People News

Prince has to pay 2.5m over fragrance deal

Apr 16, 2012, 10:01 GMT

Prince

Prince has been ordered to pay almost £2.5 million after backing out of a deal to promote a fragrance.

The 'Purple Rain' singer signed a deal with Revelations Perfume and Cosmetics in 2006 to front a campaign for 3121, a scent inspired by his album of the same name.

However, according to a lawsuit, he backed out of interviews and in-store events to promote the scent, while samples were not handed out at concerts as promised.

Lawyers for the firm claims his actions caused the scent to flop resulting in its licensing deal being cancelled.

The suit read: '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.'

Prince argued that he informed the company in December 2006 that he would not do interviews for the fragrances, but the court found that the musician 'continued to send mixed messages' for some time, at one point indicating he would appear on Oprah Winfrey's talk show.

A New York Supreme Court Judge ruled in favour of Revelations although said that since there was no evidence of 'malicious intent', the firm is not entitled to punitive damages.