On the eve of the anniversary of Prince’s death, Deliverance, an unauthorized EP, was released by George Ian Boxill, and now the singer’s family is trying to stop it from being released again. But they may have other plans for the song. Reality-TV-show plans, to be exact.
According to a new report by TMZ, family members are working with a production company to produce a reality-TV show that will “focus on how their lives have changed since [Prince] died.”
Although the show is said to be in its early stages, the family shut down Boxill’s release of Prince’s EP so that the music could be used on the show.
Prince’s estate filed a lawsuit against Boxill even before the music was released, stating that Boxill was attempting to profit off Prince’s death.
“The estate of Prince Rogers Nelson is aware that Mr. George Ian Boxill, in conjunction with Rogue Music Alliance, has issued a press release announcing an intent to distribute previously unreleased Prince master recordings and musical compositions,” the estate’s statement read.
“Like the other engineers that had the opportunity to work with Prince, Mr. Boxill signed an agreement, under which he agreed (1) all recordings that he worked on with Prince would remain Prince’s sole and exclusive property; (2) he would not use any recordings or property in any way whatsoever; and (3) he would return any such recordings or property to Prince immediately upon request. Mr. Boxill did not comply with his agreement,” it continued. “Instead, Mr. Boxill maintained copies of certain tracks, waited until after Prince’s tragic death, and is now attempting to release tracks without the authorization of the estate and in violation of the agreement and applicable law.”
Prince led quite a private life, and it’s odd that his family have decided to go the route of reality television.