Prince’s Estate To Release 2 1980’s Reissues

Prince fans, get ready, because some long-awaited gems from the vault are on the horizon. Londell McMillan of Prince Legacy LLC shared some exciting updates this past weekend during the annual Prince Celebration in Minneapolis and at Paisley Park.

According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, McMillan confirmed that a special boxed set of Prince’s 1985 album Around the World in a Day is on the way. That album, which features favorites like “Raspberry Beret” and “Pop Life,” showed Prince intentionally steering away from the Purple Rain sound to try something fresh and unexpected.

More Vinyl Releases and Acoustic Surprises

Fans of Prince’s later work also have something to look forward to. Vinyl editions of Hit n Run Phase One and Hit n Run Phase Two, both from 2015, are being prepped for release. And to kick off the weekend celebration, the estate dropped a new acoustic version of “Free” from the 1982 album 1999.

Looking ahead, McMillan hinted at what’s coming in 2026: “Next year is 2026 so everyone is going to see something from Parade.” That album featured the hit “Kiss” and marked another creative chapter in Prince’s evolution.

Why the Long Wait?

McMillan also explained some of the behind-the-scenes hurdles that have slowed down new reissues since the release of the Diamonds and Pearls box set in October 2023. With both Sony and Warner involved, plus rights held by Primary Wave and the estate, coordinating everything takes time.

He also shared that much of Prince’s legendary vault remains untouched. “Only about 45% has been digitized,” McMillan said, adding that legal battles following Prince’s death also caused delays.

Taking Time to Get It Right

While fans may be eager, McMillan stressed that quality matters. “Pushing too fast will result in releases which are not optimized for Prince’s best legacy,” he said. “There [were] 6 years before we became involved. We are not genies!”

So hang tight—more music is coming. It just needs a little more time to shine the way Prince would’ve wanted.

Listen to Prince perform the acoustic version of ‘Free’ below: