One of the greatest musicians to come out of the 80’s to well into the 90’s and beyond is brilliant singer-songwriter Prince Rogers Nelson, better known as just Prince (or a certain “sign,” or The Artist Formerly Known As…you get the idea). His death in early 2016 was a blow to longtime pop music fans everywhere, even as he left a wealth of thus far unreleased music and other valuable assets in his home/studio of Paisley Park in Minnesota.
His legacy is just so big that he received a tribute performed by Bruno Mars at the 59th Grammy Awards last Sunday, February 12. Now it’ll be possible to hear the best of Prince’s music online with many of his iconic songs becoming available on music streaming app service Spotify.
Rumors
A lot of talks has been circulating in past days regarding the possibility that the artist’s music will become legally available on streaming. Last Friday, February 10 Spotify itself confirmed that starting Sunday Prince’s music catalog from Warner Bros. will be up for anybody listening. To be precise, this includes, for now, most of his music recorded for WB up until 1995, when he broke with the label (and started using his alternate monikers due to Warner’s hold on the “Prince” label), meaning songs from “Purple Rain” and “Dirty Mind” has been on Spotify starting even as the Grammys were going on, tribute to Prince included.
Even before the formal announcement billboards in New York City and London teased the new arrangement with Spotify, featuring the app service’s logo and nothing but purple.
Then again, Spotify wasn't the only streaming service that has received this magnificent boon. Apple Music, Amazon Music, Napster, and iHeartRadio will also be blasting Prince's pre-1995 library as well, owing to more choice in what streaming service fans and listeners will prefer.
The other side of the coin
In a separate announcement Universal Music Group, which was Prince’s label after the 1995 WB split up until 2014 when he returned there, revealed that they too have forged an agreement with the late artist’s estate to have exclusive licensing rights to his post-1995 catalog and his unreleased music, said to be worth a fortune all on their own.
Whether this will translate to more streaming a la Spotify has not been revealed.
It was well known how fiercely protective Prince was of his works, actively removing YouTube videos and turning down streaming services save for one run by fellow artist Jay-Z, which has exclusive streaming rights to the "Hit N Run: Phase One" album.