The Symbol Era: Understanding Prince’s ’90s Name Change and Artistic Rebellion

When people reminisce about '80s music, it's usually with a hint of purple. It's the color that will forever be associated with Prince, who launched himself to superstardom with 1984's Purple Rain, which achieved the unique feat of simultaneously being the No. 1 album in the U.S., generating a No. 1 single in "When Doves Cry," and conquering the top spot at the box office with the film Purple Rain.

His upward career trajectory continued after that, with 1987's Sign o' the Times album not only being a commercial success but also earning raves from music critics. It seemed that Prince's unique blend of rock, R&B, funk, and pop would dominate the music world for decades to come, but in the early 1990s, his career took an unexpected turn. This article examines the events that led Prince to renounce his name, resulting in the moniker "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince."

On June 7th, 1993, his 35th birthday, Prince put out a press release that would define his image for an entire decade:

The first step I have taken toward the ultimate goal of emancipation from the chains that bind me to Warner Bros. was to change my name from Prince to the Love Symbol. Prince is the name that my mother gave me at birth. Warner Bros. took the name, trademarked it, and used it as the main marketing tool to promote all of the music that I wrote. The company owns the name Prince and all related music marketed under Prince. I became merely a pawn used to produce more money for Warner Bros.

His team also sent floppy disks to selected news outlets to show them exactly what the Love Symbol was. The copyrighted symbol combines both the male and female gender symbols and was designed by a Minneapolis-based design studio. It includes one-of-a-kind elements, such as a crossbar and a spiral, that helped make it unique enough to be eligible for a copyright. Prince had used a similar, simpler version on previous album artwork, but the new Love Symbol would ultimately define the rest of his career, as he even had a guitar designed with that particular shape.

Prince signed his first major record deal with Warner Bros. in 1977, when he was only 18 years old. It gave him a huge amount of creative control for a young new artist, and he took full advantage of that by crafting the unique sound and image that propelled him to international superstardom. It seemed to be a match made in heaven: Prince would constantly deliver quality material while Warner handled the business aspects, such as promotion and distribution.

By the early 1990s, the relationship had started to sour. Things didn't seem that way in 1992, though, when he signed a new contract with Warner for a reported $100 million, a record at the time. However, for Prince to get the full amount, he had to meet specific, highly restrictive targets. The deal was for six albums, but he had to sell around 5 million copies of each to unlock $10 million payments. If he failed to reach that target, Warner reportedly had the right to deduct the difference from royalties generated by all his previous albums.

As if that wasn't enough, he also had restrictions regarding the amount of music he was allowed to put out. Prince was exceptionally prolific, and he allegedly had over 500 songs in his vault at that time. However, Warner feared that putting out too much music in a relatively limited time period would oversaturate the market.

Prince's decision was met with mixed reactions from both the public and the press. Not being able to call him by his name was also challenging and confusing for journalists. Despite the artist's camp insisting that they use the symbol, most members of the press would end up calling him "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince," even sometimes shortening it to "The Artist." People failed to see Prince's motivation and put it down to a publicity stunt by a superstar with a massive ego, which also resulted in lower album sales.

As per his contract, Prince still had to deliver seven albums under the Warner label. The first was 1994's Come, which peaked at No. 15 on the U.S. album charts. It was the first time since Controversy in 1981 that a Prince album had no U.S. Top 10 singles, and it was no coincidence.

The next six albums also failed to reach the high standards that had been set before Prince's 1993 name change. The only exception was 1995's The Gold Experience, which included the hit single “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” and was considered his best work of the '90s.

Prince reclaimed his name on May 16, 2000, via a press conference in New York City. While he would never match the stratospheric commercial and critical success of his Purple Rain years, he did manage to solidify his image as an icon and innovator in multiple genres, including rock, funk, and pop, until his untimely death in 2016.

The peak of his post-symbol years was 2004. He released Musicology, which is widely seen as his major comeback album, and had great sales figures mainly due to a smart move that involved including a CD with each concert ticket sold. The album earned two GRAMMYs and put him back into the spotlight. He also got the attention and respect of rock fans at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, with his solo on a rendition of the Beatles' “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” still being one of the most memorable moments in the ceremony's history.

Prince's unprecedented move may have stalled his career, but it may have also created a change in the power dynamics between musical artists and their labels. It made everyone much more aware of the limitations imposed by some recording contracts while also pioneering the direct-to-fan music model via his NPG Music Club, which offered fans new music and videos via a monthly subscription, bypassing labels completely. As years go by, Prince's move is seen as less of an egotistical power move and more of a huge step for all artists in their battle over ownership of their work.