concerning the Paisley park label, that can be extremely difficult, but there are several ways to do it.

You could come to a termination agreement with your record company/publisher, but in Prince's case that was obviously not an option for WB, not at first at least. He was much too big of a cash cow for them, to let him go just like that.

Then second, you could go to court over it, but you would need a case to be able to win. It was doubtfull Prince would have a case regarding the contract. Moreover, the more he did WB wrong, the less chance of succes in court. Risky option.

Third and last option is: make sure your record company doesn't want you anymore and lets you go. In other words: if needed, commit carreer suicide. And that's exactly what Prince ultimately did. Hence the slave thing, the notorious overspending, the public blackballing of wb, the petitions, giving wb more and more mediocre music to release, "prince is dead" and the "re-birth" as

And what do you know...? They let him go.

[Edited 10/22/11 4:45am]

I don't know if anybody ever really notices it, but Prince's music from those days contains a lot of ambiguous lyrics, suggesting a double meaning towards WB.

Like Dolphin or Let it go, or I Hate you (the ext. version of it even has some very explicited lyrics regarding WB) Or the dark and suggestive artwork on Come, C&D and O4S