After releasing a new version of his millennial-minded track, "1999," earlier this year, Prince has announced that he plans to re-record his entire back catalog after failing to obtain ownership of his master recordings from his former label, Warner Bros.

In an interview with the Associated Press, the Artist assures fans that the new versions of the albums would be sonically superior to the original releases, if only because of improvements in recording technology.

However, he did not say to what degree he would rework the songs and did not estimate when he planned to start rolling out his re-mastered catalog.

Prince recorded 17 albums for Warner Bros. between 1978 and 1996, including "Dirty Mind," "Purple Rain," "Sign 'O' the Times," and "Diamonds and Pearls." He split from the label circa the release of "Chaos and Disorder" citing issues of control.

While he still receives royalties from his Warner Bros. albums, the Artist stands to take home a larger share if he can

bypass the label and sell the records directly to fans themselves.

In January, Prince posted an open message to Madonna on his website, asking for her to intercede on his behalf in his continuing dispute with Warner Bros. (see [article id="1431584"]"The Artist Asks Madonna For Help In Label Dispute"[/article]).

Aside from the attention being paid to his back catalog, the Artist also says he's working on a new studio album, the follow-up to last year's "New Power Soul." Prince is even letting other producers handle some of the tracks, which marks the first time he has ever allowed someone other than himself to produce his solo material.

There's no word yet on who the producers are or when the Artist plans to release the new record. We'll keep you posted.