Prince is dead RIP
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Prince tapes moved to California, leaving two heirs angry
Steve Karnowski, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, October 11, 2017 10:25 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, October 11, 2017 10:32 PM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS — Two sisters and heirs of the late rock superstar Prince said Wednesday they’re angered that the contents of his vault, including master tapes of unreleased music, have been removed from his Paisley Park studio complex and shipped to California.
Sharon and Norrine Nelson, Prince’s half-sisters, told The Associated Press they are prepared to take legal action to bring the music back to Minnesota. The company running the estate, Comerica Bank & Trust, said the recordings are safe at a reputable storage company in Los Angeles.
“We want the music back home in Paisley Park where it belongs,” Sharon Nelson said.
Norrine Nelson called it “extraordinary and unconscionable.”
The recordings are regarded as among the most valuable pieces of an estate that court papers have suggested is worth around $200 million.
Sharon Nelson said she was told Sept. 29 by a “Paisley Park representative,” whom she wouldn’t identify, that around four trucks pulled up to the studio-turned-museum in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen in early September and removed the contents of the vault.
“It’s just as though Prince passed away again,” she said. “That’s how I felt. I was really devastated by that.”
Norrine Nelson said the music had been safe in Minnesota for more than 40 years and would be again if it’s returned.
The sisters said Comerica, which is serving as the personal representative, or executor, of Prince’s estate, hasn’t told them exactly where the music was taken or why. They said they believe Comerica was obligated to notify them and give them a say under orders earlier this year by Carver County District Judge Kevin Eide, who is overseeing the estate case.
Comerica defended its decision in a statement.
“In an effort to ensure the preservation of Prince’s audio and visual content, Comerica selected the premier entertainment storage and archive company, Iron Mountain Entertainment Services,” the statement said. “On four separate occasions, Comerica discussed the process with the heirs and any suggestion otherwise is not accurate.”
Prince left no will when he died in April 2016 of an accidental overdose of painkillers. The judge this May declared Prince’s six surviving siblings his heirs, but they’ve split into two camps during the legal wrangling. Sharon and Norrine Nelson and their brother, John R. Nelson, are on one side and Prince’s full sister, Tyka Nelson, and his half-brothers Omarr Baker and Alfred Jackson on the other. An attorney for Tyka Nelson and Baker did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Eide’s orders putting Comerica in charge give the company considerable authority over how to run the estate and exploit its assets to benefit the heirs, and don’t require it to notify or seek approval from them for routine matters. But one order does require Comerica to give them 14 business days of notice before entering into transactions worth more than $2 million to give them a chance to object. The sisters said they believe that language should apply to such a major step as moving the music out of Prince’s vault.
If the reason for moving the tapes was to put them closer to the recording industry to prepare for more releases of Prince music, the sisters said there was no need. They pointed out that Prince’s studios at Paisley Park remain state-of-the art.
But Comerica said the recordings are safer with Iron Mountain.
“After reviewing the storage conditions at Paisley Park and out of concern regarding the consequences of a fire or other loss at the facility, Comerica determined that it was necessary to transfer the audio and visual content to a secure location where all of the original content could be securely stored and digitized as a safeguard against the destruction or loss of any original content,” the company said.
Prince tapes moved to California, leaving two heirs angry | Music | Entertainmen
Steve Karnowski, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Wednesday, October 11, 2017 10:25 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, October 11, 2017 10:32 PM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS — Two sisters and heirs of the late rock superstar Prince said Wednesday they’re angered that the contents of his vault, including master tapes of unreleased music, have been removed from his Paisley Park studio complex and shipped to California.
Sharon and Norrine Nelson, Prince’s half-sisters, told The Associated Press they are prepared to take legal action to bring the music back to Minnesota. The company running the estate, Comerica Bank & Trust, said the recordings are safe at a reputable storage company in Los Angeles.
“We want the music back home in Paisley Park where it belongs,” Sharon Nelson said.
Norrine Nelson called it “extraordinary and unconscionable.”
The recordings are regarded as among the most valuable pieces of an estate that court papers have suggested is worth around $200 million.
