In late October, we got word that music mogul Jay Z was trying to get his hands on Prince’s unreleased music catalog, which was unearthed at Paisley Park following the iconic singer’s tragic death.
According to TMZ, the Brooklyn native met with the late musician’s sister, Tyka, and her husband, Maurice Phillips, months ago where he made an offer to the tune of $40M, sources told the entertainment news outlet. But there was a rub. Though Tyka remains Prince’s only full sibling, she’d have to convince all the siblings, in addition to those managing the estate, to sign-off on the deal.
In the meantime, the “Empire State of Mind” rapper was reportedly trying to secure an overall deal for streaming rights, though it was said to be pretty pricey. Not to mention, the 46-year-old wasn’t the only major player in the game.
Now, Prince’s estate has responded to Jay Z’s offer with a firm “no.” Sources closely tied to the deal tell TMZ the estate fired off a letter to the “99 Problems” recording artist’s team last month, stating it had zero interest in signing on the dotted line for “Roc Nation to exploit any of the intellectual property assets of the Estate.”
The estate is also blasting Tidal for making 15 Prince albums available for streaming just months after the Purple Rain star’s passing. According to the estate, the releases were unauthorized and could prove costly for Jay.
In hindsight, the estate does acknowledge that the “Little Red Corvette” crooner made a deal with Jay for the 2015 release of his final album, “HitNRun Phase One” — though, it hasn’t found proof of the $750K payment due, to close that deal.
What are your thoughts on Jay Z’s attempt to take control of Prince’s unreleased tracks? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
