Jay Z once rapped about some of Prince’s music being “safe and sound” in his hands. Now, it looks like he wants to make sure most, if not all of the late musician’s songs are protected, per a new report by TMZ.
As recently as a few weeks ago, Hov met with Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson to discuss the prospect of Jay purchasing some of the unreleased music The Purple One left behind. TMZ got wind of the deal and figures discussed, claiming that Jay made a hefty offer: $40 million.
Of course, Jay owning those rights would be a great move for his streaming company Tidal because that’s currently the only place where fans can legally stream Prince’s catalog at this time. Prince made the decision to remove his music from all streaming services except Tidal in the summer of 2015. Although terms of any deal were never disclosed, it’s likely he received equity in the company, similar to the arrangements Tidal held with other artists-owners.
The report does note that the proposed deal does come with its own set of hurdles. For one, Tyka is only one of the Prince’s siblings and she’d have to get the rest to go along with the deal, plus get his estate to sign off, too. Also, other interested parties will likely put in big bids to claim a piece of Prince’s catalog now that they know it’s potentially available.
