Prince’s estate has filed a lawsuit against the EP’s producer.
An EP of previously unheard Prince music was due to land on streaming platforms this Friday (April 21), but has reportedly been pulled following a lawsuit filed by the late star’s estate.
The six-track Deliverance EP was compiled posthumously by former Prince engineer George Ian Boxill. The EP’s title track had been released on iTunes and Apple Music earlier this week, however, it is no longer available on the platform. The EP has also vanished from Google Play and Amazon.
According to TMZ, the removal comes after Prince’s estate requested a judge to block the EP’s release. The estate filed a lawsuit against Boxill on Wednesday that alleged the producer had signed an agreement in 2006 and 2008 that they would “remain Prince’s sole and exclusive property.” Deliverance included six previously unheard tracks recorded from 2006–2008, mined from Prince’s vast Paisley Park vaults.
The lawsuit claims that Boxill is “trying to exploit one or more songs for his personal gain at expense of the Prince Estate.” According to Paisley Park, the previously unreleased tracks in question are valued at more than $75,000.
FACT has reached out to Apple Music for comment.
UPDATE, OCT 20: The title track ‘Deliverance’ is available again.
Label Rogue Music Alliance has confirmed the EP is blocked from a temporary restraining order, Pitchfork reports.
However, RMA attorney Matthew Wilson has explained in a statement that the order does not block the title track which was already released earlier this week. You can now buy ‘Deliverance’ on RMA’s website and read the statement on the issue below.
“The Federal Court located in Minnesota has temporarily enjoined the release of the remaining unreleased tracks on the Deliverance EP. The court order has not enjoined the released single ‘Deliverance.’ Therefore the ‘Deliverance’ single will continue to be sold.”