The Prince Estate and Legacy Recordings, a
division of Sony Music Entertainment, are pleased to announce the first round
of physical titles set for release as part of the ongoing and definitive Prince
catalog project first announced in August. Three essential full-length Prince
albums, Musicology, 3121 and Planet Earth, will be available on CD and – for
the first time ever – on vinyl beginning Friday, February 8, 2019. Each of the
vinyl titles will be pressed on highly collectible, limited edition purple
vinyl. In addition, the albums will be available in both CD/LP form alongside
new exclusive merchandise corresponding to each album era via the Official
Prince Store.
The physical
release of Musicology (1CD and 2LPs), 3121 (1CD and 2LPs) and Planet Earth (1CD
and 1LP) follow from the historic exclusive agreement inked between The Prince
Estate and SME/Legacy in June 2018. In August 2018, 23 highly-collectible
Prince catalog titles (many of them hard-to-find or out-of-print) and a newly
curated anthology of 37 essential tracks compiled under the auspices of The Prince
Estate, titled Prince Anthology: 1995-2010, were made available digitally
across all major streaming services and digital service providers.
The album
trilogy set for physical release February 8th celebrates a sustained period of
renewed creative energy and commercial triumph in Prince's multi-faceted
career. These three albums marked Prince's return to the top of the popular
mainstream, a position he maintained while simultaneously pushing the envelope
and breaking industry norms pertaining to marketing, distribution and live
performance. Musicology (2004) resulted in two Grammy Awards – Best Traditional
R&B Vocal Performance ("Musicology") and Best R&B Vocal
Performance – Male ("Call My Name") – and has been certified RIAA
double platinum. Concurrently, Prince pioneered a cutting edge industry-first
marketing and distribution strategy for the album, bundling a copy of the
record as a gift to every fan who purchased a ticket to his monumental
"Musicology Live 2004ever" tour, witnessed by over 1.47 million music
lovers worldwide.
Released in
2006, 3121, Prince's 31st studio album, became his first record to debut at #1
on the Billboard 200 and his first #1 album since 1989's Batman. For his
follow-up studio album, 2007's Planet Earth, Prince innovated yet another bold
marketing and distribution tactic, giving free copies of the album away in the
UK via a partnership with the national newspaper The Mail on Sunday. Bucking
conventional industry distribution strategy, the innovative partnership fueled
Prince's epic 21-night run of sold out shows at London's O2 Arena (20,000
capacity), while back in the US Planet Earth debuted at #3 on the Billboard
200.
Prince's
studio trilogy of Musicology, 3121, and Planet Earth presents the artist at a
high point in his creative genius during the first decade of the 21st century.
The 2004-2007 epoch gave us some of Prince's most iconic and indelible
performances, including his unforgettable appearance with Beyoncé at the 2004
Grammys, his show-stopping induction at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a
month later, and his incandescent triumph at the Super Bowl in February 2007.
Complementing
the music release campaign, The Prince Estate and Legacy continue efforts to
unify the iconic artist's work on all digital services with the ongoing weekly
release of Prince's official music videos. Reignited on November 2nd, the
weekly video drops covering the 1995-2010 period build on a current available
library of over 80 official music videos, with each week's selections drawing
from specific catalog albums. This week's batch features the videos from
Musicology (including the controversial "Cinnamon Girl" featuring
actress Keisha Castle-Hughes), 3121 (including "Te Amo Corazón"
directed by Selma Hayak), and Planet Earth (including "Chelsea
Rogers" shot at London Fashion Week).
Watch all
the videos here: https://Prince.lnk.to/PrinceMV
The lasting
impact and influence of Prince continues to resonate across popular music and
culture. This November, "Black-ish," the hit ABC-TV series, devoted
its landmark 100th episode to a celebration of Prince and his music, while the
NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves recently announced that their entry into the
league's popular City Edition would be Prince-inspired, realized through a
collaborative effort between The Prince Estate, the Timberwolves and Nike.
The Prince
Estate passionately presents Prince's life and work, and cultivates
opportunities to further his legacy. As the singular, authoritative source on
all things Prince, The Prince Estate inspires and educates fans, celebrates
Prince in his totality, and stewards Prince's legacy into the future.
www.princeestate.com
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