The artist's publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, said in a statement that he died at his Paisley Park residence in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Earlier reports had indicated that the music icon, full name Prince Rogers Nelson, was sick with the flu earlier this month and was even rushed to a hospital after his plane made an emergency landing . No cause of death was immediately announced.

Prince sold tens of millions of albums worldwide in a career that spanned several decades. The artist rose to superstar status with the release of his landmark album "Purple Rain." That album sold millions of copies and spent 24 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 200, in part because of songs "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy."



Some reports have indicated that Prince had so much unreleased music that his estate could issue an album per year for a century after his death.

The artist famously turned out albums in quick successions during the 1990s as a way of getting out of his contract with Warner Bros., with which he had differences over both music and money.

He even appeared with the word "slave" written on his face in reference to his contractual obligations with the company. Prince went so far as to change his public name to an unpronounceable symbol because he said Warner owned the name Prince.

"It was a difficult battle, he gave up his name ... There have always been artists fighting the label system, and he probably did it in the most high-profile way that anyone has ever done it before," Alex Gale, Billboard Magazine senior editor, told CNBC. "Artists have a lot more power now, and I think they can thank Prince for that."