Why was Prince fired from his record label?
Make no mistake about it, Prince was a musical magician who refused to follow the traditional rules of the industry. The Purple One opted to carve his own creative path, and his tendency to go against the grain is a major reason why he was so adored. However, this strong sense of individuality also landed him in trouble on a far-too-regular basis.
Throughout his career, Prince was always at war with the music industry. Believing those in suits thwarted his artistic expression, Prince angered almost every label that signed him to a deal. In 1993, the musician’s relationship with Warner Records soured to such a degree that he started appearing publicly with ‘Slave’ written on his face. Prince later explained his decision and told a group of journalists at Paisley Park that “record contracts are just like — I’m gonna say the word – slavery. I would tell any young artist… don’t sign”.
Ultimately, Prince ended up filing for divorce from Warner. In a statement shared in 1995, he explained: “Over the course of their nearly two-decade-long relationship, [Prince] and WBR have developed irreconcilable differences”.
The decision to part ways at the end of his contract was his own, but when Prince left Sony BMG in 2007, it was the label that made the call. Ahead of his upcoming 21-show residency at London’s O2 Arena, Prince took promotion into his own hands and gave away his new album, Planet Earth, to readers of The Mail On Sunday.
Instead of selling the album to the general public in record stores, Prince’s fans simply had to buy a newspaper to own the LP. On the one hand, this likely led to more people listening to Planet Earth, but Prince nor his record label were being compensated. At the time, Columbia Records had signed a worldwide deal with the musician, and Sony BMG UK was supposed to handle the UK release of Planet Earth. However, a spokesperson for the label said: “The Prince album will not be released in the UK. It’s a one-off situation.”
The Mail On Sunday’s publication manager Stephen Miron leapt to Prince’s defence and said: “We’re not in a fight with anybody. We’re just trying to produce the best possible content we can do, and give it to an audience who clearly have an appetite for it.”
Meanwhile, Paul Quirk, co-chairman of the UK’s Entertainment Retailers Association, attacked Prince at the London Calling conference and said: “If it turns out to be the case, The Artist formerly known as Prince should know that with behaviour like this, he will soon be The Artist Formerly Available in Record Stores.”
Ultimately, Planet Earth never received an official release in the United Kingdom, and following the saga, Columbia Records cut ties with the musician. In all likelihood, with his track record, Prince masterminded the whole stunt to break his contract with the label rather than to promote his concerts in London.
