Prince Estate Wins $7 Million Lawsuit Against ‘Bootleg’ Label
Prince's estate has scored a legal victory against a record label that allegedly released unauthorized material.
A judge has sided with the estate in a suit against Eye Records, according to TMZ. The decision includes $7 million in damages, and also instructs the label to take down all of Prince's property from their website.
News of the suit first broke in 2018, when the estate accused Eye Records of illegally releasing 18 compilations since Prince's death. The unauthorized material was made up of unreleased tracks and live performances, including his final concert in Atlanta.
The record label was allegedly using a website called newlovesigne.com to sell the unlicensed music. (The site appears to have since been taken down.) In legal documents, the estate described Eye Records as a "bootleg label dedicated to Prince."
"There was nothing more important to Prince than the quality of his music and how his fans experienced it,” a representative from Prince’s estate said when the suit was filed. “Our hope is to preserve the integrity of the music and remain true to Prince's wishes."
The rep also cautioned that anyone else trying to unlawfully distribute Prince material would be "prosecute(d) to the fullest extent of the law."
Prince's untimely death in 2016 was immediately followed by legal battles over his rightful beneficiaries. While these arguments continue to drag on, his estate has begun releasing authorized posthumous material. The most recent was Originals, featuring demo songs that Prince wrote for other artists that came out in June.