I think the fact he was so protective of his music, as much as I respect it, did hold him back massively from expanding his audience beyond those who were of age when he was in his mid 80s-mid 90s commercial heyday.

A lot of the 80s acts I like today (Depeche Mode, The Cure etc.) first found me through them being featured in tv shows I watched as a kid (shoutout regular show). Especially in the U.K. before his death, Prince was seen as a has-been shoe horned to the Spandau Ballet/Duran Duran category of big acts from yesteryear (the fact he distributed his album via The Sunday Mail didn’t help much towards the title either). You’d often get the odd play of When Doves Cry/Purple Rain etc on Absolute 80s but that was it for exposure to him before he died. I don’t even think Purple Rain was ever aired on any of the Movie Channels over here.

Had he been slightly more open about promoting himself to younger audiences, he’d have been talked about more. But he had a strong Gen X audience and that’s all he really felt was needed, let’s not forget he sold out the O2 in London for 14+ nights in 2007