𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐧

32. August 31, 1992

Prince

Monday/August 31, 1992/Los Angeles, CA

Heart in my stomach, nerves bundled in my hands, the pen trembled over the white paper like a fall leaf on windy day. I couldn't control it, and as many times as my eyes scanned the many words I just kept wishing something would change. But the print stayed put.

"Take your time," a suit said, a real funny guy. They were giving me all the time in the world because they knew no matter how many hours I spent in that room they were leaving with my signature on the line. Practically burnt out, I had no room to fight them on anything.

My contract with Warner Brothers was up for expiration so they worked overtime to get me to stay after the success of Diamonds and Pearls. On the outskirts they painted it so nice. Six-album extension worth $100 million. No solo artist from any label had ever seen anything bigger. "We're making history today," they told me. They even gave me a seat on their board: Vice President of A&R. I would have an entire suite of offices here at headquarters. The $10 million advance for each album had a nice gleam to it too. And the $20 million advance for the joint venture with Paisley Park sounded promising. But the dirt was all in the fine print.

The filthiest clause of them all...the transfer of ownership of all my master recordings. Not just the ones as of August 31, 1992, but every single one dating back 14 years to For You and all masters going forward for the life of this CONtract.

The 24 karat pen bled blue onto the paper. Prince Rogers Nelson. SOLD.

When I called up Aívy and told her the deal was done she couldn't understand why my enthusiasm didn't match hers. I told her I wasn't happy with it and she ironically called me a brat, jokingly. "You asked for more money and you got it."

"No. They got me."

"So then why did you sign it?"

She wouldn't understand. Not now.

~*~

Wednesday

The deal may have been done but business continued. I stayed behind in L.A. for days in and out of the office negotiating for future projects.

Warner had a plan. Release less, promote more. "Hulk down on promoting your singles longer."

Fine. So I shot my shot. The next album was already done.  I was just about ready to finalize the cover art and title.  But next year in '93 I wanted to release a triple-disc album. The Dawn. "All of the material is pretty much already done. I'll even spend all of '94 releasing singles. We can do the next album after that in '95."

"The triple-disc album isn't happening. It's too much. One disc, one album, preferably at least biennial."

"Biannual is more my speed."

"Biennial. Come on—five million units. You gotta slow down."

Oh yeah, that $10 million advance? Just as long as the preceding album ships at least 5 million units. The real issue was the music industry wasn't the same and I wasn't one to conform to the times. Incorporating a little Hip Hop here and there wasn't a problem, but it wasn't where my heART was.

"Once you get Aívy in the picture you'll be set anyway." The green giants loved Aívy Valentine. She was young, beautiful and talented, and would be paired with their greatest asset. She was desirable. They saw the dollar signs.