JAY-Z is helping assemble a new Prince album
The collection of previously unreleased recordings will be a Tidal exclusive for two weeks in 2019.
JAY-Z and Prince's estate are collaborating on the tracklist of a new album of the late musician's work, Variety reports. The project, due in 2019, will contain “previously unreleased music sourced from Prince’s vast archive of Vault recordings," according to a statement.
The deal represents the end of legal strife between Prince's estate and Tidal. In 2017, the estate accused of falsifying legal documents giving the platform exclusive rights to Prince's catalogue. “This concludes the previously unresolved legal matters between The Prince Estate and Tidal," the statement reads, with the upcoming album "[marking] a continuation of Prince’s 2015 partnership with Tidal."
“Our only goal is to share Prince’s music with his fans as he wanted,” JAY-Z said in his statement. “After thoughtful and honest conversation with him, he chose Tidal as his partner for HITnRUN Phase One and HITnRUN Phase Two, and we will continue to respect and honor Prince’s enduring legacy and wishes with this new collection.”
Tidal will have an exclusive stream of the album for two weeks, with download available the week after its release. The new project will be released on Warner Bros, and will consist of songs written after Prince's initial deal with the label was terminated in 1996.
Prince's memoirs are due to be released in 2018.