The artist who once flaunted an indescribable symbol to signal an unpronounceable first name—Prince–may soon have to cough up $4 million from his indefatigable throat.
That’s because a special court referee in Manhattan last week ordered Prince to pay nearly $4 million in damages for going back on his promise to promote a perfume for a Philadelphia-based manufacturer, named after his latest CD.
The referee awarded $3.9 million to Revelations Perfume and Cosmetics to cover expenditures the company said it made based on Prince’s commitment to promote a fragrance, “3121,” named for the CD. Prince’s Philadelphia attorney David Landau has said his client will appeal.
According to the company’s complaint, it was Prince who had approached the firm in 2006 about entering a licensing agreement for the perfume by promising to personally engage in a promotional campaign and to allow his likeness to be used to sell the product.
However, once the licensing agreement was signed in December 2006, according to the complaint, the man known for his love of the color purple did an about-face–refusing to give interviews and reneging on his agreement to provide a current photo
When Prince turned down offers to be interviewed by television luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg, Revelations was left with more than $1 million in inventory and no alternative marketing strategy to sell 3121.
The suit did however produce one worthy note however. Since the title of the complaint is Revelations Perfume and Cosmetics, Inc. v. Prince Rogers Nelson, it’s safe to surmise what’s on the underside of Prince’s luggage tags.
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