During his lifetime, Michael Jackson had one of the most successful careers, collecting an impressive number of accolades. Even after his death in June 2009, he remains a top global figure in pop culture.
Now, half of the rights to its music catalog appear to be up for sale in a deal worth nearly a billion dollars, making it the biggest deal to date in the booming music catalog market.
Michael Jackson’s Estate Will Sell 50% of Rights to His Music Catalog for $800 Million to $900 Million
Michael Jackson’s estate is reportedly selling half of its stake in the late musician’s music catalog for $800 million to $900 million.
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Details are still sketchy, but Variety reports that Sony and a possible financial partner are working on a deal to acquire a 50% estate interest in Michael’s collection. Among the assets named in the alleged transaction are “publishing, his music recording proceeds, the Broadway show “MJ: The Musical” and the upcoming biopic ‘Michael.'”
Sony is known to have participated in several major catalog negotiations, including the acquisition of Bruce Springsteen’s publishing and recorded music catalog for approximately $600 million.
Additionally, sources revealed that the company paid around $150 million to $200 million for Bob Dylan’s rights to his catalog of recorded music. This comes after Dylan was seen selling his publishing rights to Universal Music for nearly $400 million.
There is no word on a financial partner in Michael’s deal, and it has not yet been confirmed whether one was actually involved. However, Eldridge Industries and Shamrock may be considered partners. Eldridge worked with Sony on the Springsteen catalog deal, while Shamrock worked with Universal to acquire the rights to Dr. Dre in a $200 million plus deal.
It is important to note that Sony and CBS were the exclusive homes to Michael’s recorded music collection throughout his solo career and the final years of his time with the Jackson 5. After his death at the age of 50, his longtime attorney John Branca and co-executor, John McClain, took transferred his estate interests but has yet to comment on the sale of the catalog rights.
The “Beat It” singer’s music catalog remains one of the most profitable in history, with the self-produced 1982 album “Thriller”, one of the two biggest best sellers of all time, and the first album to be certified thirty times platinum.
Back in 2016, Sony made a $750 million deal to acquire 50% of the Jackson estate’s stake in their joint venture, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, created in 1995. Also in 2018, Sony revealed that it acquired the estate’s 25.1% interest in EMI Company Music Publishing for $287.5 million as part of the company’s $2.3 billion turnover, bringing it into sole ownership and Sony/ATV.
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News of the upcoming catalog sale comes shortly after it was reported that the King Of Pop’s hard drive had been stolen in Bruxelles, Belgium, from his historic partner Brad Sunberg who was on his way to the city for a seminar. He issued a statement following the incident, indicating that he was the victim of a “targeted theft” and was working with Brussels police to try and recover the material.
Unfortunately, some of the contents of the hard drive were leaked a few hours later — the first being an interesting encounter between Michael and the Russian boy who provided the voice for the song “Stranger in Moscow.” Another video leak was her studio recording of “Can’t Let Her Get Away”, where she recorded for the camera but didn’t actually sing.
‘Billie Jean’ Singer To Be Played By Her Nephew In Upcoming Biopic
Another big project set to honor the late icon’s legacy is the upcoming biopic titled “Michael.” It will be directed by Antoine Fuqua and co-produced by Graham King and will star his nephew Jaafar Jackson, the son of his brother, Jermaine Jackson.
Michael Jackson signed a poster at the recording of ‘We Are The World
As The Blast reports, the film will mark Jaafar’s acting debut, and he couldn’t be more excited to portray his iconic uncle. Taking to Instagram, the 26-year-old expressed how “humbled and honored” he was to bring the “Thriller” star’s story to life, which will surely delight fans around the world.
He added a black-and-white photo of himself looking like Michael in a dancing position that was captured by several commenters, praising his features. One of the Jacksons, TJ, said, “I’m so proud of you, Jaafar. Words can’t express it… you get it… You really are the only one who can get it right. – LET’S GO!”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
