Editing Prince (musician) (section)

=== 1996–2000: ''Emancipation'', ''Crystal Ball'' and ''Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic'' ===
Free of any further contractual obligations to Warner Bros., Prince attempted a major comeback later that year with the release of ''[[Emancipation (Prince album)|Emancipation]]'', a 36-song, three-CD set (each disc was exactly 60 minutes long). The album was released via his own [[NPG Records]] with distribution through [[EMI]]. To publish his songs on ''Emancipation'', Prince did not use ''Controversy Music''&nbsp;– ''ASCAP'', which he had used for all his records since 1981, but rather used ''Emancipated Music Inc.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=PRINCE&search_in=a&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031231224724/http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=PRINCE&search_in=a&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 31, 2003 |title=ASCAP profile for Emancipated Music |publisher=Ascap.com |access-date=July 18, 2009}}</ref>&nbsp;– ''ASCAP''.

''Emancipation'' was certified [[RIAA certification|Platinum]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]]. It is the first Prince record featuring [[cover version|covers]] of other artists' songs: [[Joan Osborne]]'s top ten hit song of 1995 "[[One of Us (Joan Osborne song)|One of Us]]";<ref>{{cite magazine|url={{BillboardURLbyName|artist=joan osborne|chart=all}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521101753/http://www.billboard.com/artist/304759/joan+osborne/chart |archive-date=May 21, 2008 |title=Chart history for 'One of Us' |magazine=Billboard |access-date=July 18, 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> "[[Betcha by Golly Wow!]]" (written by [[Thom Bell]] and [[Linda Creed]]);<ref>{{cite web |url=http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyID=108308&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID |title=BMI credits for "Betcha By Golly Wow!" |publisher=Repertoire.bmi.com |access-date=July 18, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030003327/http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyID=108308&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID |archive-date=October 30, 2007}}</ref> "[[I Can't Make You Love Me]]" (written by James Allen Shamblin II and Michael Barry Reid);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=390493822&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030706180946/http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=390493822&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=20&start=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 6, 2003 |title=BMI credits for "I Can't Make You Love Me" |publisher=Ascap.com |access-date=July 18, 2009}}</ref> and "[[La-La (Means I Love You)]]" (written by Thom Bell and [[William Hart (singer)|William Hart]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyID=819010&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID |title=BMI credits for "La-La Means I Love You" |publisher=Repertoire.bmi.com |access-date=July 18, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030003332/http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyID=819010&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID |archive-date=October 30, 2007}}</ref>

Prince released ''[[Crystal Ball (album set)|Crystal Ball]]'', a five-CD collection of unreleased material, in 1998. The distribution of this album was disorderly, with some fans pre-ordering the album on his website up to a year before it was shipped; these pre-orders were delivered months after the record had gone on sale in retail stores. The retail edition has only four discs, as it is missing the ''Kamasutra'' disc. There are also two different packaging editions for retail; one is a four-disc sized jewel case with a white cover and the Love Symbol in a colored circle while the other contains all four discs in a round translucent snap jewel case. The discs are the same, as is the CD jacket. The ''[[Newpower Soul]]'' album was released three months later. His collaborations on [[Chaka Khan]]'s ''[[Come 2 My House]]'' and [[Larry Graham]]'s ''[[GCS2000]]'', both released on the NPG label around the same time as ''Newpower Soul'', were promoted by live appearances on ''[[Vibe (magazine)|Vibe with Sinbad]]'' and the [[NBC]] ''[[Today (NBC program)|Today]]'' show's Summer Concert Series.

In 1999, Prince once again signed with a major label, [[Arista Records]], to release a new record, ''[[Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic]]''.

The pay-per-view concert, ''[[Rave Un2 the Year 2000]]'', was broadcast on December 31, 1999, and consisted of footage from the December 17 and 18 concerts of his 1999 tour. The concert featured appearances by guest musicians, including [[Lenny Kravitz]], [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]], Jimmy Russell, and the Time. It was released to home video the following year.