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iTunes lists NPG as owner of the Masters (formerly owned by WB) I'm not sure how significant this is, but I've been noticing the copyright information on Prince's WB-issued albums on iTunes. Specifically, the sound recording copyrights/master ownership, noted by the (p) symbol, which is different than the authorship copyrights (noted by (c) which Prince has always had).
The sound recording copyrights now seem to reflect that the masters are indeed now under the provenance of NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to WBR. Protege projects by The Time, Sheila E., etc. seem to still be owned by WBR. Spotify also lists them similarly (although there are some descrepancies likely due to clerical error?). In any case, here's how they are listed on iTunes.
For You (1978) (p) 1978 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Prince (1979) (p) 1979 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Dirty Mind (1980) (p) 1980 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Controversy (1981) (p) 1981 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
1999 (1982) (p) 1984 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Purple Rain (1984) (p) 1984 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Around the World in a Day (1985) (p) 1985 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Parade (1986) (p) 1986 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Sign o' the Times (1987) (p) 1987 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Lovesexy (1988) (p) 2007 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc. *I wonder why the date is different on this one.
Batman (1989) (p) 1989 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Graffiti Bridge (1990) (p) 1990 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Diamonds and Pearls (1991) (p) 1991 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
(1992) (p) 1992 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
The Hits/The B-Sides (p) This Compilation 1993 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Come (1994) (p) 1994 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
The Vault - Old Friends 4 Sale (1999) (p) 1999 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
The Very Best of Prince (2001) (p) 2001 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Ultimate: Prince (2007) (p) 2007 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Plectrumelectrum (2014) (p) 2014 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Art Official Age (2014) (p) 2014 NPG Records, Inc. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Neither The Gold Experience nor The Black Album are available on iTunes--I believe he had already owned the master to The Gold Experience? [Edited 10/24/14 23:53pm] "That...magic, the start of something revolutionary-the Minneapolis Sound, we should cherish it and not punish prince for not being able to replicate it."-Dreamshaman32 | |
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Part of Prince's new deal announcement with Warner Brothers states that Prince regains control of his master recordings.
Knowing this, the info is not surprising. It's to be expected. | |
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steakfinger said: Part of Prince's new deal announcement with Warner Brothers states that Prince regains control of his master recordings.
Knowing this, the info is not surprising. It's to be expected. Yeah but knowing prince's history nothing is to be expected until it actually happens. This is good info. I wonder what the deal is, he's not licensing any of his post WB stuff, why licence this? [Edited 10/25/14 5:43am] | |
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i imagine the deal with Warners was something like: 'we give you the masters, but you license them to us for at least X amount of years...'
That makes it a win-win, really. | |
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Yes i noticed that a few weeks ago. Looks good. | |
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Exactly... we at least have independent verification that he indeed did get the masters back. And I suspect like Rimshottbob part of the deal included the exclusive license for x number of years. "That...magic, the start of something revolutionary-the Minneapolis Sound, we should cherish it and not punish prince for not being able to replicate it."-Dreamshaman32 | |
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Good right? | |
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I think the less control Prince has over the remasters the better. WB want to give us live recordings,outtakes etc. it's Prince holding back. I dont think this is good. | |
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I was thinking that too. The bootleg discography may become the only record left of the vault material and our personal cd collections are all thats left of his official releases in their original form. | |
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It's pretty darn significant. Legally, it is not proof of the exact ownership, nor is a registration of the copyright at the US Copyright Office.
. [Edited 10/25/14 12:41pm] | |
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SignOthetimes1987 said:[quote] I think the less control Prince has over the remasters the better. WB want to give us live recordings,outtakes etc. it's Prince holding back. I dont think this is good. [/quote.Yes, because WB was doing so well with this catalog. Most of the catalog was not on I-tunes. | |
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Eye'm so proud of him!!!! should be given a special category grammy next year 4 this profound deal! pLUS inducted in the GRAMMY hall of fame 4EVER!!! will ALWAYS think of like a "ACT OF GOD"! N another realm. mean of all people who might of been aliens or angels.if found out that wasn't of this earth, would not have been that surprised. R.I.P. | |
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A grammy for owning your master recordings? Other artists made deals and owned their master recordings years ago, just because Prince finally got his day (I'm happy for him)doesn't deserve a Grammy. Perhaps a grammy for best R&B album AOA? 99.9% of everything I say is strictly for my own entertainment | |
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Uhoh! Double plus ungood. What incentive is left for mr Prince to assist in the production of the remsastered album series? I dop hope they pay him a little cash for each album remastered instead of a lump sum. Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill... If you don't believe me or don't get it, I don't have time to try to convince you, sorry. | |
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KCOOLMUZIQ said: Eye'm so proud of him!!!! should be given a special category grammy next year 4 this profound deal! pLUS inducted in the GRAMMY hall of fame 4EVER!!! Wow, your posts are annoying. | |
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Very interesting, thanks So bad for The Time and Sheila E. V6 and A6 aren't on iTunes are they, nor is any other side project? A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/ | |
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According to the indicia on the album, TGE was (p) WB Records so no, didn't own the masters (unless it was a misprint). A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/ | |
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I guess we must assume that they paid him in full but WB received all bonus material for all albums affected in one transaction. There might be some lines about a release schedule in the contract. I mean, mr Prince might want to release some stuff every now and then? . But how might these items be arranged in a way that works?
Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill... If you don't believe me or don't get it, I don't have time to try to convince you, sorry. | |
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There's nothng profound about it. Warners didn't want a court battle because there's a chance they might lose the masters. If they lost the masters for Prince, the precedent would be set for other artists to win.
