You can now watch official videos of Prince hits on YouTube

Official videos from Prince started appearing on YouTube on July 7, a year after the death of the pop star who was a sworn foe of the omnipresent site.

Videos for some of his classic songs – including tracks from his 1984 movie Purple Rain such as When Doves Cry and Let’s Go Crazy – became available on an official account for Prince.

The account was linked to Prince’s imprint under Warner Brothers Records, which in June reissued Purple Rain in an expanded edition that reached number four on the latest Billboard album chart.

Prince was early to embrace the internet but later became an avid critic, charging that the ubiquity of free online music was short-changing artists.

The artist hired a team of online monitors who used legal means to take down videos of him, even short clips by fans of the sort that have become fixtures on social media.

Asked about his stance shortly before his death, Prince wrote on Twitter in a message he soon deleted: “Since YouTube doesn’t pay equitable licensing fees, isn’t this a nonsensical question.”

Prince died in April 2016 at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota in the US from an accidental overdose of powerful painkillers.

His family has since stepped up efforts to monetise his music, explaining that it needed to take action to keep the estate afloat. His catalogue returned earlier this year on all major streaming sites including Spotify.

The estate’s commercial drive was recently criticised by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, who had reached an exclusive arrangement with Prince on his Tidal streaming service.

“I’m surprised you ain’t auctioned off his casket,” he raps on his latest album. – AFP Relaxnews

 

 

advertise
advertise
advertise

top navigation

advertise