Twenty years ago, at the height of his battle for control over his musical career, Prince posted an unusually candid and direct letter to his fans, including an explanation of his name change.
The letter, entitled “Message from The Artist”, marked one of the few times that Prince (then known as O(+>) would drop his guard and state his intentions plainly and without his characteristically oblique phrasing. It explained everything from his rationale behind changing his name to his feelings about the way the record industry operated at the time. It starts by quoting Prince’s December 22, 1995 press release declaring his desire to terminate his contract with Warner Bros Records, but goes far further into Prince’s motivations.
Originally posted when Prince’s first website thedawn.com opened in February of 1996, the message was shared in a hidden document not linked anywhere on the site. Fans found the letter within hours of its posting, and it was removed within days. Weeks later, a less personal version, rewritten to be from a royal “we” rather than Prince himself, was briefly shared on the site, then that revised letter was removed as well.
Like nearly all of his websites, thedawn.com was left to languish after Prince moved on to his next album, and few archives of it exist today. Except for formatting changes (the original letter used a picture of Prince’s symbol rather than typing it out), this is the exact text of the letter, copied from an archive of the original page, and represented in the original HTML code of the site as posted in 1996.
Welcome 2 the Dawn.
U have just accessed the 
experience.
On December 22, Paisley Park issued a press release that read as follows:
" has officially given notice to Warner Bros. Records (WBR) of his desire
to terminate his recording agreement with the company. Over the course of
their nearly two decade long relationship, The Artist and WBR have
developed irreconcilable differences. Most recently, the unstable and
ever changing management structure within WBR has made it impossible for
the company to effectively market and promote its flagship artists,
including .
The Artist is prepared to deliver the three (3) remaining albums under his
former name Prince which will fulfill his contractual to WBR. Currently,
the albums are titled: Prince: The Vault - Volumes I, II and III.
will release a new recording entitled Emancipation once he is free from
all ties with Time Warner."
The press release wasn't very detailed, but it outlined my feelings as the
Holiday week approached. While it was a message to everyone, it was more
for the ears of the entertainment industry, and specifically it was geared
towards the music industry and its musicians - both young and old, green
and seasoned, struggling and successful. These words from Paisley Park
are from me. My ultimate message is a cry for solidarity amongst artists
and a reprieve from the greed of entertainment executives.
My message stems from a lifetime of development as an artist and as a
businessman, and my increasing awareness of a greedy structure within the
music industry that unjustly rewards large, slow corporate management
teams, while overlooking and not protecting its bread and butter - the
artists.
As difficult as it is to admit now, when I began my career with Warner in
1978, I had a lot to learn. The transition into the artist I am now
hasn't been a smooth one. I don't want other young artists to be mislead
in the same way. I'm expressing my feelings so that others will learn
from my mistakes. I also want all established artists to understand the
issues and know that there should be a better way and to join with me to
create that new path.
A little history-.
At 37 years old, I have been a recording artist for Warner Music for what
will be seventeen years this April. I was only 19 years old when I
recorded my first album as Prince. Recording for a large label was new
and exciting. I had an opportunity to reach millions of people around the
world, not just my faithful following here in Minneapolis around the club
scene. As time passed, the realities of the music industry and its
current hierarchical pecking system sunk in. Artists are last on the
totem pole in terms of recoupment.
My path has been a long and arduous one. In the beginning, both youth and
excitement towards the opportunity to have an album produced made me, as
Prince, naïve. Saavy lawyers claiming to have my interest at heart, long
in bed with the record companies they pimp, offered me what seemed to be a
lucrative contract, without fully explaining the ramifications of its
terms. I wrote an album a year for many years until I realized a trap had
been laid. I would never be able to leave the legacy of my music to my
family, my future children or anyone, because "Prince" did not own the
Masters-I did not, and still do not, own my Art.
For most of all of my adult life, I have labored under one construct. I
compose music, write lyrics, and produce songs for myself and others. My
creativity is my life; it is what guides my everyday, my sleepless
nights. My songs are my children. I feel them. I watch them grow and I
nurture them to maturity. I deliver them to my record company, and
suddenly, they are no longer mine. The process is painful. I have been
long ready for a new program. The time is now.
As an artist, I want to share my music with others. I crave the
experience of writing and sharing with others. It is what I do as an
artist; as a human being. I take pleasure in the fact that others are
able to share in my joy once the process is complete. My fans are my
children's friends; I respect them and want to communicate with them.
As a businessman and the owner of NPG Records-the label that released The
Most Beautiful Girl In The World -the 1994 Number One release by an
independent, I realize that record companies are a natural part of the
food chain. It is the record label that allows a musical artist to reach
out to his or her audience, but that does not mean that whichever
organization markets and distributes the music should own the final
product, i.e. the Masters.
What I have learned as both an artist and a businessman is that a middle
ground must be developed. All artists, whether new or established, must
have a substantial ownership interest in the music they create.
Conversely, all record labels need an incentive to market music and push
it thorough their distribution systems; still, that incentive should not
be ultimate control. Record labels have no right to enslave the creators.
The first step I have taken towards the ultimate goal of emancipation from
the chains that bind me to Warner Bros. was to change my name from Prince
to . Prince is the name that my Mother gave me at birth. Warner Bros.
took the name, trademarked it, and used it as the main marketing tool to
promote all of the music that I wrote. The company owns the name Prince
and all related music marketed under Prince. I became merely a pawn used
to produce more money for Warner Bros.
By my 35th birthday, June 7, 1993, I was beyond frustrated with my lack of
control over my career and music. It seemed reminiscent of much that had
been experienced by other African-Americans over last couple of hundred
years. They had turned me into a slave and I wanted no more of it. The
dilemma had only one clear solution. I was born Prince and did not want
to adopt another conventional name. The only acceptable replacement for
my name, and my identity, was , a symbol with no pronunciation, that is a
representation of me and what my music is about. This symbol is present
in my work over the years; it is a concept that has evolved from my
frustration; it is who I am. It is my name.
I look forward to the release of Emancipation in the near future. It will
be The Dawn of the next phase of my life as a musician. It will represent
my freedom from the past and it will be a continuum of what I have started
here today.