[loveratheart4mj]

http://new.music.yahoo.com/michael-jack ... --61990644

Jackson estate in record deal worth up to $250 mln
AP, Mar 16, 2010 2:16 am PDT
 
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.

[Ijustcantstoplovingu]

umm   :?

[imissMJ147]

We're almost there :)

[naomifury]

Did the Dr. Conrad Murray thing seem totally out of place in this article or what? This is random, but I was just like why is this here? hahaa

I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, but I can tell you now I'm excited for November! And there go the 7's again.... (:

[deepu priyanka]

I THINK MJ IS BEHIND THE CONTRACT SIGNING .. WHO KNOWS HE MIGHT HAD PATCHED UP WITH THEM N THAT CAN BE POSSIBLE....NOW AT PRESENT HE MAY BE AT GOOD TERMS WITH THEM.... MAY BE THAT COULD BE THE REASON OF SIGNING 7 YEARS CONTRACT VIT THEM....... JUST SEEING A POSSIBILITY NO OFFENSE. GOOD LUCK MJ. I THINK NEED RELIEF FROM UR MOUNTED DEBTS.

[kelly wright]

so,yall think that Mj would like Sony stealing his music and putting it out the way they want too instead of himself or maybe his kids . :?  But we do understand that The Jackson family has no control or say so over MJ;s assets at all ,Right ? :o It is a FACT that Michael was fighting with Sony over the INvincible  album about how they wanted to promote & mkt his music  :twisted: .WE do know this RIGHT ? :oops: What happened to the 100's of songs in MJ 's vault ?  :oops: Have they stolen them ? That was supposed to be the property of MJ's children ,isn't it ? :cry:  :?:  Where are MJ's Jewels ? :?:  Where is the cash ? :?:  {many witnesses that said MJ kept cash } What happened to the 5 million.Tohme was supposed to have returned ?Why are Micheal's clothing being autioned off ? Dose that not belong to his kids .  :? Who is selling MJ's personal property to the public .Who gave them permission to sell MJ 's personal property . There will be nothing left by the time the kids are old enough to do anything about it . :cry: There are SO MANY people after Michaels KIDS money that it is unprecidented .But a lot of us r to bizzy looking at a hoax . While Mj;s assets ,legacy ,property ,creativity is being RAPED by SONY It is not That MJ was broke ,Thats just what they want you to think , whoever was in charge of MJ's money was not paying his bills[Tohme} {Obviously from all the lawsuits ,Un less the lawsuits are frivolous }. It is on audio Tape .No one finds it strange that a clause ,was on MJ's will that if Katherine Jackson contested the will {making Branca controller} that she would "forfeit " her money . Why would MJ do this to his Mom ? He trusted her with his kids ,but not his Money ?Not his unreleased music & property ? This does not make sense .And if it does not make sense ,it is because it's not true .Michaels Legacy belongs to his family ,NOT SONY !.John Branca lies on his website and takes credit for MJ's Success ,according to Branca ,it was his Idea To Buy the Beatles Catalog ,this is in stark contrast to what MICHAEL SAYS and others .{see J.Branca's site for yourself }. Branca Sounds jealous of Michael .Michael would give someone control of his music & money that he caught stealing from him ? REALLY !It is in the Trial transcript in 2003 .Tom Measerua questioning the private investigator that Mj hired to Investigate Branca & Matolla . See for your self . why isn't hardly anyone paying attention to this !Branca & Sony & Aeg & Tohme wanted to be in control of Mj's assets, Music ,the way Mj  presents and Mkts his music ,his Atv Catalog ,his money and His power ,AND NOW THEY ARE <WETHER HE IS DEAD OR NOT . They have a firm grip on MJ 's entire future and legacy .And no one ,or hardly anyone on here thinks this is" fishy "To say the very least .Anyone got any video or literature on Branca saying a word about Mj ' death ? He only talks about MJ's assets . He is the God of Michael's FUTURE Music NOW .Which is what he always wanted .Probably why MJ FIRED HIM  :x  :twisted:

[topsecretgirl]

I have a feeling this deal was closed before June 25th ;)

[Venus]

I don't like it at all.  :(
I don''t think Michael would want it. Btw, the family said many times that Branca is no longer represent Michael's estate, so he and sony take over all rights on the estate against Michael's will. I heard it from Jackson's family lawer (can't remember his name). It was laso said the will is fake (made by Branca I guess).
Something terrible is going on here.
If Michael is dead he was killed exactly for this - to reissue all his misic, his inreleased songs and take all the control over the profit.

[mjboogie]

I agree with you. If anything this kinda does not do anything for the hoax theory but Blows up the MURDER theory. I am with ya on this one. Seems like they have won after all. I really do believe that this is really dirty, and they wanted MJ's assets all along and NOBODY (AEG, BRANCA< DILEO< MCCLAIN < KENNY< PHILLIPS) does/did not care about MJ or his family. :cry:  :cry: This is totally against what MJ probably would have wanted.....and honestly I dont feel that MJ would stand by and let this go on. Seems like he really is gone> :(

[reyferrari]

If this is a HOAx,,idk what to think anymore!! :?