Sharon Nelson said she was told Sept. 29 by a “Paisley Park representative,” whom she wouldn’t identify, that around four trucks pulled up to the studio-turned-museum in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen in early September and removed the contents of the vault.
“It’s just as though Prince passed away again,” she said. “That’s how I felt. I was really devastated by that.”
Norrine Nelson said the music had been safe in Minnesota for more than 40 years and would be again if it’s returned.
The sisters said Comerica, which is serving as the personal representative, or executor, of Prince’s estate, hasn’t told them exactly where the music was taken or why. They said they believe Comerica was obligated to notify them and give them a say under orders earlier this year by Carver County District Judge Kevin Eide, who is overseeing the estate case.
Comerica defended its decision in a statement.
“In an effort to ensure the preservation of Prince’s audio and visual content, Comerica selected the premier entertainment storage and archive company, Iron Mountain Entertainment Services,” the statement said. “On four separate occasions, Comerica discussed the process with the heirs and any suggestion otherwise is not accurate.”
Prince left no will when he died in April 2016 of an accidental overdose of painkillers. The judge this May declared Prince’s six surviving siblings his heirs, but they’ve split into two camps during the legal wrangling. Sharon and Norrine Nelson and their brother, John R. Nelson, are on one side and Prince’s full sister, Tyka Nelson, and his half-brothers Omarr Baker and Alfred Jackson on the other. An attorney for Tyka Nelson and Baker did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Eide’s orders putting Comerica in charge give the company considerable authority over how to run the estate and exploit its assets to benefit the heirs, and don’t require it to notify or seek approval from them for routine matters. But one order does require Comerica to give them 14 business days of notice before entering into transactions worth more than $2 million to give them a chance to object. The sisters said they believe that language should apply to such a major step as moving the music out of Prince’s vault.
If the reason for moving the tapes was to put them closer to the recording industry to prepare for more releases of Prince music, the sisters said there was no need. They pointed out that Prince’s studios at Paisley Park remain state-of-the art.
But Comerica said the recordings are safer with Iron Mountain.
“After reviewing the storage conditions at Paisley Park and out of concern regarding the consequences of a fire or other loss at the facility, Comerica determined that it was necessary to transfer the audio and visual content to a secure location where all of the original content could be securely stored and digitized as a safeguard against the destruction or loss of any original content,” the company said.
Prince tapes moved to California, leaving two heirs angry | Music | Entertainmen
Justin Timberlake's Super Bowl bash at Paisley Park outrages Prince fans
Associated Press
More from Associated Press
Published:
January 30, 2018
Updated:
January 30, 2018 12:08 PM EST
In this Nov. 2, 2016 file photo, Prince's Paisley Park is shown in Chanhassen, Minn. Paisley Park, home and studio of the late musician Prince, is open for public tours. Justin Timberlake will host a listening party at Prince’s Paisley Park over Super Bowl weekend to support the release of his new album, “Man of the Woods." And the overseers of Paisley Park have been granted a temporary liquor license for the duration. (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen, File) and In this Nov. 14, 2017 file photo, actor Justin Timberlake attends a special screening of "Wonder Wheel" in New York. Timberlake will host a listening party at Prince’s Paisley Park over Super Bowl weekend to support the release of his new album, “Man of the Woods." And the overseers of Paisley Park have been granted a temporary liquor license for the duration. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
NEW YORK — At least one Prince superfan hopes the late superstar’s Paisley Park jacked up the price to rent out his former home and studio outside Minneapolis for a Justin Timberlake party ahead of the Super Bowl.
“That’s probably what Prince would have done with Justin being there,” laughed Jeremiah Freed, known as Dr. Funkenberry in the Prince fandom.
The idea of Timberlake being allowed at the Chanhassen mecca has upset fans some still mourning the Purple One, as has the idea of Prince’s 65,000-square-foot spread being granted a temporary liquor license for the duration of Super Bowl mania.
But Freed, who hosts a Prince podcast out of Los Angeles, isn’t terribly bothered. Paisley was turned into a museum after Prince died of an accidental drug overdose in April 2016 and his urn is displayed in the front room atrium, far from the Timberlake listening session’s presumed location.
