Unreleased material by the late rock superstar Prince has been removed from a vault at his Paisley Park home to the anger of two of his sisters.
The trove, said to include master tapes of unpublished works worth millions of pounds, has reportedly been shipped from the Minnesota complex to a secure site in Los Angeles.
Two of the heirs to Prince’s estate, which is estimated to be worth around 200 million US dollars (£150m), have objected to the move and said they are prepared to take legal action.
Sharon and Norrine Nelson, Prince’s half-sisters, told the Associated Press that the company overseeing the star’s estate had not told them exactly where the music was taken or why.
“We want the music back home in Paisley Park where it belongs,” Sharon Nelson said.
Norine Nelson said it had been “extraordinary and unconscionable” to move the material that had been safe at Paisley Park for decades.
Around 30 Prince albums are thought to have been recorded at the sprawling 10 million US dollar (£7m) complex in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen.
According to Sharon Nelson, a “Paisley Park representative” told her that around four truckloads of material was removed from its vault in early September.
Fans were left devastated when Prince, an Academy Award-winner and multiple Grammy and Brit recipient, died in April 2016 aged 57 after an accidental overdose of painkillers.
The Purple Rain singer had been found unresponsive in a lift at Paisley Park, his home since the 1980s.
The O2 in London displayed a tribute to Prince (PA)
It was later discovered that he had left no will, although a judge ruled in May that his six surviving siblings are heirs.
Comerica Bank & Trust, the company acting as the executor of the artist’s estate, said it had sought the services of an expert storage company to ensure Prince’s audio and visual content was preserved.
The plans were discussed with the star’s heirs on four separate occasions, the firm added.
“After reviewing the storage conditions at Paisley Park and out of concern regarding the consequences of a fire or other loss at the facility, Comerica determined that it was necessary to transfer the audio and visual content to a secure location where all of the original content could be securely stored and digitised as a safeguard against the destruction or loss of any original content,” the company told AP.
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