Record producer Chris Moon is offering Prince fans the opportunity of a lifetime—if they can afford it. Moon is the former owner of a Minneapolis studio where Prince recorded his first demo tape. A co-writing credit on his first solo single, “Soft and Wet,” is up for grabs on eBay.
Very few songs include a non-Prince credit. “Soft and Wet” was composed by and performed by Prince, but both Moon and the singer are credited as the lyricists. Moon is offering a co-writing credit for the buy-it-now price of $490,000. Interested parties can also make a bid on the song.
Moon writes in the listing: “Here is your chance to OWN A PRINCE HIT SONG, his first hit song and a song that has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, it was his first solo single, released on June 7, 1978, on his 20th birthday, from his debut album.”
He adds: “This song I wrote for Prince named Soft & Wet was on his first album, it was the first song we did together and it was also on his first demo tape … it is the song that started it all and launched his career.
“I wrote the lyrics and Prince wrote the music. When he was getting ready to release his first album with Warner Brothers, we signed a song royalty agreement in which we equally shared in the writing credits of the song. I got the writing royalties for the lyrics, he got the writing royalties for the music and ECNIRP took the publishing. He has been sharing in the royalties of that song over all these years … and still do.”
“Soft and Wet” appeared on the 1978 album For You and hit number 92 on the charts. Anyone who purchases the co-writing credit will not receive any publishing or licensing rights. And due to the proliferation of streaming music, songwriting royalties have diminished over the years.
“Anyone who buys this probably shouldn’t be doing it for financial purposes,” Moon told the Star Tribune (via Spin). “It’s more about owning one of the most unique collectibles ever related to Prince.”
Moon explains in the listing that he made more money from the song when MC Hammer sampled it in 1990 on his album She’s Soft and Wet: “When it came out he sold 10,000,000 copies of that album which meant I sold 10,000,000 copies of Soft & Wet. To date that MC Hammer album has now sold over 22 Million copies worldwide … and each time that album sells so does a copy of SOFT & WET.”
Why is he giving up the credit?
He explains, “I have enjoyed hearing the song countless times over the years, been paid well and am proud of it. I would now like to see someone else enjoy owning it, it has achieved everything and more for me so I feel it is time to pass the torch to a Prince fan who will continue to cherish and enjoy owning it as much as I have.”
A few parties have expressed interest in the credit, but Moon has yet to receive a serious offer, according to Spin.
