Prince Forced To Pay $4 Million To Perfume Maker

Prince will be hoping he sells a few tickets to his Australian tour on Monday – it might go some way to helping his bank balance get out of the purple.

A New York Judge has ordered the Purple Rain hit maker to pay just under $4 million to a perfume maker for failing to promote a product that supposedly inspired his 2006 album 3121.

According to Billboard – Prince was sued by Revelations Perfume and Cosmetics Inc in 2008 for failing to promote the perfume of the same name (3121). The perfume company claimed it spent millions of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses in reliance upon Prince’s commitment to promote the product.

However, Prince supposedly didn’t live up to his side of the deal, refusing to do in-stores, interviews, and giving away samples of the perfume at his shows.  Revelations’ lawsuit stated: “Since July 2007, despite repeated attempts by Revelations there have been virtually no communications from anyone who could commit to or coordinate any promotional efforts by Prince.”

Revelations’ took Prince to court, with the company’s founder, telling a special referee about Prince’s statements, which he relied upon to make its massive out-of-pocket expenditures.  An expert also testified about the importance of a celebrity’s active participation in his name fragrance.

The referee found the evidence presented by Revelations supported the company’s claims of fraudulent inducement, fraud, and tortious interference and awarded its out-of-pocket losses of $3,948,798.58.

Read the full story here.  Prince announced his long-rumoured Australian tour earlier this week – which will see him play in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne next month.  Get all the details here.

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