Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesWell, that was quick.
Prince's new collection of unreleased material, an EP titled Deliverance, was announced Tuesday and the title track was made available for early streaming. But it has since been removed from iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon Music and other streaming services. The removal of his music comes after his estate took legal action, requesting a judge block the release in conjunction with a lawsuit it filed against the EP's producer and sound engineer George Ian Boxill for control of the Deliverance tracks, according to Billboard.
The filing claims Boxill neglected to return the unfinished recordings. He reportedly spent a year finishing, arranging and completion production on the EP. The suit alleges the value of the music is around $75,000.
Deliverance, which features six unheard songs from the late musician, was set to be released in full on streaming services this Friday in honor of the one-year anniversary of Prince's death. A hard copy would have been made available June 2. The majority of sales were meant to benefit Prince's estate.
"I believe 'Deliverance' is a timely release with everything going on in the world today, and in light of the one-year anniversary of his passing. I hope when people hear Prince singing these songs it will bring comfort to many," Boxill shared in a statement. "Prince once told me that he would go to bed every night thinking of ways to bypass major labels and get his music directly to the public."
He continued, "When considering how to release this important work, we decided to go independent because that's what Prince would have wanted."