THE TAKEDOWN GAME

Deliverance, the posthumous Prince EP touted by Rogue Music Alliance (RMA) and quickly the subject of litigation from the Purple One's estate, appeared very briefly on iTunes before being removed on 4/19. This even as RMA's PR machine—the venerable, typically high-end Rogers & Cowan—fired off press releases touting its progress in pre-order.

The set remained on Amazon for a few hours following the iTunes removal, ostensibly because it takes longer to remove items from the e-tail giant's system, but it's gone now. So is the title track, previously available on demand via iHeart's iHeartPrince Radio.

The affair recalls an incident from January of this year, when another late icon, Aaliyah, appeared briefly on iTunes and Apple Music after years of being off the market. The tracks were illegally posted by Craze Productions, which had not done a licensing deal with Aaliyah's Uncle, Barry Hankerson, who owns the masters, so they were summarily yanked.

Turns out it's a good idea to get permission before uploading.