While a new Prince EP of previously unreleased material will not come out on Friday, the set's title track is now back on sale.
On Tuesday, it was announced that a new five-track collection of unheard Prince studio recordings from 2006–2008 called Deliverance would be released on Friday, coinciding with the one year anniversary of the icon's death. The announcement came with the release of a single of the same name, but the next day it was all removed from digital services when Prince's estate and Paisley Park Enterprises filed a lawsuit against sound engineer George Ian Boxill for control of the Deliverance tracks and requested a temporary restraining order on the EP's sale, to which a judge complied. Now, "Deliverance" is back for sale with the label behind the project -- RMA (Rogue Music Alliance) -- claiming the ruling does not apply to the single.
"The Federal Court located in Minnesota has temporarily enjoined the release of the remaining unreleased tracks on the 'Deliverance' EP," said Matthew Wilson, attorney for RMA, in a statement. "The court order has not enjoined the released single 'Deliverance.' Therefore the 'Deliverance' single will continue to be sold."
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The track is for sale now exclusively through a website setup by RMA.
Prince's estate claims that by releasing this material, Boxill is violating a signed agreement he made with the late music icon that all recordings made during the Prince sessions would remain the artist's sole and exclusive property
"Mr. Boxill did not comply with his agreement," the estate said Wednesday in a statement to Billboard. "Instead, Mr. Boxill maintained copies of certain tracks, waited until after Prince’s tragic death, and is now attempting to release tracks without the authorization of the Estate and in violation of the agreement and applicable law."
According to Rolling Stone, the restraining order is set to expire May 3 with a hearing to be held before then to determine the next course of action.