How a famous American music star wrote ‘SLAVE’ on his face in protest against his record label

Prince announced that he was abandoning his familiar name and replacing it with an unpronounceable symbol combining the male and female signs.

Music legend, Prince The decision was unusual, but it was not a random attempt to confuse the public. It was part of a bitter dispute with Warner Bros., the record company that had released his music for more than a decade.

At the centre of the disagreement was a question that continues to affect musicians even today, on who gets to control an artist’s music and career.

Prince signed his recording deal with Warner Bros. in 1977, when he was still building his career. The partnership helped him become an international star, producing successful albums including ‘1999’, ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘Sign o’ the Times’.

However, as his career grew, Prince became increasingly frustrated with the terms of his relationship with the label.

One major source of tension was control. Warner Bros. had a say in when his albums could be released, while the company also controlled the master recordings of his Warner-era music.

Prince wanted greater freedom to release music on his own terms. He was also unhappy that the label’s control over his recordings limited his ability to make decisions about his work.

The disagreement became increasingly public in the early 1990s. Prince began appearing with the word "SLAVE" written on his cheek, using the striking image to protest what he considered an unfair contractual arrangement.

On June 7, 1993, Prince announced that he would no longer use his name professionally. Instead, he would be identified by a symbol that became widely known as the Love Symbol.

The change created an unusual problem for news organisations. The symbol had no straightforward pronunciation, and many publications could not easily reproduce it in their headlines or printed stories.

He was consequently referred to as “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince”, a description that followed him throughout the dispute.

The Love Symbol But the name change was more than a problem for journalists. It was a deliberate protest against Warner Bros. and the contractual relationship Prince believed had restricted his freedom.

By refusing to use the name under which he had built his fame, he was making a public statement about ownership and control. His position was that the company should not have the power to dictate how he worked or profit from music he wanted greater control over.

The dispute continued for several years, with Prince maintaining his public criticism of the label.

In 1996, he released Emancipation, a three-disc album that marked an important stage in his move towards greater independence. The album’s title reflected the freedom he had been seeking, while his relationship with Warner Bros. eventually came to an end.

Prince later returned to using his birth name professionally.

His battle with Warner Bros. remains one of the most recognisable examples of an artist publicly challenging the power a record company can hold over their music. It also helped bring wider attention to questions about recording contracts, master ownership and the creative freedom musicians seek after becoming successful.