US judge “reluctantly” voids Universal’s deal with Prince estate

A US judge has voided theUS$31 million deal that Universal Music Group struck with Prince’s estate in February.

As reported in TMN, the label accused the estate of being misleading over which of the late superstar’s unreleased material it had the rights to.

It thought that some of the hit albums it was getting had already been assigned to Warner in a deal that Prince did two years before his death.

Warner Bros, which signed Prince in his golden days and released 18 of his classic albums, threatened to sue if its copyright was infringed.

Judge Kevin Eide of Carver County, where Prince set up his Paisley Park complex, said he was “reluctant” to cancel the deal, which would have been a rare step for a high profile deal.

But he had to take into account there would be lawsuits involving Universal, Warner Bros and the Prince estate in the future. 

He said, “The court believes that the other option of long and potentially expensive litigation while tying up the music rights owned by the estate makes the other option more treacherous.”

He also warned, “This court believes that the estate must proceed in a cautious manner to preserve the assets of the estate.”

Universal Music Group will still control the worldwide rights to administer Prince publishing and merchandise.

Both Universal and the estate had requested the deal be nixed. 

The only opposition came from three of Prince’s six heirs, and L. Londell McMillan, the lawyer who first did the deal with Universal when he was adviser to the estate.

After the court decision, the two parties issued a joint statement, “Universal Music Group and the Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson welcome the court’s approval of our amicable resolution to this matter. 

“We look forward to continuing to work closely together on Prince’s music publishing and merchandise to ensure that we deliver the very best experiences to Prince’s fans around the world.”

The Prince estate will now try and resell those rights again, although observers are sceptical these will go for the same price. 

Ironically, Warner Bros. is tipped to a major potential buyer, especially as it has the rights to some of the music and videos locked away in the vaults at Paisley Park.

Jay-Z, who was at one time trying to buy Prince’s catalogue, accuses McMillan of exploiting Prince’s legacy on his new album 4:44: “I’m surprised you ain’t auctioned off his casket.”

The estate replaced McMillan with Troy Carter earlier this year.