Of the many rumors, stories, and urban legends swirling around the life and death of Prince, few are more alluring than the idea of the “secret vault”—a locked room containing album after album of unreleased music from the mercurial, prolific star. According to ABC News, that semi-mythical treasure trove has now been exposed, after the company currently charged with maintaining his estate drilled into the vault door to get it open. (By all accounts, only Prince himself had the code to open the inner sanctum in the regular way.)
Like many of the issues surrounding Prince’s estate, it’s not clear what, exactly, was found in the vault when it was opened, or what will be done with its contents now. The artist reportedly left no will, meaning his estate will be split among his siblings, who will own the rights to however many albums Prince recorded and locked away over the years.
Prince spoke briefly about his unreleased music during a 2012 appearance on The View, telling the hosts, “One day, someone will release them. I don’t know that I’ll get to release them. There’s just so many.”
