Paisley Park Records was
Prince's
record label,
associated with and funded in part by Warner Bros.
Records. It was started in 1985, following
the success of the film and album Purple
Rain. The label shares its name with Prince's recording
complex Paisley Park Studios and the song "Paisley
Park" on his 1985 Around the
World in a Day album.
History
The studio was designed by architect firm BOTO Design Inc, of
Santa Monica, California, and was completed in 1988. It contains a
recording and stage complex, and covers 55,000 sq ft
(5,100 m2).
Artists who recorded for Paisley Park include The Time,
Sheila E., The
Family, Mavis Staples,
George
Clinton, Carmen Electra,
Jill Jones, The Three
O'Clock, Ingrid Chavez,
Dale Bozzio, and
Taja Sevelle.
While Prince had great chart success in the 1980s, the success
did generally not transfer to other acts. With the exception of
Sheila E.'s 1985 album Romance 1600
(also the label's debut non-Prince release), Tevin Campbell's
single "Round and Round", and The Time's 1990 release,
"Pandemonium", the label never had any commercial successes by
artists other than Prince. In 1994, amid
Prince's feud with Warner Bros., Warner ended its distribution deal
with Paisley Park, effectively closing the label. Prince later
started NPG Records.
Paisley Park Records also released albums by Mazarati,
Good Question,
Madhouse, Eric Leeds, and the late Tony LeMans, whose
debut album was produced by David Gamson of
Scritti Politti.
Also of note, the President of Operations for the label was Alan
Leeds, brother of saxophonist Eric Leeds, who played sax in Sheila
E.'s band, The Family and also toured with The New
Power Generation. Alan won a Grammy for writing the liner notes
for a James Brown album,
and at one point served as Prince's tour manager on several tours.
Craig Rice also
served as President shortly after Alan Leeds left.
Prince's management firm at the time, Cavallo, Ruffalo &
Fargnoli, affectionately known as the "Spaghetti Bros.", began
signing artists to the label, at times even without Prince's
knowledge or permission. That precipitated the beginning of the end
to a successful partnership. Shortly after firing the management
team, lawsuits ensued and it was discovered that the label was
mismanaged from the outset, with Warner Bros. taking heavy losses
due to exorbitant advances paid to Prince and his management team
for the label. Warner Bros. also helped to pay for the recording
studio built in Chanhassen, a US$10 million world-class recording
facility that also was a soundstage. Warner executives insisted on
a return on their investment, which resulted in several major
artists recording their albums at Paisley Park Studios, at times
even against Prince's wishes.
Paisley Park Records folded with Prince retaining the masters of
all artists, artists advances that were kept by the company, and no
support from the label. All releases are out of print, including
releases by George Clinton, whose albums recorded on Prince's label
are the only recordings of his that are currently out of print.
There were catalog numbers for both the original pressing of
The
Black Album (25677) and for Camille,
but they were canceled and abandoned and, therefore, it can be said
that both of those albums (which showcase the Camille alter ego)
and certainly the numerous unreleased music and full length films
and video work that are known to have been created in Prince's
state-of-the-art Paisley Park studios are among the rarest of the
Prince catalog on the Paisley Park record label.
WARNING: Cache is NOT inside the fence
or anywhere inside Paisley Park Studio Grounds. That is private
property and should not be trespassed upon. Cache is just a few
feet off the sidewalk.