Everyone now knows that Prince died intestate or without a will. According to a recent New York Times article, Prince also died without leaving any instructions for how his music should be managed. How will his estate decide who will get rights to Prince’s legendary songs? Who will insure that rights to Prince’s songs are properly paid for? How will his songs continue to make money now that he is deceased? The New York Times, on November 2, 2016, reported that, in June, two seasoned music executives were appointed by Prince’s estate to manage his music.
Prince’s Music
- According to The New York Times article, not surprisingly, Prince’s music empire makes up the largest part of Prince’s estate value.
- His estate is estimated to be worth somewhere around $300 million.
- An estate plan would have helped the probate litigators handling this estate to make decisions that Prince himself would have desired.
- However, since he did not create an estate plan, will, or trust with an estate planning lawyer, it was smart for the estate to appoint two music executives, with experience, to manage his music catalog that is worth millions.
- The two executives, Mr. McMillan and Mr. Koppelman, have just made their first major deal regarding his music.
- The New York Times quotes them: “With this major agreement, the estate maintains ownership of Prince’s music, and now legions of fans from around the world will have even greater opportunities to continue to delight in his incomparable songwriting and musical expression.”
- To read the entire article, click here.