LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Universal Music Publishing Group has signed an agreement with the estate of Prince Rogers Nelson, AKA Prince to become the exclusive worldwide publishing administrator for Prince's entire song catalog.
Through the deal, UPMG will handle service and administration for Prince's catalog, and work with his estate to continue develop new ways to exploit his music. The estate will retain ownership of Prince's music catalog, which contains numerous No. 1 songs in the U.S. including "Purple Rain," "Lets Go Crazy," "Kiss" and "Cream." In addition to his own recordings, Prince was a prolific songwriter for other artists as well, with credits including "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Sinead O'Connor), "Manic Monday" (Bangles), "When You Were Mine" (Cyndi Lauper), "I Feel For You" (Chaka Khan) and "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore" (Alicia Keys).
Bremer Trust, the court-appointed temporary special administrator of the Prince Rogers Nelson Estate, hired entertainment industry experts Charles Koppelman, Chairman and CEO of CAK Entertainment Inc., and L. Londell McMillan, Chairman and CEO of The NorthStar Enterprises Worldwide, to handle business agreements on behalf of the estate.
UMPG served as Prince's publisher from 2001 to 2014.
"We are looking forward to continuing Prince's legacy and ensuring that generations to come will know his unique brilliance. I congratulate Jody [Gerson] and her team on this landmark deal. Since joining UMPG as Chairman and CEO in 2015, Jody has done a remarkable job at developing and signing some of the most important songwriters and recording artists in contemporary music highlighted by the addition of Prince's incredible catalog of work." UMG Chairman Lucian Grainge said.
