Prince’s camp has denied claims Jay Z made a $40 million bid to buy the rights to the late pop icon’s unreleased music.
On Wednesday, TMZ.com reported that the rapper recently flew Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson and her husband, Maurice Phillips, to New York for a meeting to discuss the idea, and put an official offer on the table; however, attorney L. Londell McMillan, one of the advisers to Prince’s estate, has since hit back at the story, telling Billboard.com he has “no knowledge of any discussions in that report”.
He added: “There is no sale (of Prince’s music assets), and those responsible for the assets are not in discussions with anyone regarding a sale.”
The Purple Rain hitmaker died in April, leaving behind a treasure trove of songs at his Paisley Park compound, which have never been shared with the public.
There has been much speculation about what will happen to the music, which includes tracks such as Extraloveable, Electric Intercourse and Rebirth of the Flesh, all of which have been bootlegged but never officially released.
It was also recently claimed that the contents of the vault are being shopped to the three major record labels in America – Sony, Universal and Warner.
The three labels are apparently desperate to get their hands on the singer’s legacy, with the price currently standing at $35 million.
“All three major labels are said to be in talks for rights to the music,” the source told Billboard.com earlier this month. The unnamed insider added to the outlet that a deluxe edition of Purple Rain, originally announced in 2014, is now likely to be released next year, while a new greatest hits compilation will hit store shelves November 22.
The vault also includes concert footage and hundreds of hours of live recordings of Prince.
