http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-24/prince-vault-of-music-could-make-him-more-...Prince cremated in private ceremony as fans hope for release of mythic 'vault' of music
The body of pop icon Prince has been cremated in a private ceremony, as fans hope a massive stash of unreleased work in his vaults will be released.
The music legend died suddenly on Thursday at age 57 and yesterday authorities conducted an autopsy on the star's body, noting their were no obvious signs of trauma and the death was not considered a suicide.
"A few hours ago, Prince was celebrated by a small group of his most beloved: family, friends and his musicians, in a private, beautiful ceremony to say a loving goodbye," spokeswoman Anna Meacham said in a statement.
"Prince's remains have been cremated and their final storage will remain private."
But she added: "An announcement will be made at a future date for a musical celebration."
The question of who decides on future releases of his music will not be simple. Prince had no known children, no current spouse, no living parents and fiercely guarded his own creative control like few other artists.
The Purple One, in a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone that was only published after his death, not only confirmed a rumoured vault of music at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota, but said he had several of them.
"I've never said this before, but I didn't always give the record companies the best song. There are songs in the vault that no one's ever heard," he said.
Prince said he kept a "ton of stuff" in the vaults, including full unreleased albums, among them two made with The Revolution, his funky and diverse band with which he made the classic Purple Rain.
As with so much about Prince, his rationale kept people guessing.
But he hinted that he wanted to create a historical record, with future releases bringing together the best tracks — both smash hits and obscurities — from periods of his career.
Brent Fischer, a composer who long worked with Prince, estimated in the documentary that 70 per cent of the recorded music went unreleased.
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