Prince’s prolific output of music has found a new home, six months after the “1999” singer’s death.
Universal Music Publishing Group said Wednesday that it has been tapped as the worldwide publishing administrator for Prince’s entire song catalog.
Under the agreement, UMPG will service and administer Prince’s catalog, and work with Prince’s estate “to develop new creative outlets for his music.”
“We’re humbled to be entrusted with Prince’s catalog and I’m grateful to my entire team for their work in making this agreement a reality. UMPG is a premiere destination for songwriters because of the meticulous care, focus and passion we bring to creating opportunities for our artists and their body of work,” UMPG chairman Jody Gerson said Wednesday. “With the timelessness and genius of Prince’s music, there are no limits to what we can achieve working with his estate. Prince’s popularity will only continue to grow around the world.”
UMPG previously served as Prince’s publisher from 2001 to 2014.
The musician’s estate will retain ownership of his music.
Presumably, the deal covers Prince’s back catalog as well as the potential publishing of unreleased music from his vault, which according to some reports, contains thousands of hours of music not yet heard by the public.
Prince died in April at age 57 at his Paisley Park residence in Minnesota. Authorities later determined that the death resulted from an overdose of the opioid painkiller Fentanyl. The musician’s death occurred just days after he reportedly underwent emergency treatment for an overdose of the opioid painkiller Percocet.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.