The performance of dutifully handling Prince’s estate came under scrutiny again as associates who obtained legal rights in 2022 have sued several of the musician’s family members. Prince’s family reached an agreement regarding the division of Prince’s $156 million estate, which the music icon’s six half-siblings inherited after passing away at the age of 57 in April 2016 due to a fentanyl overdose. The six siblings agreed on a 50/50 split, meaning that half of those inheriting the estate would sell their shares to Primary Wave, the company that purchased Prince’s back catalogue rights in 2021, while the other three kept their stakes and set up Prince Legacy LLC, managed by Prince’s longtime counselors L Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer.
However, a new lawsuit was filed by McMillan and Spicer in a Delaware court, alleging a new breach between them and the three family members they were working with, according to a story published in Billboard. The defendants and three half-sisters of Prince and his niece and nephew are trying to evict McMillan and Spicer from Prince Legacy LLC, according to the suit, claiming that this violates the agreed legal arrangement. The suit claims that Sharon and Breanna Nelson have also attempted to sell off their shares to Primary Wave, which would overturn the 50/50 balance established in 2022 by the estate heirs.
According to reports, “The individual defendants lack any business and management experience, have no experience in the music and entertainment industries, and have no experience negotiating and managing high-level deals in the entertainment industry,” the suit states. “They have a documented history of infighting. Based on the amount and complexity of the work that Prince Legacy is involved with, they are simply not capable of stepping in and managing its business.” The lawyer for Norrine, Breanna, and Allen Nelson has yet to comment after being approached by Billboard.
In other Prince news, reports also revealed this week that ‘Purple Rain’ is being adapted into a stage musical, containing several of the icon’s famous tracks. The staged adaptation of the 1984 film will be led by Orin Wolf, who previously directed the Tony-winning adaptation of The Band’s Visit on stage, and is supporting the theatrical adaptation of another music industry movie, Buena Vista Social Club. It will be based on the original screenplay, written by Albert Magnoli and William Blinn. In a separate event, André 3000 recently announced that Prince had contacted him to clarify what went wrong with OutKast’s 2014 reunion performance
Read the full article on NME here: Read More