Michael Jackson’s Estate signs the biggest Music Deal in History
Even in death, Michael Jackson is breaking new records.
The King of Pop’s estate has signed the biggest recording deal in history: a $200 million guaranteed contract with Sony Music Entertainment for 10 projects over seven years, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The record-breaking contract through 2017 could be worth up to $250 million if certain conditions are met. One of the albums will be of never-before-released Jackson recordings that will come out in November, the person said.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement is expected later Tuesday.
Future projects may also include a video game, a DVD compilation of videos and a rerelease of “Off the Wall,” Jackson’s fifth studio album, which first came out in 1979, accompanied by some unreleased material. Before his sudden death in June at age 50, the pop star had wanted to reissue the album, people familiar with the deal said.
One of the projects already counted in the contract was the two-disc album that accompanied “This Is It,” the film based on footage of concert rehearsals for what was to have been Jackson’s comeback at London’s O2 arena.
Including the more than 5 million copies of that special release, Jackson has sold some 31 million albums since his death, about two-thirds of them outside the United States.
“During his life, Michael’s contracts set the standard for the industry,” said John Branca, the co-administrator of the Jackson estate, in a statement prepared for release Tuesday. “By all objective criteria, this agreement with Sony Music demonstrates the lasting power of Michael’s music by exceeding all previous industry benchmarks.”
Rob Stringer, chairman of Sony Music’s Columbia Epic Label Group, said in prepared remarks, “We’re dedicated to protecting this icon’s legacy and we’re thrilled that we can continue to bring his music to the world for the foreseeable future.”
The landmark deal is worth more than all other benchmarks, such as the all-encompassing rights deals that concert promoter and ticket-seller Live Nation Entertainment Inc. had previously signed with Madonna at $120 million and Jay-Z for $150 million.
Jackson’s deal is even more remarkable because it does not include royalties from merchandise.
The contract shows the value of legacy artists. It also comes at a time of decline for the music industry, with sales down about half from their peak in 2000 mainly due to free file-swapping.
The money will go a long way to settling Jackson’s debts, estimated at around $400 million when he died. But the singer whose life was plagued with scandal has had a resurgence in popularity in death.
Distribution rights for “This Is It” were sold to Sony Pictures, another unit of Sony Corp., for $60 million and the movie went on to gross $252 million worldwide, the most of any concert film ever.
Revenue from that, song sales and merchandising agreements brought into the estate revenues of about $100 million, lawyers for the estate’s administrators told a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in December, when they sought a percentage as an administration fee.
The Walt Disney Co. even brought back the 17-minute Jackson movie “Captain EO” to its Disneyland theme park in Anaheim last month. The original began running at the park in 1986 but was pulled in 1997.
Jackson’s most lasting and valuable asset is the 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company that owns publishing rights to music by The Beatles and numerous other artists, including Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. Split with Sony Music, the copyright catalog itself is estimated to be worth $2 billion.
The new financial windfall comes even as circumstances around his death remain in legal limbo.
Dr. Conrad Murray faces an involuntary manslaughter charge for allegedly giving Jackson a lethal combination of sedatives. He is due back in a Los Angeles court April 5
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Michael Jackson’s Doctor to be charged with Manslaughter
Prosecutors are prepared to seek an indictment of Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the pop star’s death, the Associated Press has learned.
A law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation remains open said Friday that Murray would be prosecuted on a theory of gross negligence alleging that his treatment of Jackson was an extreme departure from the standard of care normally followed by physicians.
Miranda Sevcik, a spokeswoman in Houston for Murray and his lawyer, Edward Chernoff, said the doctor had no comment and reiterated he neither prescribed nor administered anything that should have killed Michael Jackson.
Jackson died at his Los Angeles home in June while under Murray’s care as the singer prepared for an ambitious concert schedule.
The district attorney’s office is waiting for the Los Angeles police to turn over the case before presenting it to a grand jury.
To prove a charge of involuntary manslaughter, authorities must show there was a reckless action that created a risk of death or great bodily injury. If a doctor is aware of the risk, there might also be an issue of whether the patient knows that risk and decided to take it.
Before an indictment can be sought, the person said the Los Angeles Police Department will follow the formality of presenting the case to the district attorney.
