Paisley Park Studios
| Paisley Park Records | |
|---|---|
Paisley Park Studios entrance
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| Founded | 1985 |
| Founder | Prince |
| Defunct | 1994 |
| Distributor(s) | Warner Bros. Records |
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Location | Chanhassen, Minnesota |
Paisley Park Records was Prince's record label, which was distributed by 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. Paisley Park was opened to the public as a museum and memorial to Prince following his death. October 28, 2016 is officially known as "Paisley Park Day" in the city of Chanhassen to recognize the opening of the museum.
While Prince had great chart success in the 1980s, the success generally did not transfer to other acts. With the exception of Sheila E.'s 1985 album Romance 1600 (the label's debut non-Prince release), Tevin Campbell's single "Round and Round" and the Time's 1990 release, "Pandemonium" the label had little 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 fought for the rights to the master recordings of all artists recorded there. Prince later started NPG Records, run by Trevor Guy. The vice-president of Operations for the label until 1991 was Alan Leeds. (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.) Following Alan's departure, radio promotion executive Graham Armstrong took over the role until 1991, when Gilbert Davison and Jill Willis, co-managers of Prince and president and executive vice-president of Paisley Park Enterprises, negotiated a joint venture between PPE and Warner Bros. (with the help of Prince attorney Gary Stiffelman). With the joint venture came funding for additional staff to run the label and oversee its artists - including Mavis Staples, George Clinton, Ingrid Chavez and Carmen Electra. Staffers included John Dukakis and Kerry Gordy as co-presidents of the label.
The label's office were in a building with the address 1999 Avenue of the Stars.
The studio was designed by architecture firm BOTO Design Inc, of Santa Monica, California, and was completed in 1988. It contains two live music venues used as rehearsal spaces.
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