On April 18, a piece of news began to ripple through the internet: Deliverance, an EP of never-before-heard music from Prince, was to be released on April 21, the one-year anniversary of the musician’s death.
It was something music fans around the world had been hoping for. A peek into Prince’s legendary vault of unreleased material stored at Paisley Park, the late artist’s home/studio/playpen. At first, it all seemed promising. There was a short, colorful video featuring the familiar silhouette of the Purple One playing his custom-built “Cloud” guitar, soundtracked by a blues-funk tune that had the choppy drive and sleek sound that marked the latter portion of his career.
But an important detail was missing from every bit of news about Deliverance: namely, any to reference Warner Brothers or NPG Records, the two labels that have released Prince’s music since 2014. Nor was there any mention of the approval of Paisley Park Enterprises or the late musician’s estate. Instead, this mysterious EP was being overseen by the curiously named Rogue Music Alliance, an independent media and marketing company based in, of all places, Vancouver, Washington.
It didn’t take long for the hammer to drop. Within 24 hours, Paisley Park and Comerica Bank, the executor of Prince’s estate, filed a restraining order blocking the sale of Deliverance. As of today, that injunction from the US District Court judge in Minnesota remains in place, and countless boxes containing CD and vinyl copies of Deliverance remain unopened.
The questions surrounding this crazy series of events still linger. How did this minor player in the music business wind up with this holy grail of a release? And what were they thinking trying to do an end run around Prince’s estate and label? Much like everything concerning the artist’s illustrious career, it’s a colorful mosaic of secrecy, controversy, religion, and a whole lot of money.