Prince is lucky WB didn't want to fight. Prince presumable has the money to fight in court and the possibility of him winning is too dangerous.
Prince made no special deal. This is going to be the norm and I'm sure others have already done it.
If you're a small artist, (or some moron former legend who pissed all their money away) then you aren't going to be able to afford the lawyers to fight. You will lose. If you're a rich artist you're gonna have a lot more negotiating power cuz it's too risky to take it to court.
If anything Prince should get a grammy for being lucky WG doesn't want to fight. | |
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. Yes, and that wouldn't be the fault of Princey being an ass, now would it? . I mean, bitching about WBR's misses WRT to Prince on iTunes? How deluded as a fam must you be, considering that, what, JUST ABOUT NONE of Prince's post-WBR output is available on that platform? © Bart Van Hemelen
This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties, and confers no rights. It is not authorized by Prince or the NPG Music Club. You assume all risk for your use. All rights reserved. | |
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U haven't said ANYTHING Eye don't already know. went to the bargaining table with wb a few times over the years. The offers given, was unacceptable to him.One of the only reasons wb gave in, was because they knew this was the LAST time, to truly cash in, on the Purple Rain 30th anniversary remaster. 's GOLDMINE album
although ageless, would have been too old to reap, or promote the benefits of this ground breaking album. The stars collided 4 both. The wb gave in, after heavy renegotiation that worked 4 both. Now has retained ownership of his MEGA MASTERS...
It is groundbreaking & PROFOUND! Because stood his ground & fought for what was rightfully his to begin with.
had changed the muziq industry with his independence. Also not being afraid to battle one of the biggest record companies in history! He is a HERO! Every artist looks up to him.. He should and will be honored. Don't hate congratulate! will ALWAYS think of like a "ACT OF GOD"! N another realm. mean of all people who might of been aliens or angels.if found out that wasn't of this earth, would not have been that surprised. R.I.P. | |
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. Look, that's nonsense. Prince isn't that rich, and let's not forget that a previous law firm sued him for non-payment. . Moreover, considering Prince has a track record of settling out of court because he likes to threaten people but doesn't like to actually appear in court, chances are WBR could have a pretty decent shot. Remember that they also have those contract extensions which might have contained specific clauses WRT ownership etc. . Most likely WB did the math and figured out that even winning a court case would be a costly affair and they simply presented Prince with a similar deal as they've done before (because I'm sure WBR have tried to negociate remaster/deluxe edition deals with Prince in the past). And this time both parties had an interest, with Prince desperate to have the clout of a major label behind him for his next record because shopping 3EG around turned out to be a dud. . I also wouldn't be surprised if the new contracts contain some clauses that severely limit Prince's options WRT licensing these albums to others, and that there are severe penalties for not cooperating fully. © Bart Van Hemelen
This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties, and confers no rights. It is not authorized by Prince or the NPG Music Club. You assume all risk for your use. All rights reserved. | |
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. NO IT IS NOT. . REM already took care of their own masters back in the mid-1990s. Ditto Metallica. Both were WEA acts at that time, i.e. they were part of THE SAME COMPANY as WBR. While Prince was throwing temper tantrums, those bands were taking care of business while negociating multi-million contracts. THAT is power. Bitching for 20 years? That is weakness. .
. Doing nothing for 20 years isn't standing your ground. Hell, WBR could have sued him tons of times: for not fulfilling his contract, for distributing recordings they owned online, etc. .
. No he hasn't. He's not released a record for FOUR YEARS while bitching about how no one will pay him the million dollar advances he feels he deserves. What a victory. Just about nothing of his post-WBR output is still in print. What a victory. Emancipation was available for €1 for years and nobody bothered to buy it. What a victory. .
. Battling how? By throwing temper tantrums? George Michael had the balls to sue his record company. Prince? Oh yeah, bitched about them in interviews. .
. You're uttely deluded. .
. No they don't. .
. He won't. There's nothing there. .
. Tell that to your hero. Careful that you don't use any of his lyrics though, you might end up with a threat from his lawyers. © Bart Van Hemelen
This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties, and confers no rights. It is not authorized by Prince or the NPG Music Club. You assume all risk for your use. All rights reserved. | |
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Being bitter toward ,4 shutting down your site, for all these years, isn't healthy dude. It will send U to an early grave. is still healthy & happy and continuing his over 36 year SUCCESSFUL career. While your still lashing out! Get over it!
Don't let this bitterness ruin your life. Pray, repent, ask God to deliver U & teach U forgiveness.
U will feel much better then. U will have PEACE & LOVE4ONEANOTHER & EVERLASTING life..
will ALWAYS think of like a "ACT OF GOD"! N another realm. mean of all people who might of been aliens or angels.if found out that wasn't of this earth, would not have been that surprised. R.I.P. | |
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Warner Gros??? A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/ | |
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this is good news for him,but what does it mean for the fans? Will we now see a bunch of remasters with bonus tracks? It's possible that Prince may not do anything with his catalog
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What about the Gold Experience & the proteges? | |
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Not to rain on your parade, whoever made this thread...but I already pointed this out over a month ago.
That is all!
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Wasn't this answered in the OP's post??? A COMPREHENSIVE PRINCE DISCOGRAPHY (work in progress ^^): https://sites.google.com/...scography/ | |
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มีเพียงความว่างเปล่า 只有空虚 Dim ond gwacter 만 공허함이있다 唯一の虚しさがあります There is only the void. | |
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