The King
A large number of witnesses have been interviewed including those who were present during Jackson’s last days and those who worked with him in preparation for his comeback concert, “This is It.”
Authorities have also lined up medical expert witnesses who will testify about the normal standard of care in a situation such as Jackson’s and will give opinions on why Murray’s actions constituted gross negligence, the person said.
The investigation was substantially completed by the end of December, the person said.
Murray’s professional history is expected to be explored during a trial with an emphasis on whether he had the required expertise in administering the powerful anesthetic propofol which is believed to have killed Jackson.
The timing of an indictment will be dictated by two factors — how long it takes for the district attorney’s office to conduct an internal review of the evidence and when the grand jury will be available to hear the case.
The person said it was thought that it would be more efficient to go to a grand jury than to charge Murray and proceed by way of a preliminary hearing.
A presentation to the grand jury where witnesses testify behind closed doors could take three to five days.
Murray, a cardiologist with offices in Las Vegas and Houston, was hired by Jackson not long before the pop star’s death to travel with him on the “This Is It” tour that was to begin in London.
The doctor was with the star in Jackson’s rented Los Angeles mansion and tried to revive him when he was found unconscious.
Among the drugs found in Jackson’s home was propofol, and a subsequent autopsy found that Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication.
Propofol depresses breathing and the heart rate and lowers blood pressure so it’s supposed to be administered by an anesthesia professional in a medical setting.
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Live from the Red Carpet in Las Vegas Michael Jackson ‘This is It’ Screening
Celebrities are arriving for the screening of ‘This is It’ at the Brenden Theatres in Las Vegas, the same spot where Michael Jackson was awarded a star on the Palms Casino Resort’s Walk of Fame on what would have been the icon’s 51st birthday earlier this year.
Photos courtesy of Philthy Rich Records CEO James McNair & Celebrity Publicist Arie Goode
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Michael Jackson – A place with no name Unreleased Snippet
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THIS IS A DISGRACE Pelosi shut the door on a resolution to honor Michael Jackson because….
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shut the door Thursday to a resolution honoring Michael Jackson
because debate on the symbolic measure could raise “contrary views” about the pop star’s life.
WHO IS WITH US HERE – THIS IS A LAWMAKER – THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE – SINCE WHEN IS MICHAEL GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT? SINCE WHEN ARE WE NOT FREE IN AMERICA, SINCE WHEN DO WE JUDGE OTHERS????
Lawmakers are free to use House speeches “to express their sympathy or their praise any time that they wish,” said Pelosi, D-Calif. “I don’t think it’s necessary for us to have a resolution.”
A resolution sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, cites some of the singer’s charitable acts and proclaims him an American legend, musical icon and world humanitarian.
Even before Pelosi’s comments, some Democrats said privately they did not support the resolution and a divisive debate would hurt House efforts to muster the votes for priorities such as health care and climate change.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who posted a video on YouTube calling Michael Jackson a “pervert” and a “pedophile,” has pledged to do all he could to block the resolution.
Michael Jackson was acquitted in 2005 of charges that he molested a 13-year-old boy. Those allegations, and his admission that children slept in his bed at his home but nothing sexual occurred, have led some members of Congress to put distance between themselves and any formal honor for the entertainer.
“A resolution, I think, would open up to contrary views to — that are not necessary at this time to be expressed in association with a resolution whose purpose is quite different,” Pelosi said at a Capitol Hill news conference where she discussed various legislative matters.
Unbowed, Jackson Lee said she will seek support from colleagues who thanked her when she introduced the measure June 26, one day after Michael Jackson died. She said honorary resolutions don’t often “pass the next day.”
“On this floor we elevate people and doing that we have to work to tell your story,” she said after a House vote. But she would need support from Democratic leadership for the resolution to advance to the full House from the committee where it is now.
When members of the Congressional Black Caucus held a moment of silence in the House after Jackson died June 25, some lawmakers walked out of the chamber.
Jackson Lee has pledged that the resolution, now before the House Foreign Affairs Committee where she is a member, would come to the full House for debate. Such honorary measures normally move quickly from committee to the full House and pass on a voice vote.
But Jackson Lee’s resolution was in trouble early. It drew only one co-sponsor, Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., and was not endorsed by other black caucus members.
From the stage at Jackson’s memorial Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Jackson Lee hoisted a framed copy of the resolution.
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