Prince Recorded an Album for Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ Movie Because He Was in Debt and Needed the Money
Legendary musician Prince was known for his hit music and one-of-a-kind personality. But aside from songs like “1999,” “Purple Rain,” and “When Doves Cry” from his own albums, Prince became famous in the late 1980s for another project having to do with Tim Burton’s 1989 movie Batman starring Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton.
Prince did the music for Tim Burton’s ‘Batman’ movie
At the time of Batman‘s release, albums inspired by films — such as 2018’s Black Panther album — weren’t as common. But Prince took on the challenge of creating one for the Batman movie and released the Batman album in June 1989, coinciding with the film’s blockbuster summer release.
The Batman album remained at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for six consecutive weeks. The album’s lead single, “Batdance,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, earning Prince his first No. 1 song since 1986’s “Kiss.” The album is certified double platinum with over 2 million copies sold in the US.
By the time Prince recorded the Batman album, he was a household name with an iconic career behind him. But his image was in need of some revitalization, and the Batman album presented the perfect opportunity for him.
Prince needed the money
The Batman album was a lucrative move for Prince at the time, and he definitely needed the money. In a 2019 interview with Variety, Prince’s former manager Albert Magnoli claimed that he had spent too much money on producing new songs. Magnoli took over the singer’s finances and pulled the strings to make the Batman album happen.
“Prince was at a crossroads,” Magnoli recalled. “The Batman album afforded us the opportunity to do art and commerce and allow the artist Prince to forge on. This was a perfect opportunity and a perfect vehicle in which he could express himself creatively.”
“I immediately did a forensic kind of financial search as to what was really going on, and it was more horrible than anybody thought,” Magnoli continued. “So [the plan] was about trying to bring revenue into the operation without overextending him to the point where no one would be interested in getting involved in anything he wanted to do.”
Because Prince had released his album Lovesexy the year prior, he wouldn’t be able to secure more money to record a new album for a few years. Doing a movie soundtrack, however, was under the supervision of the movie studio and not of his own record label.
Prince was inspired by the ‘Batman’ movie for the ‘Batman’ album
Prince didn’t set out to create a soundtrack album with songs that would play throughout the movie. The film’s director, Tim Burton, already hired legendary composer Danny Elfman to do the score. Instead, Magnoli insisted that Prince record an entirely new album in the spirit of the Batman movie.
“When I met with [Batman director] Tim [Burton] I said, ‘OK, filmmaker to filmmaker, you don’t want 12 songs in this movie. You’ve got Danny Elfman doing a film score,'” Magnoli recounted in a 2022 interview with The Ringer. “And Tim said, ‘Yes, that’s true. Where do we put all those songs?’ I said, ‘Let’s get on the phone and talk to Danny.’ We had a conference call with Danny and Danny confirmed a film score that was big. How do you interlace songs into that? It would be crazy. Almost impossible.”
Magnoli’s idea, then, was to have Prince create his own sonic universe in the same vein as the Batman movie. “I suggested, ‘What if the Batman album by Prince is inspired by the movie? That way Danny does his thing for the movie. Prince watches the movie and he’s inspired to write songs. Everybody gets what they want.'”
