2000–2005

On May 16, 2000, Prince ceased using the Love Symbol moniker and returned to using Prince again, after his publishing contract with Warner-Chappell expired. In a press conference stating that he was now free from undesirable relationships associated with the name Prince, he formally reverted to his original name. Prince still occasionally uses the symbol as a logo and on album artwork and continues to play a Love Symbol-shaped guitar.

For several years, after the release of Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, Prince primarily released new music through his Internet subscription service, NPGOnlineLtd.com (later NPGMusicClub.com). However, two albums which showcased the substantial influence of jazz music on Prince did surface at record stores for the general public: The Rainbow Children in 2001 and the all-instrumental N.E.W.S in 2003, which later received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Another album of jazz, Xpectation, was also released, via download to members of the NPGMusicClub, in 2003. In 2002, Prince released his first-ever live album, One Nite Alone... Live!, which features performances from the One Nite Alone tour. The 3-CD box set, which also includes a disc of aftershow music entitled It Ain't Over!, failed to make an impact on the charts. During this time, Prince sought to engage more effectively with his fan base via the NPG Music Club, pre-concert sound checks, and at yearly celebrations at Paisley Park. Fans were invited into Prince's studios for tours, interviews, discussions and music-listening sessions. Some of these fan discussions were filmed for an unreleased documentary, directed by Kevin Smith. Smith discusses what happened during those days at length in his An Evening with Kevin Smith DVD. Performances were also arranged to showcase Prince himself, as well as related artists and guests (including Alicia Keys, The Time, Erykah Badu, Nikka Costa, George Clinton, Norah Jones and others).

On February 8, 2004, Prince appeared at the Grammy Awards with Beyonc? Knowles. In a performance that opened the show, Prince and Beyonc? performed a medley of classic Purple Rain, Let's Go Crazy, Baby I'm a Star and Beyonc?'s Crazy in Love, to rave reviews. The following month, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The award was presented to him by Alicia Keys, along with Big Boi and Andr? 3000 of OutKast. As well as performing a trio of his own hits during the ceremony, Prince also participated in a tribute to fellow inductee George Harrison in a rendition of the deceased artist's While My Guitar Gently Weeps, playing a long guitar solo that ended the song.

In April 2004, Prince released Musicology through a unique one-album agreement with Columbia Records. This deal was constructed in such a way that ensured Prince himself still garnered the majority of the royalties (as he had been accustomed to through his own independent music service). The album, which rose to the top 5 in the album charts of several countries (including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia), featured some of the artist's most economical and commercially appealing music in years. That same year, Pollstar named Prince the top concert draw among musicians in America. Grossing an estimated $87.4 million, Prince's Musicology Tour was the most profitable tour in the industry during 2004. The artist played an impressive run of 96 concerts, the average ticket price for each being $61. On the Musicology tour in Dallas, Texas, Prince was surprised by a female audience member jumping out of her front row seat, getting onto the stage while he was singing, and kissing him. The woman had to be escorted out by security. Further highlighting the success of the album, Prince's Musicology went on to receive two Grammy wins, for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for Call My Name and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for the title track. It was also nominated for Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for Cinnamon Girl. The album became the artist's most commercially lucrative since Diamonds and Pearls, partly due to a radical scheme devised on his part which enabled copies of the album presented to those who purchased tickets on the Musicology tour to be included in the album's overall sales as compiled by Billboard.

Prince was ranked 7th Greatest Artist of All Time in acclaimedmusic?s list The 1000 Greatest Artist of All Time. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Prince #28 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.. In December 2004, Rolling Stone's readers named the best male performer and most welcome comeback even though he says he never went anywhere. During that same month, Prince was named number five on the Top Pop Artists of the Past 25 Years chart.

In April 2005, Prince played guitar (along with En Vogue singing backing vocals) on Stevie Wonder's first new single in six years, So What The Fuss.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, Prince offered a personal response by recording two new songs, S.S.T. and the instrumental Brand New Orleans, at Paisley Park Studios in the early hours of September 2. Prince performed all instrumental and vocal parts. These recordings were quickly dispersed to the public via Prince's NPG Music Club, and S.S.T. was later picked up by iTunes, where it reached number one on the R&B chart. On October 25, Sony Records released a version of the single on CD.