This is one of those times.
“Record contracts are just like — I’m gonna say the word – slavery,” Prince told a group of 10 journalists Saturday night, during a meet and greet at his Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis, as reported by NPR’s Two Way Blog. “I would tell any young artist … don’t sign.”
His pitch to the group was simple: Typical record company contracts turn artists into indentured servants with little control over how their music is used, particularly when it comes to revenue from streaming services playing their music online — and he wants to change that.
Cellphones and recording devices were banned for everyone at Paisley Park — as was any kind of alcohol, in line with the tenets of Prince’s Jehovah’s Witness faith — so no photos or audio of his words were recorded.
Sitting at the head of a glass table emblazoned with his trademark image combining the astrological symbols for male and female, Prince wanted to talk up his new alliance with Jay Z and the rap star’s new music streaming service, Tidal.
Unquestionably, the power in the music industry has rested too long with the record companies and that’s a tide that’s turning as more and more powerful artists rebel.
But that’s still a far cry from slavery.