Prince (November 10, 1996) – “Former Prince Finally Has Freedom” Feature - Statesman Journal

Nine days before the release of Emancipation, the Statesman Journal reported on the creative freedom surrounding Prince’s new three-disc project. The feature connects the 36-track album directly with Prince’s departure from Warner Bros., his new relationship with EMI, ownership of his master recordings and the forthcoming Paisley Park promotional celebration.

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS

FEATURE	DETAILS
Artist:	Prince
Publication:	Statesman Journal
Publication Date:	November 10, 1996
Location:	Salem, Oregon, USA
Headline:	Former Prince finally has freedom
Credit:	Gannett News Service
Album:	Emancipation
Release Date:	November 19, 1996
Format:	Three-disc album
Tracks:	36
Label:	NPG Records
Distribution / Marketing:	EMI
First Single Mentioned:	Betcha by Golly Wow!
Principal Theme:	Prince’s new creative independence following the end of the Warner Bros. relationship

ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL

ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER CUTTING

[IMAGE – STATESMAN JOURNAL, NOVEMBER 10, 1996 – “FORMER PRINCE FINALLY HAS FREEDOM”]

INTRODUCTION

NOVEMBER 19 – EMANCIPATION DAY	CREATIVE FREEDOM
The Statesman Journal opens by describing November 19 as “emancipation day” for the Artist Formerly Known as Prince. The date represented both the scheduled arrival of Emancipation and a public celebration of a new phase in Prince’s recording career.	The article interprets the album through Prince’s recently achieved freedom from Warner Bros. The new three-disc project is therefore presented not simply as another record, but as a direct expression of a changed relationship with the music industry.

FROM WARNER BROS. TO EMANCIPATION

THE END OF THE CONTRACT	CHAOS AND DISORDER
The article recalls Prince’s highly public dispute with Warner Bros. and the period in which the word “slave” had appeared across Prince’s cheek.	The feature identifies Chaos and Disorder as the release that concluded Prince’s contractual connection with Warner Bros., clearing the way for Emancipation and the new arrangements surrounding its release.

NPG RECORDS

PRINCE’S OWN LABEL	36 TRACKS
Emancipation is identified as being issued through Prince’s own NPG Records label.	The Statesman Journal describes the new album as a 36-track set, emphasising the sheer volume of new material being prepared for release.

THE EMI ALLIANCE

DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING	A DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENT
The article reports that EMI would distribute and market Emancipation globally.	This arrangement is presented as fundamentally different from Prince’s earlier record-company relationship because NPG remained at the centre of the release while EMI provided the large-scale distribution infrastructure.

OWNERSHIP & CONTROL

MASTER TAPES	UNRESTRICTED OUTPUT
One of the feature’s most important details is the assertion that the EMI agreement gave Prince ownership of the master tapes.	The newspaper also reports that the arrangement allowed unrestricted output, contrasting it directly with the limitations Prince believed had existed under the previous conventional recording contract.

L. LONDELL McMILLAN

THE NPG VIEW	INDEPENDENCE & ACCESS
The feature quotes NPG spokesman and lawyer L. Londell McMillan discussing the reasoning behind the EMI association.	McMillan explains the balance Prince was seeking: independence for the artist while still ensuring that consumers had broad access to the music.

THE SCALE OF EMANCIPATION

THREE DISCS	A GLOBAL RELEASE
The forthcoming album is consistently presented as an unusually large three-disc project rather than a conventional single CD.	The combination of NPG ownership and EMI distribution was designed to give that large release an international marketplace.

THE NEW SONGS

EMALE / THE HOLY RIVER	SEX IN THE SUMMER
The newspaper identifies new originals including “Emale” and “The Holy River”.	“Sex in the Summer” receives particularly personal contextual information: the article states that it incorporates a recording of an unborn baby’s heartbeat.

JOINT 2 JOINT

SAVION GLOVER	TAP-DANCED PERCUSSION
“Joint 2 Joint” is another new composition discussed by the newspaper.	The feature identifies Savion Glover and notes the use of tap-danced percussion within the recording.

COVER VERSIONS

FAMILIAR SONGS	A NEW ELEMENT
The article identifies several compositions by other writers within the Emancipation programme, including “La-La Means I Love You” and “I Can’t Make You Love Me”.	Their presence demonstrates that the enormous collection was not restricted exclusively to Prince compositions.

BETCHA BY GOLLY WOW!

THE STYLISTICS SONG	FIRST SINGLE
The feature also identifies Prince’s version of “Betcha by Golly Wow!”, associated with the Stylistics’ 1972 hit.	The Statesman Journal describes it as the record likely to become the project’s first single.

PAISLEY PARK

THE RELEASE CELEBRATION	MINNEAPOLIS
The newspaper previews a major promotional event at Paisley Park Studios connected with the launch of Emancipation.	Prince was expected to perform material from the project while unveiling the accompanying promotional campaign from the creative base most closely associated with his work.

GO CRAZY!

THE SIDEBAR	WORLDWIDE BROADCAST
A sidebar headed “GO CRAZY!” promotes the planned Paisley Park release celebration.	The newspaper reports plans for a worldwide broadcast, linking the Minneapolis event with audiences well beyond the people physically present at Paisley Park.

