Just something that crossed my mind, because from the Howe days to the current administration, we've been told repeatedly that it's all about preserving Prince's "wishes" and legacy, etc.

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I didn't know Prince personally but based on everything I know about him, I'd say it's safe to say he didn't particularly enjoy other people—whether it was labels, Pépe Willie, bootleggers, you name it—making money off his work and/or his name.

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So perhaps the only way to truly honor Prince's memory would be to turn the Estate into a NGO. First objective: do what the Estate is already supposed to be doing, i.e. curate and (re)release more material, preserve Prince's media presence and legacy in any possible way, etc. Second objective: should any profit be made once everyone who worked got paid and every expense is covered, it should be given to carefuly selected charity (in the line of the charities Prince supported in his lifetime).

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I mean don't get me wrong, I know this ain't happening, won't happen, can't happen. But I think if one is going to invoke Prince's "wishes" and so on, perhaps the first thing to do would be to stop putting money in one's pockets and redirect all resources to Prince's legacy itself, then charity. Just sayin'...

peedub said:

Prince's estate should operate in service of the music listening public, as Prince did his entire life. Paisley park should be a fully functional for hire studio/performance venue. And, as much as I loathe corporate america, warner brothers should have complete control of his entire catalog and archive. At least they could produce quality releases and portions of any profit will be re-invested in art and artists. Idk about a NGO, though. [Edited 5/18/26 20:02pm]

You've got Prince rolling over in his grave with that one.

whodknee said:

peedub said:

Prince's estate should operate in service of the music listening public, as Prince did his entire life. Paisley park should be a fully functional for hire studio/performance venue. And, as much as I loathe corporate america, warner brothers should have complete control of his entire catalog and archive. At least they could produce quality releases and portions of any profit will be re-invested in art and artists. Idk about a NGO, though. [Edited 5/18/26 20:02pm]

Why Warner specifically (as opposed to any other major or label)?

(It's Warner Music now, BTW, not Brothers.)

peedub said:

Paisley park should be a fully functional for hire studio/performance venue.

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It would go bankrupt in months. Even legendary studios are in financial trouble becase record labels aren't paying for extended studio time. And as a performance venue? Nobody is traveling to some out of the way venue. PP was burning through money in the early 1990s and that was when Prince was still hanging out there and artists could be enticed by the chance of meeting him. Upkeep of an active venue is far higher than when it is a museum.

databank said:

bizzie said:

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were an organisation like a ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame’, set up to manage the body of work of deceased artists and make it available to everyone...

And for this to be used and made accessible like a real library, where you can dig (deep) for anything you want to see or hear. Naturally, it would be made available online.
Obviously, for a fee or via a membership, with the profits going towards its own upkeep and further development.

Especially for artists like Prince, when there are no longer any heirs involved – or something like that (I need to think about it myself).

In fact, I think record companies actually do something similar. Except that they usually only maintain and release well-known, previously released material, purely to make money from it.
And it is that revenue model that should give way to the aim of giving the public and researchers a chance to enjoy everything – within an era where there is still sufficient interest in it – just some quick thoughts.

[Edited 5/19/26 16:53pm]

I think the estate should transfer all of their rights and assets to me personally and I will lead the Prince legacy into a new golden age. Thoughts?

lustmealways said:

I think the estate should transfer all of their rights and assets to me personally and I will lead the Prince legacy into a new golden age. Thoughts?

One obsessive fan, and allllllll that unreleased material?

Are you crazy?

You will become corrupt instantly, just like the MakeMillions & co.

So... no! Not even in a million years! ))

Get it?