- Title: USA: ARTIST FORMALLY KNOWN AS PRINCE CHANGES HIS NAME ONCE AGAIN TO PRINCE!
- Date: 16th May 2000
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA (MAY 16, 2000) (REUTERS) ( * BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) PRINCE, MUSICIAN, WALKS INTO PRESS CONFERENCE PRINCE IN FRONT OF PHOTOGRAPHERS SOUNDBITE (English) PRINCE, "On December 31, 1999, my publishing contract with Warner Chapel expired, thus emancipating the name I was given before birth, 'Prince' from all long term restrictive documents. I will
- Embargoed: 31st May 2000 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US
- Country: USA
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA3G3RZ2M5825IUVRCFHULZYJ83
- Story Text: The man who was known as Prince before changing his name to "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince" has decided to once again change his name - and will now be known as .....wait for it.....Prince! He says he's taken this move to, "free myself from all undesirable relationships."
"The artist formerly known as Prince," who years ago changed his name said on Tuesday (May 16) he was reverting to the name with which he became one of the 1980s top recording artists, with hits such as "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry."
Wearing a white turtleneck sweater and sporting auburn tinted hair, Prince, who was introduced as "The artist," spoke to reporters in a lengthy, far-ranging news conference that covered everything from the distribution of his music via the Internet to his personal and spiritual lives.
With the expiry of his publishing agreement with Warner Bros. records at the end of last year, the pop star said, "On December 31, 1999, my publishing contract with Warner Chapel expired, thus emancipating the name I was given before birth, 'Prince' from all long term restrictive documents. I will now go back to using my name instead of the symbol I adopted to free my self from all undesirable relationships."
While Prince (we can call him that now) is hoping to go on tour possibly by the end of the summer, he fist wants to take some time to study things of a spiritual nature. He did not elaborate except to say that he just wants to ask God what he wants from him now.
Prince is planning on releasing a new version of his latest Arista album, "Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" over the internet. He said, "NPG will release an Internet only version of my album renamed, 'Rave IN2 the Joy Fantastic' to make up for the lackluster way in which in predecessor 'Rave UN2 the Joy Fantastic' was promoted. The new CD will contain numerous remixes and two new songs."
Prince has reopened his Paisley Park Studios to the public in advance of a concert in Minneapolis on June 13. He has made his studios available to recording artists like Larry Graham and Chaka Khan without contracts and with unlimited time to explore their music.
Prince expressed his fundamental disatisfaction with the music industry by saying, "The price of CDs have skyrocketed while the quality of music has plumetted and as long as middlemen create the means by which the consumer consumes, this will never chance. The problem is not a complex one. The solution is simple. Let the baker make the bread. I'm a musician. I make music."
Though he was not explicit about an alternative to the current big-label domination of the industry, he said he wanted to work toward one. In addition to opening his studios to other artists, he has set up a website, www.NPGonlineLTD.com, to explore different ways of interacting with his fans.
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