Documents obtained by The Blast state that Iron Mountain where the treasure trove of various demos, unheard songs, live recordings and footage of rehearsals and concerts that the late ‘Purple Rain’ hitmaker – whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson – never made public are located, is not in close enough proximity to the nearest affected area, which is around eight miles away and almost contained.
The company which looks after the vault, Comercia Bank and Trust, state that it’s not essential for it to be moved away.
A legal representative made the point that if the Nelson family had researched online, they would’ve realised the facility is not at risk.
The lawyer said in the statement: “Had the Nelsons contacted the Personal Representative prior to filing their petition, or even conducted a basic ‘Google’ search, they would have learned that the Hollywood Facility is not at any risk from wildfires.
“The fire would need to pass through the UCLA campus, all of Beverly Hills and several miles of commercial areas in West Hollywood before reaching the Hollywood vault.
“The Court strongly condemns bringing this matter before the Court without adequate discussion between the parties and will sanction a party for doing so in the future.”
Prince’s siblings, who are the heirs to his estate, petitioned to the court last Friday (08.12.17) to have the items relocated in fear they would burn.
The vault was moved from Prince’s Paisley Park estate in Minnesota, Chanhassen earlier this year.
The ‘Little Red Corvette’ hitmaker died in April 2016 at the age of 57, and his estate has been sorting through the material and planning releases ever since.
Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson previously reassured fans that the unreleased music will be released.
Tyka – who is the only blood sibling of Prince – says that the music icon had always wanted to put the music out and that they will fulfil his wishes.
She said: “It was always Prince’s plan to release those songs.
“I want what Prince wants. We have to preserve everything.
“So as soon as we can release it, don’t worry – we sure will.”