Jay Z allegedly offered $40 million for unreleased Prince music following his death, but a representative for the late artist has “no knowledge” of it.
Gossip site TMZ released a report that the rapper met with Prince’s sister Tyka in order to “snap up all the unreleased Prince music” that is stored in a vault as his Paisley Park home.
When Billboard asked Prince rep and advisor to the estate L. Londell McMillian for comment, he said that he has “no knowledge of any discussions in that report” and that “there is no sale [of Prince’s music assets], and those responsible for the assets are not in discussions with anyone regarding a sale.” McMillan did confirm to the publication that Prince’s estate is currently considering offers from three major labels to license Prince’s catalog and unreleased material.
The likely false report said the Jay Z met with Tyka Nelson and her husband Maurice Philips at a New York meeting a few weeks ago. It is possible that the rapper may be being considered for “the overall deal for streaming rights,” and his music-subscription service Tidal brokered an exclusive deal with Prince in the months before his death. The exact details of the deal are unclear, but it can be noted that several Prince albums that were previously unavailable are now on the streaming service.
NPG Records and Warner Bros are also reportedly gearing up to release a third album that will contain unreleased songs by the artist, and rumors are flying that it will not be the last. Unreleased tracks by Prince are allegedly up for sale, and the two major labels are negotiating the rights to his catalog, and are willing to pay up to $35 million for it.
