Prince's first record label, Paisley Park Records, a co-venture with Warner Bros. Records was founded in 1985 and debuted with the release of Around The World In A Day. The label shares its name with Prince's recording complex Paisley Park Studios and the song Paisley Park.
Artists who recorded for Paisley Park Records include The Time, Sheila E., The Family, Mavis Staples, George Clinton, Rosie Gaines, Carmen Electra, Jill Jones, The Three O'Clock, Ingrid Chavez, Dale Bozzio, and Taja Sevelle. Paisley Park Records also released albums by Mazarati, Good Question, Madhouse, Eric Leeds, and Tony LeMans.
The label ceased business in 1994, when Warner ended its distribution deal with Paisley Park Records, effectively closing the label.
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History
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Label Creation
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The idea of the Paisley Park Records label emerged during the summer of 1984. Since 1981, Prince has produced albums for The Time, Vanity 6, Sheila E. and Apollonia 6 under the Jamie Starr pseudonym and offered many songs to various other acts. Paisley Park Records was basically an extension of The Starr Company imprint used on the records he fully produced. With the label, Prince Prince would deliver the master and Warner Bros. Records would do the manufacture, distribute, and market the records (In 1992, the deal between Prince and Warner Bros. Records was revised as Paisley Park Records would decide how much to spend on videos and promotional activities. Warner Bros. Records and Prince would operate as partners, sharing investments and profits).
The label shares its name with Prince's recording complex Paisley Park Studios and the song Paisley Park. Prince 's first album to be released on Paisley Park Records, and also the label's first release, was Around The World In A Day on 22 April 1985. All the subsequent releases, except for the Batman album and related singles, would be on that label until the compilations The Hits / The B-Sides in 1993. The first acts who released an album with the label imprint were The Family, Sheila E. and Mazarati.
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Label Life
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Personnel
The President of Operations for the label was Alan Leeds, brother of saxophonist Eric Leeds. Leeds had previously served as Prince's tour manager. He was replaced by former trade journalist Gaham Armstrong. Craig Rice also served as President shortly after Alan Leeds left.
Mismanagement
Prince's management firm at the time, Cavallo, Ruffalo & Fargnoli, began signing artists to the label, at times even without Prince's knowledge or permission. That precipitated the beginning of the end to a successful partnership.
Shortly after firing the management team, lawsuits ensued and it was discovered that the label was mismanaged from the outset, with Warner Bros. Records taking heavy losses due to exorbitant advances paid to Prince and his management team for the label.
Warner Bros. Records also helped to pay for Paisley Park Studios, and executives insisted on a return on their investment, which resulted in several major artists recording their albums at Paisley Park Studios, at times even against Prince's wishes.
Paisley Park Records folded with Prince retaining the masters of all artists, artists advances that were kept by the company, and no support from the label.
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Label Closure
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On February 1st 1994, Warner Bros. Records and Paisley Park Enterprises announce that they are terminating Paisley Park Records. The label became a joint venture between Prince and Warner Bros. Records upon the signing of Prince's last recording contract in 1992. While under Prince's sole aegis, the label could probably have survived for as long as he saw fit, but with Warner Bros. Records holding the purse strings, the financial burden proved too great as few of the label's releases had been big sellers.
Two of the Paisley Park Records acts, Belize and Tyler Collins, were left without contracts when the label folded. Belize had completed an album (without Prince's involvement) but it was never released. Rosie Gaines had a Paisley Park album titled Concrete Jungle on which Prince was involved, was due to be released on 22 March 1994. A single for My Tender Heart backed with Pain was also scheduled for release. The album and single were withdrawn when the label was terminated. Gaines later signed a deal with Motown Records and released an album entitled Closer Than Close in June 1995. The Concrete Jungle album was eventually released digitally in 2010 independently by Rosie Gaines.
Shortly before the closure of Paisley Park Records, Prince had already created a new label called NPG Records and started to try new ways of distributing his music without Warner Bros. Records.
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