Prince’s vault of unreleased recordings on sale for $35 million

Originally published on FACT

Deluxe version of Purple Rain due 2017.

According to Billboard, all three major labels – Universal, Sony and Warner – are in talks to buy the rights to the music, which is said to consist of thousands of hours of recordings from over four decades.

However, as the late artist’s estate has not yet begun the mammoth task of cataloguing the music in the vault, it’s still unknown exactly what it contains. Prince was signed to a number of different record labels during his career so some of the recordings could already be under ownership.

Billboard also reports that a deluxe edition of 1984’s Purple Rain could be released in early 2017, according to a source close to Prince’s estate. The deluxe edition was announced back in 2014 but there have been no further updates on the record until now.

Between October 2015 and October 2016, Prince and his estate earned around $25 million (£20 million) before tax, but as Prince reportedly left no will, the case to decide his rightful heirs is ongoing.

Back in September, it was confirmed that Prince’s legendary home of Paisley Park would be turned into a museum and opened to the public. After some delays, the studio complex opened last week and while visitors can tour the 65,000-square-foot complex, which contains “thousands of artefacts from his personal archives,” the vault remains under lock and key.

The Minneapolis compound was home to Prince’s creative endeavours from 1985 right up to his death in April this year.

Earlier in the week, a cassette of rare Prince material sold for $4,087, smashing the record for the most expensive tape sold on Discogs.