Michael Jackson’s estate has reportedly sold half of the late pop star’s catalogue to Sony Music Group in a deal estimated to be worth at least $600m (£475m). While the exact figure has not yet been disclosed, sources have valued the catalogue at between $1.2bn and $1.5bn, making it the largest-ever valuation of an artist’s music assets. The deal does not include royalties from shows featuring Jackson’s music, including Broadway’s MJ The Musical. It does, however, include music by other acts from Jackson’s Mijac publishing catalogue, including Sly & The Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield and Ray Charles.
Jackson was signed to Sony throughout his solo career, and starting in 1995, he formed Sony/ATV Music Publishing with the company, taking in his share of The Beatles’ publishing. In 2016, the Michael Jackson estate sold its 50% stake in Sony/ATV to Sony for $750 million, giving the company sole ownership of it. Sony also acquired the estate’s 25.1% stake in EMI Music Publishing when it took it over in 2018.
Almost exactly one year ago, three independent sources reported that the Michael Jackson estate was planning to sell half of its catalogue for between $800m and $900m. The sale follows similar transactions in which PWL Records, the record label of ’80s pop mogul Stock Aitken Waterman, sold its key hits to BMG Rights Management and the catalogues of Fleetwood Mac, Shakira and Imagine Dragons were bought by the Hipgnosis Songs Fund.
The news of the sale comes as a Michael Jackson biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson, the singer’s nephew, is set for release in 2022. The Michael Jackson estate is also currently embroiled in a legal battle with a Las Vegas tribute band called MJ Live
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