“I think the fans are just worried that they’re going to be walking around Paisley and they’re going to get wine on the carpet or wine on one of the displays. I imagine it would be just how it was in the past, in the soundstage area only for drinks,” Freed told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
Despite Prince’s no-alcohol reputation, there have been liquor licenses issued for Paisley in the past, including one for an event planned by Prince himself for the month after he died, Freed said.
Dennis Roszkowski, at 61 a top Prince memorabilia collector outside Detroit and a former correspondent for a British-based fan magazine called “Controversy,” said that among some fans, “emotions are still playing out.”
“It’s like our home. We don’t want anything to happen to it,” he said of the unease over the Super Bowl event.
Sherry Stacy, 47, grew up in Detroit and has loved Prince since she was 8.
“I think it’s very rude (to allow alcohol) and it goes against everything Prince was about,” Stacy said. “Prince did his thing without drinking and people had fun without it when he would play there. It seems like it’s all for the wrong reasons, not to honour the man.”
American Express, sponsors of Timberlake’s listening tour, Paisley overseers and a Timberlake representative did not respond to requests for comment, but Freed figures the party for AmEx cardholders in celebration of Timberlake’s “Man of the Woods” album will not include a free run of the place.
The Paisley soundstage holds about 1,800. American Express informed ticket buyers all ticket sales from Timberlake’s event will be donated to the National Park Foundation, the charitable arm of the U.S. National Park Service. He had no idea what American Express was charged to use Paisley. Timberlake will be in town to perform at halftime during the game.
“They’re probably making a lot of money off of this and it helps keep Paisley Park alive,” Freed said by telephone.
The sold-out Feb. 1 Timberlake party comes with a diss history between the two, initiated by Prince back in 2006 when he said of the “Sexyback” singer: “Sexy never left.” Timberlake, responded, in part by making fun of Prince’s short stature at an awards show but has declared himself a fan. He posted a moving Instagram tribute soon after Prince’s death and attended his Hollywood parties. The two never performed or recorded together.
“This whole JT thing, it’s a very sad situation to me. Justin was kind of snide about the whole thing with Prince,” Stacy said. “I think this is just a money grab. True Prince fams (what he called his fans) are all about real music played by real musicians, not a JT. I would rather see local musicians from the area. They would sell out, too.”
But Freed says he thinks it was just a friendly rivalry.
“With someone like Prince, he felt like there was no competition so he would make up competition in his head. He would constantly, with artists that were relevant, try to make little rivalries because it motivated him. You know, I’m better than Justin. The only competition was him and the past.”
Ramon Muntjewerff, 49, is a Dutchman living in Dungarvan, on the south coast of Ireland. Muntjewerff, too, was a correspondent for “Controversy,” which was also a fan club. Both shut down around 1993 after the fan-founder had a falling out with Prince.
“I don’t think Prince would be too happy about all of this,” Muntjewerff said of the Timberlake party. “If it’s just a money grabbing thing, to get more money when they don’t need it, it’s the wrong way. But then again Prince was into finding all sorts of new ways to make money and he didn’t make some people happy about that, either.”
Freed’s final word on how Prince would feel?
“Only Prince knows,” he concluded.
Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl bash at Paisley Park outrages Prince fans | Toronto Sun
Associated Press
More from Associated Press
Published:
January 30, 2018
Updated:
January 30, 2018 12:08 PM EST
In this Nov. 2, 2016 file photo, Prince's Paisley Park is shown in Chanhassen, Minn. Paisley Park, home and studio of the late musician Prince, is open for public tours. Justin Timberlake will host a listening party at Prince’s Paisley Park over Super Bowl weekend to support the release of his new album, “Man of the Woods." And the overseers of Paisley Park have been granted a temporary liquor license for the duration. (AP Photo/Jeff Baenen, File) and In this Nov. 14, 2017 file photo, actor Justin Timberlake attends a special screening of "Wonder Wheel" in New York. Timberlake will host a listening party at Prince’s Paisley Park over Super Bowl weekend to support the release of his new album, “Man of the Woods." And the overseers of Paisley Park have been granted a temporary liquor license for the duration. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
NEW YORK — At least one Prince superfan hopes the late superstar’s Paisley Park jacked up the price to rent out his former home and studio outside Minneapolis for a Justin Timberlake party ahead of the Super Bowl.
