Michael Jackson's Estate In Talks To Sell Half Of Catalog Rights For Almost $1 Billion
By Fiyin Olowokandi on February 8, 2023 at 7:30 PM EST
While alive, Michael Jackson had one of the most successful careers, amassing a mindblowing number of accolades. Even after his death in June 2009, he has remained a top-ranking global figure in pop culture.
Now, half of the rights to his music catalog appear to be going up for sale in a contract almost worth a billion dollars, making it the greatest deal to date in the thriving music catalog market.
Michael Jackson's Estate To Sell 50% Of His Music Catalog Rights For $800 Million To $900 Million
The Michael Jackson estate is reportedly selling half of its interests in the late musician's music catalog for $800 million to $900 million.
Details are not precise yet, but Variety reported that Sony and a likely financial partner are working out a deal to acquire 50% of the estate's interests in Michael's collection. Among the assets named in the alleged deal are his "publishing, recorded-music revenues, the "MJ: The Musical" Broadway show and the upcoming biopic 'Michael.'"
Sony is known to have had a hand in several major catalog negotiations, including the acquisition of Bruce Springsteen's publishing and recorded-music catalogs for roughly $600 million.
Additionally, sources revealed that the company paid around $150 million to $200 million for Bob Dylan's rights to his recorded-music catalog. This came after Dylan was spotted selling the rights to his publishing to Universal Music for almost $400 million.
There has been no news about the financial partner in Michael's deal, and it is yet to be confirmed whether one is actually involved. However, Eldridge Industries and Shamrock may be presumed to be the partners. Eldridge partnered with Sony on the Springsteen catalog deal, while Shamrock partnered with Universal to acquire Dr. Dre's catalog rights in a $200 million-plus deal.
It is important to note that Sony and CBS were the exclusive home for Micheal's recorded-music collection throughout his solo career and the final years of his time with the Jackson 5. Following his death at age 50, his longtime lawyer John Branca and co-executor, John McClain, took charge of his estate's interests but are yet to comment on the catalog rights sale.
The "Beat It" vocalist's music catalog remains one of the most profitable in history, with his 1982 album "Thriller" being on its own, one of the two biggest best sellers of all time, and the first album to be certified platinum thirty times.
Back in 2016, Sony made a $750 million deal to obtain 50% of the Jackson estate's stake in their collaborative venture, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, created in 1995. Also in 2018, Sony revealed that it acquired the estate's 25.1% stake in the EMI Music Publishing company for $287.5 million as part of its $2.3 billion procurement of that company, leading it to become the sole owner and that of Sony/ATV.
The news of an impending catalog sale comes shortly after it was reported that the King Of Pop's hard disk was stolen in Bruxelles, Belgium, from his historic collaborator Brad Sunberg who was traveling to the city for a seminar. He released a statement following the incident, indicating that he was a victim of "targeted theft" and was working with Brussels police to try and retrieve the material.
Unfortunately, several contents from the hard disk were leaked a few hours later — the first was the interesting encounter between Michael and the Russian boy who provided a voice in the song "Stranger in Moscow." Another video leak was his studio recording of "Can't Let Her Get Away," where he records for the camera but does not actually sing.
The 'Billie Jean' Singer Will Be Portrayed By His Nephew In Upcoming Biopic
Another big project set to honor the late icon's legacy is an upcoming biopic titled "Michael." It will be directed by Antoine Fuqua and co-produced by Graham King and is set to star his nephew Jaafar Jackson, son of his older brother, Jermaine Jackson.
As The Blast reported, the movie will mark Jaafar's acting debut, and he could not be more thrilled to portray his iconic uncle. Taking to Instagram, the 26-year-old expressed how "humbled and honored" he felt to bring the "Thriller" star's story to life, which would no doubt delight fans globally.
He added a black-and-white picture of himself looking like Michael in a captured dancing position which a few commenters noticed, commending his feature. One of the Jacksons, TJ, gushed, "I'm so proud of you, Jaafar. Words can;t express… you got it… You are truly the only one who can do it right. – LET'S GO!"
