Abstract
In 1993, one of the world's greatest musicians abandoned the stage name that, for decades, had emblazoned the cover of albums and concert posters. In the place of a name, the musician began to use something else entirely: a visual emblem, a glyph, which combined the astrological symbols for Mars and Venus commonly used to signify male and female. Although evocative, the new ideograph gave no clues as to how it should be pronounced, making it difficult for journalists and fans to speak about the musician. After a period of uncertainty, commentators eventually settled on a convention for referring to the musician without using the now-abandoned name: they spoke of "the artist formerly known as Prince."