The Symbol

Please only use this entry for credits explicitly printed as "Symbol" or similar variations, like "Symbol (formerly Prince)," etc. If only the [url=/artist/293637-The-Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince/image/SW1hZ2U6MTMzOTA5NTQz]visual emblem[/url] itself is present, please credit to: The Artist (Formerly Known As Prince) ("as is," no ANVs required).

The "Symbol," also known as the Love Symbol or Prince Symbol, is an informal substitute for Prince's stage moniker, an [url=/artist/2814002-The-Symbol/image/SW1hZ2U6MTMzOTQ1ODI4]unpronounceable symbol[/url] the artist adopted between 1993 and 2000 amidst his feud with Warner Bros. Records (see the [url=/artist/293637]main profile[/url] for a detailed timeline). Contrary to widespread claims in media and online sources, the "symbol" never had any formal name and was purposefully created as non-verbal and non-phonetic. Even the original 1993 trademark applications by [url=/label/441405]Paisley Park Enterprises[/url] were intentionally filed under the Illustration Drawing without any Words/Letters/Numbers category and claimed "None" for Literal Elements and associated Word Marks. (Commonly cited Love Symbol #2 was coined posthumously, by Warner Bros. Records, to name a custom purple hue released by Pantone Color Institute in August 2017, during the [url=/master/16245?year=2017]Purple Rain Expanded Edition[/url] promo campaign.) Prince and his publicity team strictly enforced the pictogram, even distributing a custom-made computer typeface with a unique glyph to US editorial offices and publishers circa 1993, shortly after the release of his [url=/master/97264]14th studio album[/url] where the Symbol first appeared instead of the conventional title. (In printed instructions that came with floppy disks, curiously, the symbol is referred to as "Prince document" or "logo;" see Images 7-8). On a few rare occasions the artist did spell the "unpronounceable" name or accepted other substitutes for his proprietary glyph:

November 1996: O)+> ideogram appeared in the Emancipation album liner notes (more than three years after Prince's name change). On the [url=https://discogs.com/master/113857-The-Artist-Formerly-Known-As-Prince-Emancipation/image/SW1hZ2U6MjMxNjU1Mjc=]final page[/url] of the booklet, the artist concluded his "Thank you" credits with a sign-off: Peace and B wild! - o)+> (see Image 10). Curiously, the rest of the liner notes, even the same centerfold, used the correct "Symbol" glyph. This ideogram saw little adoption beyond the fan community, however, and rarely ever appeared in print.

January 1999: his website Love4OneAnother.com used the "Artist" in the hyperlinks (where non-standard symbols aren't supported) — for instance, '…/1999chat/artist-chat.html' leading to his Q&A session. In fairness, the L4OA webpage was re-designed by volunteering fans that Prince recruited in his community. (It was active as Prince's official and authorized website.)

2001: O}+{ ideogram appeared in ID3 metadata tags of MP3 files released via Warner Bros. Records website (see Image 11).