why is he called the artist formerly known as prince
Ian Dickson/Redferns. In 1993, Prince was fed up with his label, Warner Bros. They wanted him to release fewer CDs so he wouldn't flood the market and they could better promote him. He couldn't get out of his contract, but he could change his name to an unpronounceable symbol, largely to mess with them.Journalists started to call him the artist formerly known as Prince, but in 2000 he went back to Prince when his Warner contract expired.During that time, sales of his new music slowed down significantly, but he still managed to get his point across.1  Share.n 1993, Prince was fed up with his label, Warner Bros. They wanted him to release fewer CDs so he wouldn't flood the market and they could better promote him.