0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
April 13, 2006Jackson begins dismantling his empire by agreeing to sell a portion of his publishing catalog. The $325-million refinancing agreement required him to sell half of his 50% state in Sony/ATV to avoid foreclosure on several loans.
This is all as clear as MUD!! :icon_geek:... :confused: :over-react-smiley: :LolLolLolLol:I still feel that Michael is in TOTAL CONTROL OF EVERYTHING!!! :smiley_abuv: Don't lose hope, or let go of his hand now! Things may look "scary", but we must Keep the Faith going!! We have held on this long, we need to hold on just a little longer!! :bearhug:'s my sweet, sweet Family...I LOVE you guys!!! Blessings and Healing Positive Energy is being sent your way!! TRUST in God and Michael to guide us through!
You are not allowed to view links. Register or LoginThis is all as clear as MUD!! :icon_geek:... :confused: :over-react-smiley: :LolLolLolLol:I still feel that Michael is in TOTAL CONTROL OF EVERYTHING!!! :smiley_abuv: Don't lose hope, or let go of his hand now! Things may look "scary", but we must Keep the Faith going!! We have held on this long, we need to hold on just a little longer!! :bearhug:'s my sweet, sweet Family...I LOVE you guys!!! Blessings and Healing Positive Energy is being sent your way!! TRUST in God and Michael to guide us through!Agree :bearhug:Keeph the faith :icon_e_wink: :michael-jackson:
The above confirms what I thought all along. So when the Sony/ATV joint venture was formed Sony and Michael agreed they would supplement their catalog with additional songs and buy more and more. From what we read about it the idea was that the money for those purchases would be generated by the joint catalog itself – they would acquire more songs from the profits the catalog made, not needing any more money input. So when Michael later bought Eminem’s songs it was within their initial plans. The idea was not bad as it meant to turn Michael into a major musical publishing rights tycoon (with Sony being the other half) and it would have worked perfectly well in case Michael’s success had continued and no financial disasters had taken place. But they did take place – in the form of the 2003 case, the trial and many other projects which failed due to the extremely negative media which nipped each of his projects in the bud. While Michael was fighting the unjustice Sony evidently went on adding new songs to the catalog and paying their share. I’ve read that they were even paying Michael’s share of the expenses, most probably out of the profit Michael was to receive from his 50% in the joint venture. This must have created constant tension between the partners, because surely Michael would have preferred to have cash instead of having to invest it into more songs. What looked like a good idea in 1995 turned into a big financial burden for him later. The joint venture was evidently John Branca’s idea. He suggested it instead of selling Michael’s Beatles catalog which was advised by other Michael’s advisors in 1993 when Michael had to pay damages to Marcel Avram for canceling the Dangerous tour and huge costs on litigation with the Chandlers. It was then that the crisis started and Michael first faced the need to sell his Beatles catalog. Now he could have got out of this joint venture again and by the same method too – by selling his share and at a higher price this time, however he still preferred to fight the circumstances. I don’t remember the details now but at a certain point things became so bad that Michael was in a danger of losing to some creditors half of his share in the joint venture (or 25%), but his partner Sony helped him to avoid it. They evidently supplied him with some financing in return for the right to be the first to buy those 25% in case Michael had to sell it. As a result Michael kept his 50% but was still involved in tremendous loans he had to take most of which were spent to fulfill his commitments under the joint venture project (and not on his “lavish style” as the media likes to portray it). All of the above explains very well Michael’s feelings in respect of Sony – it was like sharing a home with someone you no longer love and even fight, but cannot part with due to the common property you share. However life proved that Sony as a partner was not that bad after all – they had the right to acquire the 25% share of Michael’s catalog but never used it as Michael still keeps his half in the project. If my understanding of the situation is correct, than the current merger of Sony/ATV with EMI and creation of a new giant holding music publishing rights this way is very much in line with the original idea Michael liked and went for. He could have sold the catalog long ago, but he still preferred to keep and expand it further – even at a tremendous financial cost and even sacrifice for himself. If the new project is successful it will turn Michael’s children into tycoons of music publishing rights, but for it to be successful it will again require some money to service Michael’s commitments arising from it. That merger must have required a lot of money already, and this is where some of those millions from Michael’s Estate must have gone. In short it isn’t ‘embezzlement’ – it is investment of the money, and probably wise investment too because it is meant to generate more money than the sums already spent on it. From the point of view of Michael’s siblings it is unwise of course because 1) it doesn’t bring immediate profit 2) leaves some of MJ’s debts still unpaid 3) will prove its worth in a somewhat distant future. But from the point of view of Michael’s legacy and the future of Michael’s children the idea is good. I personally would very much like to see Michael’s children to benefit from other people’s songs. Somehow it feels like just the right outcome after all that their father had to endure. This is my understanding of the situation, though of course the matter should be studied and studied thoroughly.
