Prince happy with new record deal; tour in the works

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) _ The artist formerly known as the man who scrawled ``slave'' on his face during a '90s dispute with his record company is happy with his new Universal Records deal.

Wednesday, December 14th 2005, 9:48 am

By: News On 6

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) _ The artist formerly known as the man who scrawled ``slave'' on his face during a '90s dispute with his record company is happy with his new Universal Records deal.

``I got a chance to structure an agreement the way I saw fit instead of the other way around,'' Prince said during a news conference Tuesday to promote a video for his new single, ``Te Amo Corazon.''

The 47-year-old superstar has signed a one-album deal with Universal to release his upcoming album, ``3121,'' early next year.

Prince declined to give financial details of the agreement, but said it was similar to the joint venture he struck with Columbia Records in 2003. In that deal, the label manufactured and distributed his 2004 hit album ``Musicology,'' for Prince's NPG Records.

Asked why he would sign on with the biggest record company in the world given his past clashes with major labels, Prince said, ``I don't consider Universal a slave ship. I did my own agreement ... I got exactly what I wanted.''

The singer challenged new artists to read the fine print on their record contracts.

On Tuesday, VH1 and its affiliated networks, including Tempo and VH1 Soul, premiered ``Te Amo Corazon,'' directed by Salma Hayek.

VH1 is also making the song available on its Vspot broadband channel and VH1 Mobile.

Prince said the sultry ballad is not indicative of what the album sounds like. He also said a tour was in the works but declined to give details.