Throughout most of his career, Prince has always been very outspoken and rebellious (by any means necessary) against unfair music industry practices and the artist’s right to own and make money off their work. And ever since he’s been with TIDAL, the music legend still maintains his very strong stance on record contracts.
In a small and private meeting with 10 journalists at his Paisley Park Studios, where no cell phones, recording devices, or even alcohol was permitted, he spoke to them about the need for artists to have their own resources to and likened today’s recording contracts to slavery.
“Record contracts are just like — I’m gonna say the word – slavery,” he said. “I would tell any young artist … don’t sign.”
READ: The Only Way To Get Prince’s ‘HITNRUN’ Is By Going Through TIDAL
NPR reports that Mr. Purple Rain himself is in strong support of Jay Z’s efforts with TIDAL and that he also talked about how his new deal with Hov still allows him freedom to collaborate for songs that may appear later. In that same breath, he stresses the importance of artist support.
“Once we have our own resources, we can provide what we need for ourselves,” he said. “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.”
In addition, NPR reports that he chastised Clear Channel for their negative effect on the radio industry.
For decades, Prince has always took a stand against the music industry in every way, shape, and form. He once protested against Warner Bros. Records by putting the word “Slave” over his head. In the late ’90s, changed his name to “The Artist Formally Known As Prince” and went by a unique symbol.
Prince will be releasing his next 3rdEyeGirl full length album, HITNRUN, exclusively on TIDAL and has debuted his video of his song “Baltimore” on Hov’s music streaming platform.