Universal is asking for a full refund ($30mil), because Warner Bros claims they have the right to block any vault material recorded during Prince WB years.

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http://www.marketwatch.co...2017-04-14

Giovanni777 said:

Universal is asking for a full refund ($30mil), because Warner Bros claims they have the right to block any vault material recorded during Prince WB years.

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http://www.marketwatch.co...2017-04-14

'Lawyers representing Universal expressed their concerns about the deal in a letter to Prince’s estate, now being administered by Comerica Bank & Trust, the people said. The company may decide to ask the estate for a full refund, they said.

Too bad nobody dealing with Prince's estate can get their shit together.

I know almost nothing about what's going on with the estate, mainly because I'm not particularly interested in all this businessy shit (not why I got into Prince's music), but does this mean that the Purple Rain deluxe edition might be delayed or cancelled?

Nobody wins in this mess except the lawyers.

The question is: If Universal gets a refund, does WB make an offer?

RaspBerryGirlFriend said:

I know almost nothing about what's going on with the estate, mainly because I'm not particularly interested in all this businessy shit (not why I got into Prince's music), but does this mean that the Purple Rain deluxe edition might be delayed or cancelled?

It is not going to be delayed if WB has the rights to put it out. They have already announced it and Universal would not be asking for their money back if they were not sure that cannot have the rights to the WB vault material.

It is not that complicated either WB has the rights or they do not. I love it as it proves Prince made provisions for this material before his death. No greedy ass lawyers and family members can go against his wishes.

If some stupid ass attorney had not tried to come in and go against his wishes this mess would never have happened in the first place.

Giovanni777 said:

The question is: If Universal gets a refund, does WB make an offer?

WB will make an offer for the non-WB years or Universal can keep that stuff but I do not think they want the non-WB stuff.

laurarichardson said:

I had actually questioned this when the Universal deal was made. When I read that it included WB era vault material, I wondered how WB would not have some rights based on whatever their deal with Prince stated.

march said:

Sounds like a lot of inept people handling this stuff. The buyer's side should have required a disclosure of any rights to the material by third parties and the sellers should have disclosed the WB rights. This is standard stuff for a deal like this. It is like buying a house with a lien on it and neither side is aware of the lien. Crazy.

donnyenglish said:

laurarichardson said:

laurarichardson said:

Giovanni777 said:

Universal is asking for a full refund ($30mil), because Warner Bros claims they have the right to block any vault material recorded during Prince WB years.

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http://www.marketwatch.co...2017-04-14

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Damn, I should have taken bets. This was exactly what I thought when I heard about the "they'll get the WBR songs in 2018" -- that was waaaay too vague for a $30 million deal.

PurpleDiamonds1 said:

rogifan said:

laurarichardson said:

WB will make an offer for the non-WB years or Universal can keep that stuff but I do not think they want the non-WB stuff.

Either way it would be crap. There needs to be one company administering the publishing rights to all his music. And get the non-WB stuff up on the streaming sites already. My god this can't be that difficult.

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THIS IS NOT ABOUT PUBLISHING RIGHTS. Is reading an article so hard?

rogifan said:

I take it those lovely cryptic tweets have stopped.

morningsong said:

I take it those lovely cryptic tweets have stopped.

hope so! I know recently that Sharon, Norrine, and Alfred got an emergency protection order granted against Londell

rogifan said:

laurarichardson said:

--It is stupid and backs up the complaints that Tyka and Omarr had about Breamer and McMillian who is an entertainment attorney WTF

What was/is their alternative?

I am certain that the Universal required a disclosure of any rights to the material. Assuming that no such disclosure was made then they should be able to terminate the contract and get their money back.

Again, this is some amateur stuff on the seller's side? It seems rushed and sloppy. Maybe that is why it was only for $30M. It was an "as is" purchase, but we assumed that related to the contents of the vault. If he had 300 finished albums that were all masterpieces, then they got a great deal. If the vault just has material like unfinished demos, extended stuff, mediocre quality live recordings, outtakes, etc., that only us diehards on this site would purchase, then the deal may be better for the heirs. But, Universal didn't go into this thinking that the rights to 20 years of the vault material that they purchased the rights belonged to someone else.

Matter of time before the heirs file a malpractice lawsuit. This thing is a mess. And with the release of the investigation file on Monday, it is going to be a tough time for fans. I swear, I wish we were in charge.

Next time Universal and WB should pay attention to the paper they sign.

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justAmeda said:

injuredpinky said:

Next time Universal and WB should pay attention to the paper they sign.

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laurarichardson said:

justAmeda said:

hope so! I know recently that Sharon, Norrine, and Alfred got an emergency protection order granted against Londell

--So they finally woke the fuck up! At one point they were trying to squash the subpoena.

Yeah judge granted the EPO but did quash the supeona duces tecum.

justAmeda said:

laurarichardson said:

justAmeda said: --So they finally woke the fuck up! At one point they were trying to squash the subpoena.

Yeah judge granted the EPO but did quash the supeona duces tecum.

Well it looks like litagation may be coming so any documents they want they will get.