THE ACTUAL BROADCAST DATE

NOVEMBER 12, 1996	ARCHIVAL CLARIFICATION
Subsequent documentation establishes that the Emancipation Celebration was broadcast from Paisley Park on November 12, 1996, rather than on the album’s November 19 release date.	The November 10 newspaper was describing plans before the broadcast occurred. Preserving that distinction is important because it shows what was being announced at the time while allowing the actual event chronology to remain accurate.

THE VIDEO PREMIERE

BETCHA BY GOLLY WOW!	THE BROADCAST
The newspaper states that the programme would incorporate the video for “Betcha by Golly Wow!”.	The subsequent Emancipation Celebration broadcast did indeed open with the video before moving into the live Paisley Park performance.

THE LIVE PERFORMANCE

NEW MATERIAL	OLDER SONGS
The later broadcast included material from Emancipation, including “Jam of the Year”, “Get Yo Groove On” and “One of Us”.	Familiar catalogue material was also incorporated, including “Purple Rain” and “If I Was Your Girlfriend”, mixing the new era with recognisable Prince recordings.

HIGH-PROFILE PROMOTION

TELEVISION	A PUBLIC RETURN
The Statesman Journal reports that Prince was planning a more visible promotional campaign around Emancipation.	This is significant because the article specifically characterises Prince as normally press-shy, making the planned television appearances and promotional activity part of the story surrounding the album.

OPRAH WINFREY

TELEVISION SPECIAL	THE PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN
The newspaper reports preparations for an appearance connected with Oprah Winfrey as part of the promotional push.	The reference demonstrates how substantially the Emancipation campaign was intended to extend beyond conventional album advertising.

A RETURN TO TOURING

WORLD TOUR PLANS	THE UNITED STATES
The article concludes by reporting plans for a two-year world tour.	It also notes the significance of renewed United States touring activity, presenting the next phase as another aspect of Prince re-entering public life on newly negotiated terms.

THE PHOTOGRAPH

CENTRAL PORTRAIT	GO CRAZY SIDEBAR
A large monochrome portrait dominates the centre of the supplied cutting, surrounded by the article text.	To the right, the “GO CRAZY!” sidebar isolates the planned Paisley Park event as a separate promotional attraction.

NOVEMBER 10, 1996 – THREE DIFFERENT SOURCES

STAR TRIBUNE	THE PLAIN DEALER / STATESMAN JOURNAL
The Star Tribune advertisement announced the new project in its simplest form: Emancipation, three CDs, 36 songs, three hours, arriving November 19.	The Plain Dealer concentrated on the idea of “Emancipation Day” and Prince’s escape from the Warner Bros. relationship, while this Statesman Journal feature expands the story into NPG ownership, EMI distribution, new songs, the planned broadcast and Prince’s wider promotional strategy.

WHAT THE CUTTING DOCUMENTS

THE RECORD	THE BUSINESS & PROMOTION
Emancipation November 19 release Three discs 36 tracks NPG Records New originals Cover versions “Betcha by Golly Wow!”	End of Warner Bros. relationship EMI alliance Ownership of masters Unrestricted output Paisley Park celebration Worldwide broadcast plans Television promotion Tour plans

CONTEXT AND NOTES

HISTORICAL CONTEXT	ARCHIVAL SIGNIFICANCE
Documented by the supplied cutting: The article directly links Emancipation with Prince’s newly achieved contractual freedom, NPG Records and the distribution and marketing arrangement with EMI. It also identifies November 19 as the planned release date.	The feature is significantly more detailed than the small Star Tribune advertisement from the same date. It explains not simply what Emancipation was, but why the release was being presented as an act of creative freedom.
Contemporary-plan versus actual-event clarification: The November 10 cutting describes the Paisley Park broadcast as a forthcoming promotional event. Subsequent documentation confirms that the Emancipation Celebration took place on November 12, 1996 and was broadcast in the United States by MTV and VH1, with the European broadcast occurring the following morning.	This discrepancy is worth preserving rather than silently rewriting the newspaper. It documents the campaign while plans were still being communicated to the press and demonstrates how the final promotional schedule developed immediately before release.

CONCLUSION

FORMER PRINCE FINALLY HAS FREEDOM	EMANCIPATION BEFORE RELEASE
The Statesman Journal’s November 10 feature captures the central idea surrounding Emancipation: control. Prince’s Warner Bros. relationship had ended, NPG Records would issue the enormous new project and EMI would provide worldwide distribution and marketing without occupying the same contractual position as the former label.	With nine days remaining before the album’s November 19 release, the newspaper caught the campaign at exactly the right moment. New songs, cover versions, Paisley Park, global broadcasting, television appearances and tour ambitions were all being assembled around a three-disc record whose title deliberately expressed the freedom Prince believed he had finally achieved.

SOURCES

SOURCE MATERIAL	ARCHIVAL VERIFICATION
Statesman Journal November 10, 1996 Gannett News Service Original supplied newspaper cutting	Emancipation release documentation NPG Records Emancipation Celebration broadcast documentation

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