“It’s kind of gross what record companies do.”
Sinéad O’Connor said that she gave specific instructions to her children on what to do if she died, prior to her death last week.
In a resurfaced 2021 interview with People Magazine, the late Irish singer noted her fears of record companies using her unreleased music posthumously, which brought her to instructing her children to call her accountant before 911 if she died.
“When the artists are dead, they’re much more valuable than when they’re alive… It’s kind of gross what record companies do.
“That’s why I’ve always instructed my children since they were very small, ‘If your mother drops dead tomorrow, before you call 911, call my accountant and make sure the record companies don’t start releasing my records and not telling you where the money is.'”
O’Connor had four children: Jake Reynolds, Roisin Waters, Yeshua Bonadio and her late son Shane Lunny, who tragically died aged 17 last year.
The Dubliner also made reference to Prince as examples of artists whose unreleased work was released in the aftermath of his death without his consent.
“All musicians, we have songs that we really are embarrassed about that are crap. We don’t want anyone hearing them.
“Now this is a man who released every song he ever recorded, so if he went to the trouble of building a vault, which is a pretty strong thing to do, that means he really did not want these songs released. And I can’t stand that people are [releasing them].”
Tributes flood in for Sinéad O’Connor
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After the late singer’s family released a statement announcing her passing on Wednesday, tributes poured in from many around the music and entertainment industry.
Foo Fighters and Alanis Morissette teamed up on Saturday night to pay tribute to the Irish singer and activist at the Fuji Rock festival in Japan. Together they performed O’Connor’s song ‘Mandinka’, with Morissette saying: “For a beautiful woman, high intelligence and deep empathy, way ahead of her time, who’s no longer with us, this is for her.”
O’Connor’s version of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ rang out around Croke Park before the All Ireland final between Dublin and Kerry over the weekend.
Related articles:
- Heartbreaking tributes pour in as Sinead O’Connor passes away aged 56
- Russell Crowe recalls lovely encounter with Sinéad O’Connor outside Dublin pub
- Sinéad O’Connor shared heartbreaking social media post days before her death
- The Guardian’s obituary to “oversharing” Sinéad O’Connor sparks controversy
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