[Happy Feet]

so,yall think that Mj would like Sony stealing his music and putting it out the way they want too instead of himself or maybe his kids . :?  But we do understand that The Jackson family has no control or say so over MJ;s assets at all ,Right ? :o It is a FACT that Michael was fighting with Sony over the INvincible  album about how they wanted to promote & mkt his music  :twisted: .WE do know this RIGHT ? :oops: What happened to the 100's of songs in MJ 's vault ?  :oops: Have they stolen them ? That was supposed to be the property of MJ's children ,isn't it ? :cry:  :?:  Where are MJ's Jewels ? :?:  Where is the cash ? :?:  {many witnesses that said MJ kept cash } What happened to the 5 million.Tohme was supposed to have returned ?Why are Micheal's clothing being autioned off ? Dose that not belong to his kids .  :? Who is selling MJ's personal property to the public .Who gave them permission to sell MJ 's personal property . There will be nothing left by the time the kids are old enough to do anything about it . :cry: There are SO MANY people after Michaels KIDS money that it is unprecidented .But a lot of us r to bizzy looking at a hoax . While Mj;s assets ,legacy ,property ,creativity is being RAPED by SONY It is not That MJ was broke ,Thats just what they want you to think , whoever was in charge of MJ's money was not paying his bills[Tohme} {Obviously from all the lawsuits ,Un less the lawsuits are frivolous }. It is on audio Tape .No one finds it strange that a clause ,was on MJ's will that if Katherine Jackson contested the will {making Branca controller} that she would "forfeit " her money . Why would MJ do this to his Mom ? He trusted her with his kids ,but not his Money ?Not his unreleased music & property ? This does not make sense .And if it does not make sense ,it is because it's not true .Michaels Legacy belongs to his family ,NOT SONY !.John Branca lies on his website and takes credit for MJ's Success ,according to Branca ,it was his Idea To Buy the Beatles Catalog ,this is in stark contrast to what MICHAEL SAYS and others .{see J.Branca's site for yourself }. Branca Sounds jealous of Michael .Michael would give someone control of his music & money that he caught stealing from him ? REALLY !It is in the Trial transcript in 2003 .Tom Measerua questioning the private investigator that Mj hired to Investigate Branca & Matolla . See for your self . why isn't hardly anyone paying attention to this !Branca & Sony & Aeg & Tohme wanted to be in control of Mj's assets, Music ,the way Mj  presents and Mkts his music ,his Atv Catalog ,his money and His power ,AND NOW THEY ARE <WETHER HE IS DEAD OR NOT . They have a firm grip on MJ 's entire future and legacy .And no one ,or hardly anyone on here thinks this is" fishy "To say the very least .Anyone got any video or literature on Branca saying a word about Mj ' death ? He only talks about MJ's assets . He is the God of Michael's FUTURE Music NOW .Which is what he always wanted .Probably why MJ FIRED HIM  :x  :twisted:

The kids and their inheritance will be next Kelly.  Watch and see. Someone is already trying to get them away from the family.  

Sony is in a win-win situation here if the venture fails or succeeds. They will either recieve a nice payday or payout. However for the Estate, it becomes a win or lose situation. And a big one at that. If the estate does not met their contractual obligations for this deal it will result in either a lawsuit or negotiated deal to settle to gain ownership of that catalogues. This would be the only acceptable way that they would find to gain control of the catalogue without raising suspicion in my opinion. Failing to met the obligations of the contract will allow Sony to legally step in and recover any losses.

Branca is not stupid. He's as sly as a fox.

[Happy Feet]

If this is a HOAx,,idk what to think anymore!! :?

Maybe the hoax is just a way for Michael to expose those that have for many years conspired against him. One of whom I firmly believe is Branca. Maybe he needed to "die" (that's if this is a hoax) to prove that this was true. He had been talking about a conspiracy for years. Hardly anyone took him seriously, infact a majority just thought it was all in his head.

This way they are exposed publicly and everyone will finally know the truth. Maybe  :?

[raphaelleanique]

I think we do not have enough reliable information on what happened between MJ, Sony (2002,2004,2006-2009,there was a lot changing at Sony) and the managers and executives involved in this case.
I think, concerning this topic, we cannot rely on what the press says. Part of the agreements are not made accessable to the public IMO. And when so, then the way THEY want to have it published,I am quite sure about that. There is too much money involved.  

In other words, there is no real evidence whether MJ is in it or not IMO. The possibility of it being signed in 2008,which is difficult to judge because of TMZs wording,is worth some more investigation, I guess. What do other articles state exactly about the old rights till 2015 and the two year expansion?

[Game Player]

I love how it's 7 years.

[2good2btrue]

I agree with the theory that MJ's death will expose the people in his life that wanted his money.   But what if there's a clause in the contract, that states the contract is only viable because he has passed?????  The contract may be VOID if in fact MJ is still alive???? That would cancel the contract, and the conspiracist have been exposed.  Isn't that the plan????  Keep the faith.

[deepu priyanka]

EACH DAY IAM GETTING CONFUSED AS TO WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND IN THE ESTATE N FAMILY. IF MJ IS ALIVE THE CONTRACT MUST HAVE BEEN SIGNED BY  MJ OR ELSE IF HE IS REALLY DEAD THEN SOMETHING TERRIBLE N SINISTER IS HAPPENING . IF MJ IS REALLY DEAD THEN , HE WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED  FOR HIS MUSIC STUFF TO ACQUIRE HIS ESTATE BY CREATING FAKE WILL.... OR IS HE DOING ALL THIS TO EXPOSE SOMEONE WHO TRIED TO BRING HIM DOWN........ :?

[raphaelleanique]

I read the article once more. Mcclain says: it is the first deal, there are more to come..

[MJmakesmespeechless]

Here is says the first new batch of stuff comes out on November...

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN162 ... arketsNews