Rapper offers $40 million for rights to recordings by Prince but estate rejects offer. And, the estate could be planning a lawsuit against the rapper.
Prince died without an estate plan and the confusion continues, according to TMZ in "Prince Estate to Jay Z No Deal For His Recordings … Issues with Tidal Deal Too."
The estate is in a bind and may have to pay up to half the total value of the estate to the federal government and the state of Minnesota to cover estate taxes. In addition, the bulk of the estate is not in liquid assets which means the estate may need to sell off some assets to cover the estate tax bill.
Selling some of the rights could ease the problem but the estate has rejected a $40 million offer from rapper Jay Z for the rights to the recordings.
While it is not clear why the estate rejected this offer, there appears to be an upset with Jay Z over issues with his music streaming service Tidal. The estate is accusing Jay Z of releasing 15 Prince albums on the service after Prince's death without permission. It also accuses Tidal of not paying $750,000 that was owed for a deal that Prince and Jay Z negotiated to have Prince's last album released on the streaming service.
This could be an indication that the estate is preparing a lawsuit against Jay Z.
With the rejection of the deal to purchase the music rights, it remains uncertain how the estate plans to come up with the funds to pay the estate taxes it owes.
Problems often arise when there is no estate plan left behind. An estate planning attorney can guide you in creating a plan that fits your unique circumstances.
Reference: TMZ (Nov. 13, 2016) "Prince Estate to Jay Z No Deal For His Recordings … Issues with Tidal Deal Too."
