Publication: USA Today [US]
Date: October 17, 1996
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Title: "EMI Provides Former Prince Creative, Marketing Freedoms"
Written By: Edna Gundersen

Nov. 19 is emancipation day for The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.

He has signed an alliance with EMI-Capitol Music Group and is celebrating his creative freedom with a new three-disc set.

The word "slave" is no longer scrawled on his cheek now that he has left Warner Bros. His bitter contractual tie to the label ended with the recent Chaos and Disorder. That CD's slide off the charts five weeks after its summer release hasn't dissuaded pop's most prolific star from rolling out Emancipation in November.

Symbol Man's own NPG label will issue the 36-track set, which will be globally distributed and marketed by EMI. A $22.80 wholesale price means it will sell widely for under $30.

The distribution agreement with EMI gives The Artist unrestricted output and ownership of master tapes, terms not typically permitted in conventional record company contracts.

"His past relationship (with Warner) did not allow The Artist to have the freedom he desires," says NPG spokesman and attorney L. Londell McMillan, noting that the EMI deal is a type of symbiotic partnership common in other fields. "Based on the success they've had outside the U.S., we felt most comfortable with EMI. Much has been said about The Artist wanting independence. But he also wants consumers to have access to his material. This alliance with EMI accomplishes both."

Among the new originals are Emale, The Holy River and Sex in the Summer, which incorporates a recording of his unborn baby's heartbeat. (His wife, Mayte, is expecting their first child any day.) On Joint to Joint, Savion Glover of Broadway's Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk, adds tap-danced percussion. Cover tunes include La-La Means I Love You, I Can't Make You Love Me and a version of the Stylistics' 1972 hit, Betcha by Golly, Wow, likely to be the first single.

The album gets a big promotional kick Nov. 12, when The Artist hosts a bash at his Paisley Park Studio in Minneapolis. He'll unveil a video and perform three or four songs in a live global simulcast on radio and TV, with details to be determined.

The normally press-shy musician is plotting a high-profile launch with talk show visits and a half-hour special with Oprah Winfrey. He has also prepared radio ads and is mapping a two-year world tour that includes his first U.S. outing since 1988.