Prince’s estate has responded after fans claimed AI was used on his new posthumous album Timeless

Prince’s estate has responded after fans claimed AI was used on his new posthumous album Timeless.

The record, which was released last month, features 10 previously unheard tracks recorded by Prince between 1977 and 2016 and spans early demos, 80s and 90s studio work, 2000s deep cuts and a 2016 live performance of How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore?

However, after some fans shared their concerns that AI was used to complete the album, particularly the song Calabama, Prince’s team responded via Instagram.

The statement from - NPG Records and The Prince Management Team – read: “Dear Friends, Fams and All.

“As concerns have arisen regarding the credits, timing and arrangement of Prince's song Calabama, which appeared on Timeless, we are respectfully responding to provide more context and clarity.

At the bridge of Calabama, Prince's vocal calls out twice for "horns," but the archived multitrack featured a synthesizer filling that space, which horn players later dubbed. Consistent with Prince's songwriting and production approach on numerous previous recordings, a group of horn players who played with Prince were assembled to overdub Prince's synthesizer track with the intended horn line, and this version was released on Timeless.

“All of Prince's original recorded parts remain intact, with trombone, saxophone, and trumpet added by Greg Boyer, Adrian Crutchfield, and Lynn Grissett. These musicians had close ties to Prince and were credited on the album packaging, despite some claims to the contrary. Except for Calabama, no overdubs were used on any other recording for Timeless, posthumously. Of course, no Al was used on any Prince music.”

The team went on to ask for “kindness and respect” going forward and revealed they are planning more posthumous releases from Prince’s music vault.