From New Prince to No Prince in a Matter of a Lawsuit
Last week was a small roller coaster of emotions for Prince fans. After announcing a posthumous EP with previously unheard material early last week, iTunes abruptly removed any mention of the EP from its holding page. The leading track from that EP was also removed from Soundcloud, though it’s since has gone back on sale, but the rest of the EP is being delayed due to a violation of Prince’s estate and Paisley Park Enterprises. A confidentiality agreement that was signed by Sound Engineer George Ian Boxill regarding the distribution of compilation contains language preventing Boxhill from selling the compilation independently. The label behind the project, Rogue Music Alliance, qualified the lawsuit by saying the agreement does not prevent the selling of the compilation’s single “Deliverance.” No word on if the rest of the songs will ever be released, but Boxhill’s defense for his actions merit note. “Prince once told me that he would go to bed every night thinking of ways to bypass major labels and get his music directly to the public. When considering how to release this important work, we decided to go independent because that’s what Prince would have wanted.”
Google and Samsung Announce New Global Partnership
Last Friday, Samsung and Google announced a global partnership that will make Google Play Music the default music player and service on any new Samsung phone or tablet moving forward, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, also released Friday. The partnership will double the amount of songs Samsung customers can stream and upload for free, and entitle customers to three free months of Google Play Music and YouTube Red.
-Taylor Wallace