'Record contracts are just like slavery. I would tell any young artist.. don't sign,' the Purple One said in front 10 journalists gathering at his Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis over the weekend.
- Aug 10, 2015
AceShowbiz - Shortly after he announced that his "HITNRUN (Phase One)" album would come out as a Tidal exclusive, Prince expressed concerns over the state of the music business. The iconic singer gathered a small group of journalists at his Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis on Saturday, August 8 and let them know what he really thought about record contracts.
"Record contracts are just like - I'm gonna say the word - slavery. I would tell any young artist... don't sign," the Purple One said in front of 10 journalists, as reported by NPR. He argued that typical record company contracts turn the artists into "indentured servants" who have almost no control over how their music is used. He said he wanted to change that.
During the occasion, Prince also defended Jay-Z much-criticized streaming service Tidal, which he believed was one of the solutions to artists' problems with recording companies.
"Once we have our own resources, we can provide what we need for ourselves," he said and went on praising Hov, "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."
Prince's "HITNRUN" will be available on Tidal starting on September 17.
