Prince's infamous "vault" of unreleased music is being shopped around record labels with a price tag of $35m, according to U.S. reports, BBC News reveals.

The trove contains songs like Rebirth of the Flesh, Electric Intercourse and Extraloveable - which have been widely bootlegged, but never formally issued.

It also contains hundreds of hours of live recordings and concert footage.

All three major labels are understood to be in talks over the material, according to Billboard magazine.

Quoting an unnamed source, the magazine said a deluxe edition of Purple Rain - which was announced in 2014 but never materialised - was now likely to be released in 2017.

A new greatest hits compilation is also due before the end of the year.

The infamous vault is tucked away in the basement of Prince's Paisley Park home in Minneapolis.

Accessible by lift, it is a climate-controlled room hidden behind a steel door, complete with a combination lock and large spinning handle.

The late singer was the only person with the code to open the safe. When he died in April, it had to be drilled open by the company responsible for his estate.