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Music News: Prince engineer must pay $4 million for unauthorized EP release

Prince performs on 'American Idol' in 2006, the year he began recording the tracks that would later be illicitly released as the 'Deliverance' EP.
Prince performs on 'American Idol' in 2006, the year he began recording the tracks that would later be illicitly released as the 'Deliverance' EP.Vince Bucci/Getty Images
  Play Now [8:14]

by Jay Gabler

April 09, 2019

Above, listen to an episode of The Current's daily Music News podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. You can also sign up for a daily Music News e-mail and join our Facebook group.


You might remember that two years ago this month, a new Prince EP called Deliverance suddenly appeared...and then suddenly disappeared. The EP was independently released by an engineer who used to work with Prince. The engineer, George Ian Boxill, claimed he wrote and produced the EP's six songs with Prince and that he had the rights to release the music. Prince's estate begged to differ, and Boxill was promptly ordered to pull the music from distribution.

Now, it's time for him to pay the piper. How much? $4 million. A federal court in Minnesota has upheld an arbitration ruling that says he has to pay a penalty for the unauthorized release, plus hand over all recordings and other materials he has from his time working with Prince. You know how they say sometimes it's better to ask forgiveness than ask permission? When it comes to superstar recordings, that forgiveness can be pretty expensive. (Rolling Stone)

Bob Dylan opening Nashville distillery

Bob Dylan is opening a distillery in Nashville, and we're not just talking a distillery: it will also include a whiskey library, a restaurant, and a music venue. It's all happening under the auspices of Dylan's new whiskey line, Heaven's Door.

That song is not on Nashville Skyline, but nonetheless the new distillery will mark the 50th anniversary of Dylan's 1969 country album Nashville Skyline. The distillery is being converted from a former church, which seems very Dylan-esque, and it will also include Bob's paintings and metalwork.

It's expected to open its wrought-iron doors in fall 2020...which is actually closer to the 50th anniversary of New Morning, but The Man In Me Vodka just doesn't have the same ring. (MPR News)

Widespread Panic replace Rolling Stones replacements Fleetwood Mac at Jazz Fest

Widespread Panic have replaced Fleetwood Mac, who replaced the Rolling Stones as the headliners of this year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival. The Mac had to cancel due to Stevie Nicks coming down with the flu, and the Stones got pulled because of Mick Jagger's heart surgery. Jazz Fest organizers must be hoping John Bell stays healthy, because the show is coming up on May 2. Single-day tickets for that day of the festival have dropped from $185 to $75, which makes sense since, as Billboard notes, it typically costs about 15 times as much to book the Rolling Stones as it does to book the Athens, Georgia jam band.

B-52s celebrating 40th anniversary with tour, book, documentary

Speaking of Athens, Georgia, the B-52s have announced plans to celebrate their 40th anniversary as a band with a tour, a book, and a documentary film. A five-month world tour kicks off on May 4 in Florida, and the first-ever authorized biography of the band will be published next year. Plus, Fred Armisen is executive-producing a documentary film about the history of the B-52s.

In a statement, band member Kate Pierson said, "Who knew that when we played our first house dance party in Athens, Georgia in 1976 that we would be still be rocking the house in 2019!" While they've never done a retrospective on this scale, this isn't the first time the B-52s have looked back. Their 1989 single "Deadbeat Club" looked back on those early days in Athens, with a video featuring fellow Athenian Michael Stipe. (Rolling Stone)

Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish rule Billboard charts

You probably never heard of the artist Lil Nas X before last week, but a controversy over his country-rap song "Old Town Road" getting pulled from Billboard's country chart fueled a viral surge in the song's popularity, which was further fueled by a very well-timed remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. Now, "Old Town Road" is the number one song in the country, topping Billboard's Hot 100. In a rich irony, guess where else it's starting to get picked up? Country radio. Billboard now says their decision to cut the song from its country chart "could be revisited." (Rolling Stone)

Meanwhile, another young DIY artist is topping Billboard's album chart. Everyone knew Billie Eilish's debut LP When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? would be huge, but now the industry publication calls the album's performance "staggering," easily clearing all competition to debut at the top of the Billboard 200. The album's performance has also delighted fans of The Office, since Eilish sampled an obscure scene from the show on the track "My Strange Addiction."

BJ Novak, a writer on the show, said Eilish got approval from all cast members who appeared in the scene. The quote comes from a secret agent film made by Steve Carell's character Michael Scott, and Novak says it's perfect. "In Michael Scott's delusion, of course this would become sampled on a Number One album." (Billboard)

Viral clip: Meghan Trainor's Spy Kid husband rocks out

Today's viral clip is being shared by BuzzFeed with the caption "the ultimate hype husband."

You might know that pop star Meghan Trainor is married to actor Daryl Sabara, who's now 26 years old but is still best-known for playing the little boy in the Spy Kids movies. It looks like a very sweet romance, they're very much in love, and Sabara is just thrilled to support his famous wife.

The clip comes from when Trainor was doing her song "All the Ways" at a sound check before a Friday night show at the Anthem in Washington, D.C. Trainor's mom shot a video of Sabara dancing like wild, while her brother Ryan is seen moving around him with a video camera. Ryan Trainor posted his mom's video to Instagram, writing, "Can't believe I get paid to film Juni Cortez go 110% during my little sister's sound checks."


Audio sampled in podcast
Jahzzar: "Comedie" (CC BY 4.0)
BoxCat Games: "Against The Wall" (CC BY 3.0)
The B-52s: "Deadbeat Club"
Audiobinger: "Good Times" (CC BY 4.0)
Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus: "Old Town Road"
Billie Eilish: "My Strange Addiction"
Meghan Trainor: "All The Ways"