What should Prince's estate do to keep his music alive?

October has been a big month for the giant task of preserving and honoring Prince's legacy. His family and many former associates staged the 4 ½-hour tribute concert at Xcel Energy Center a week ago. They also reopened Paisley Park as a museum a week before that (albeit temporarily, pending permanent city rezoning).

OK, now what?

Clearly, there's going to be a lot more in the months and years ahead. Prince left behind more unreleased studio and live recordings than perhaps any major artist ever. Billboard magazine has reported that the contents of his legendary recording vault are being shopped around to record labels for $35 million. A memoir, vinyl reissues of his Warner Bros. records and an expanded edition of the "Purple Rain" album were in the works before his death.

None of us outside Prince's inner circle can pretend to know how he would have wanted his vast musical legacy handled. But we can at least let the family and estate handlers know what we want and don't want as fans, and point to the posthumous careers of other rock legends for pointers — all with an overriding desire to keep it tasteful. Here are our suggestions.

Do: Reissue a majority of his studio albums. We would love to see his records get the standard deluxe-edition treatment, with bonus tracks, alternate takes or demos. Musicians and studio engineers who were involved in the recording sessions should have input in the curation. Remastering should be done lightly, if at all.

Don't: Reissue every album. "N.E.W.S.," for instance, can be left alone. We also don't need to hear 14 versions of "Let's Go Crazy" on the "Purple Rain" reissue.

Do: Carefully consider issuing some of the purportedly many shelved albums, weighing how complete they were and why he didn't issue them in the first place. If he hated them, forget it. If he shelved the records simply for professional calculations — as was the case with the ultimately well-received "The Black Album" — then bring 'em on.

Don't: Produce a posthumous duets album, like the tacky pairings forced upon Elvis, Dean Martin and Notorious B.I.G. Just no. Nor should there be a collection of "finished" unfinished recordings. As if anyone could ever be entrusted to finish what that perfectionist started.

Do: Load us up. Seriously, let's go crazy.

It's bewildering that one of rock's greatest live performers did not release more live albums in his time — probably because he always wanted us looking ahead to his next batch of songs, not reliving the oldies. Well, we don't really have a choice now.

There's a trove of terrific bootlegs being traded among fans, and there must also be a gold mine of concert recordings he made himself. We want early shows going back to the Capri Theater. We want a Piano and a Microphone Tour album from the weeks before his death, since it's clear he was still captivating crowds till the end. And we want shows from every tour in between. Oh, and how about all nine of the full concerts he delivered at First Avenue?

Jimi Hendrix's estate, representing a similarly dynamic live performer, has done a terrific job over the past decade of giving fans his landmark moments and representing different eras/tours. The Grateful Dead has also done a cool thing with its Dick's Picks series from archivist Dick Latvala. Perhaps Questlove, Chris Rock, Maya Rudolph or other superfans could be recruited for something similar.

Don't: Issue anything with subpar audio quality, even if it's a historic moment. He always wanted to sound good.

Do: Consider live DVDs, too. The strong visual side to his shows can't be overlooked. There's a reason the "Sign o' the Times" concert film is a highly sought-after relic now.

Do: Make Paisley Park more than a museum, with live events and perhaps music-education programs. That soundstage where Prince played so many times would be a fitting place to host an annual birthday party, or other tributes (but not more than the city would allow). Prince no doubt would love to see his place used to educate young musicians, something the Stax Museum in Memphis has done with its successful Stax Music Academy. Perhaps unsigned musicians could apply for grants to use the recording studios.

Don't: Open up the private quarters to tours or get too tacky with the merchandise. Elvis' Graceland — whose operators now run Paisley Park — can be a guide in this case. His upstairs bedroom areas are still off limits on tours. Conversely, there seems to be no limit to the gaudy offerings in the massive gift shop.

Do: Finish the memoir that Prince himself signed up for, if indeed his contributions — i.e., interviews with a ghost writer — were done before his death. The publisher, Spiegel & Grau, remains mum on the memoir's future, likely waiting for Prince's estate matters to be sorted out first.

Don't: Answer phone calls from Madonna and Michael Jackson biographer Christopher Andersen or other writers of gossipy tell-all books.

Do: Produce photography books, which would be fitting tributes, given the heavy visual side of Prince's work. So would a thick oral-history tome like "The Beatles Anthology."

Do: Consider a musical in the vein of "Smokey Joe's Cafe" or "Fela!" given the richness of Prince's story and the costume-change opportunities. Heck, maybe someday they could even stage it at Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

Don't: Stage "Cirque du Soleil: Purple Rain," or anything like that. Even if Prince himself might've actually dug that idea.

Do: Allow for all-star tribute tours like the Experience Hendrix or Zappa Does Zappa tours, featuring musicians who played with Prince and some of his worthy musical followers playing his songs.

Don't: Even think about Prince: The Hologram Tour.

Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658

@ChrisRstrib