“That’s probably what Prince would have done with Justin being there,” laughed Jeremiah Freed, known as Dr. Funkenberry in the Prince fandom.
The idea of Timberlake being allowed at the Chanhassen mecca has upset fans some still mourning the Purple One, as has the idea of Prince’s 65,000-square-foot spread being granted a temporary liquor license for the duration of Super Bowl mania.
But Freed, who hosts a Prince podcast out of Los Angeles, isn’t terribly bothered. Paisley was turned into a museum after Prince died of an accidental drug overdose in April 2016 and his urn is displayed in the front room atrium, far from the Timberlake listening session’s presumed location.
“I think the fans are just worried that they’re going to be walking around Paisley and they’re going to get wine on the carpet or wine on one of the displays. I imagine it would be just how it was in the past, in the soundstage area only for drinks,” Freed told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
Despite Prince’s no-alcohol reputation, there have been liquor licenses issued for Paisley in the past, including one for an event planned by Prince himself for the month after he died, Freed said.
Dennis Roszkowski, at 61 a top Prince memorabilia collector outside Detroit and a former correspondent for a British-based fan magazine called “Controversy,” said that among some fans, “emotions are still playing out.”
“It’s like our home. We don’t want anything to happen to it,” he said of the unease over the Super Bowl event.
Sherry Stacy, 47, grew up in Detroit and has loved Prince since she was 8.
“I think it’s very rude (to allow alcohol) and it goes against everything Prince was about,” Stacy said. “Prince did his thing without drinking and people had fun without it when he would play there. It seems like it’s all for the wrong reasons, not to honour the man.”
American Express, sponsors of Timberlake’s listening tour, Paisley overseers and a Timberlake representative did not respond to requests for comment, but Freed figures the party for AmEx cardholders in celebration of Timberlake’s “Man of the Woods” album will not include a free run of the place.
The Paisley soundstage holds about 1,800. American Express informed ticket buyers all ticket sales from Timberlake’s event will be donated to the National Park Foundation, the charitable arm of the U.S. National Park Service. He had no idea what American Express was charged to use Paisley. Timberlake will be in town to perform at halftime during the game.
“They’re probably making a lot of money off of this and it helps keep Paisley Park alive,” Freed said by telephone.
The sold-out Feb. 1 Timberlake party comes with a diss history between the two, initiated by Prince back in 2006 when he said of the “Sexyback” singer: “Sexy never left.” Timberlake, responded, in part by making fun of Prince’s short stature at an awards show but has declared himself a fan. He posted a moving Instagram tribute soon after Prince’s death and attended his Hollywood parties. The two never performed or recorded together.
“This whole JT thing, it’s a very sad situation to me. Justin was kind of snide about the whole thing with Prince,” Stacy said. “I think this is just a money grab. True Prince fams (what he called his fans) are all about real music played by real musicians, not a JT. I would rather see local musicians from the area. They would sell out, too.”
But Freed says he thinks it was just a friendly rivalry.
“With someone like Prince, he felt like there was no competition so he would make up competition in his head. He would constantly, with artists that were relevant, try to make little rivalries because it motivated him. You know, I’m better than Justin. The only competition was him and the past.”
Ramon Muntjewerff, 49, is a Dutchman living in Dungarvan, on the south coast of Ireland. Muntjewerff, too, was a correspondent for “Controversy,” which was also a fan club. Both shut down around 1993 after the fan-founder had a falling out with Prince.
“I don’t think Prince would be too happy about all of this,” Muntjewerff said of the Timberlake party. “If it’s just a money grabbing thing, to get more money when they don’t need it, it’s the wrong way. But then again Prince was into finding all sorts of new ways to make money and he didn’t make some people happy about that, either.”
Freed’s final word on how Prince would feel?
“Only Prince knows,” he concluded.
Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl bash at Paisley Park outrages Prince fans | Toronto Sun