Prince master tapes spark latest feud over his estate

MINNEAPOLIS — Two sisters and heirs of the late rock superstar Prince said Wednesday they’re angered the contents of his vault, including master tapes of unreleased music, have been removed from his Paisley Park studio complex and shipped to California.

Sharon and Norrine Nelson, Prince’s half-sisters, told The Associated Press they are prepared to take legal action to bring the music back to Minnesota. The company running the estate, Comerica Bank & Trust, said the recordings are safe at a reputable storage company in Los Angeles.

“We want the music back home in Paisley Park where it belongs,” Sharon Nelson said.

Norrine Nelson called it “extraordinary and unconscionable.” The recordings are regarded as among the most valuable pieces of an estate that court papers have suggested is worth around $200 million.

Sharon Nelson said she was told Sept. 29 by a “Paisley Park representative,” whom she wouldn’t identify, that around four trucks pulled up to the studio-turned-museum in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen in early September and removed the contents of the vault.

“It’s just as though Prince passed away again,” she said. “That’s how I felt. I was really devastated by that.”

Norrine Nelson said the music had been safe in Minnesota for more than 40 years and would be again if it’s returned.

Prince left no will when he died in April 2016 of an accidental overdose of painkillers. A judge declared in May that Prince’s six surviving siblings were his heirs, but they’ve split into two camps during the legal wrangling.