Prince, who has had his own record contract battles, compared record contracts to slavery at an event to promote his upcoming album that will be posted on Jay Z’s Tidal streaming service.
“Record contracts are just like — I'm gonna say the word – slavery,” Prince said Saturday. “I would tell any young artist ... don't sign.”
The “Purple Rain” singer made the comments to a group of 10 journalists he invited to his Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis Saturday night. According to NPR, the journalists were not allowed to take cell phones or recording devices to the event.
He made it clear that he is very excited about working with Tidal, even though the service has had its own troubles. Tidal allows artists to earn as much revenue themselves from the service, according to Prince.
“Once we have our own resources, we can provide what we need for ourselves,” Prince said. “Jay Z spent $100 million of his own money to build his own service. We have to show support for artists who are trying to own things for themselves.”
According to TheWrap, over 800 members of the National Association of Black Journalists were invited to Prince’s Paisley Park for a party. The only thing he told the larger crowd was the date that his new album will be out and then left the stage. He claimed that he didn’t perform because his band was on vacation.
Prince’s next album, HITNRUN, will be available on Tidal on Sept. 7. The singer famously had a long feud with Warner Bros. Records for decades before making up last year so the company could re-release some of his iconic albums from the ‘80s.
Image via Roger Wong/INFGoff.com