UPDATED 9.11AM Prince, the innovative US music superstar whose songwriting and eccentric stage presence electrified fans around the world with hits including Purple Rain and When Doves Cry has died at age 57.

The singer and musician's influential, genre-defying music combined jazz, funk, R&B and disco, winning seven Grammy awards and an Oscar.

Prince was found unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park Studios compound, which included his home, in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen, according to a Carver County Sheriff's Office statement.

Emergency workers tried to revive him and he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The sheriff's office said it was investigating the circumstances, and the local medical examiner declined to comment on the cause of death.

LISTEN ABOVE: Newstalk ZB's Andrew Dickens speaks to Rachel Smalley about Prince's Auckland concert

President Barack Obama paid tribute to Prince as a "one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time".

"Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly," Obama said in a statement.

"Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and an electrifying performer."

Distraught devotees gathered with media crews outside the Paisley Park compound to mourn the artist.

"His music made the hair on your arms stand up," said one fan, Kristina Dudziak, 44.

"It felt like he was making love to his guitar ... It's a sad day," she added, starting to sob.

Sheila E., a singer and percussionist who worked closely with Prince in the 1980s, wrote on Twitter: "My heart is broken. There are no words. I love you!"

Prince's death was the most notable passing of a music giant since David Bowie died of cancer at 60 on January 10.

Prince, whose hit songs also included Raspberry Beret, Little Red Corvette and Kiss, was on a US tour as recently as last week.

Last Friday, he was briefly hospitalised with the flu after his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, TMZ reported.

Prince first found fame in the late 1970s. Over the next three decades, he became known as one of the most inventive forces in American pop music.

Often making a statement with bold fashion choices, the diminutive, 1.57-metre star sometimes appeared on stage sporting ruffled shirts and tight pants or elaborate costumes, including chain mail covering his face, a shimmery orange tunic with a cane, or bikini briefs.

He was regarded as a perfectionist, who from 1993 to 2000 changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in what was seen as a protest against his record label at the time.

For a while, he was dubbed "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince".

An intensely private person, Prince sold more than 100 million records.

In addition to his seven Grammy awards, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

His most recent album, HITnRUN: Phase Two was released in December.

Prince's Oscar was for best original song score for Purple Rain, the 1984 movie whose music was based on his album of the same name and in which he starred.

In a 1998 interview with Reuters, Prince chuckled as he said he ignored the critics and that he had no expectations for his then-current album.
Expectations take away from the quest for great music, he said.

"I don't expect anything," Prince said.

"I just do what I feel I'm supposed to do."