Prince compares record contracts to slavery

Prince condemned the state of the music industry in a rare media event on Saturday.

"Record contracts are just like — I'm gonna say the word – slavery," the artist told a group of journalists at Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis, according to NPR. "I would tell any young artist...don't sign."

The artist invited a group of press to his studio to promote his new partnership with TIDAL, the Jay Z-backed streaming service.

TIDAL will exclusively stream Prince's new album, HITNRUN, on Sept. 7. The album will also see a physical release, Prince said.

Prince, who has a long history of sparring with record labels and officially regained control of his catalog from Warner Bros. last year, praised Jay Z's work with TIDAL as an artist-controlled alternative to traditional record labels.

"Once we have our own resources, we can provide what we need for ourselves," he said. "Jay Z spent $100 million of his own money to build his own service. We have to show support for artists who are trying to own things for themselves."

According to a Buzzfeed report, the artist compared his payout to the $400 million the Beatles were paid for their catalog, and when a journalist asked him whether his race played a part, "Prince shot him a look and asked what he thought in a knowing voice."

Prince compared record label signees to indentured servants with little control over their own music, discussing how his deal with TIDAL gives him control over more revenue from his work and the freedom to collaborate with other artists.

He also criticized streaming services, saying artists should profit directly from streams instead of being paid through record companies and middlemen, and took shots at Clear Channel's domination over the radio industry.

The only remaining streaming service with Prince's catalog is TIDAL, after the artist removed his music from Spotify and other competitors in July.  

In addition to talking with journalists (many of whom were in Minneapolis to attend the National Association of Black Journalists convention that weekend), Prince premiered two new songs for a small crowd at Paisley Park, possibly titled Million Dollar Show and Shut It Down, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.