The King of Pop is in the news again and this time it’s for a record-breaking deal! The Michael Jackson estate is in the process of selling half of its interests in the legendary singer’s music catalog in a deal in the $800 million-$900 million range. This would be the biggest deal to date in the still-booming music catalog market.
If you’re a fan of the late King of Pop, then you’ll want to read on to find out more about this incredible deal. We’ll explore the details of the deal, the companies involved, and the implications of this massive sale.
Sony and a possible financial partner are negotiating to acquire 50% of the estate’s interests in Jackson’s publishing, recorded-music revenues, the “MJ: The Musical” Broadway show and the upcoming biopic “Michael,” and possibly more assets. Primary Wave Music already owns a stake in Jackson’s publishing catalog, although details are unclear.
The potential financial partner in the deal is still unknown, but likely suspects include Eldridge Industries, which partnered with Sony on the Bruce Springsteen catalog deal, and Shamrock, which recently partnered with Universal on a $200 million-plus catalog acquisition from Dr. Dre.
Sony and its predecessor CBS were the sole home for Jackson’s recorded-music catalog for his entire solo career and the latter years of his career with the Jackson 5. Jackson’s recorded-music catalog is one of most lucrative in history — his 1982 “Thriller” album alone is one of the two biggest sellers of all time and was the first album to be certified 30-times platinum.
In 2016 Sony Corp. reached a $750 million agreement with the estate to acquire the Jackson estate’s 50% stake in their joint venture, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which they had formed in 1995. In 2018 Sony revealed in an earnings report that as part of its $2.3 billion acquisition of EMI Music Publishing, it had acquired the Jackson estate’s 25.1% stake in that company for $287.5 million.
The implications of this massive sale are huge and will likely reverberate throughout the music industry. This is an exciting time for music fans and a testament to the lasting legacy of Michael Jackson.
So if you’re a fan of the King of Pop, you won’t want to miss this blog post. We’ll explore the details of the Michael Jackson estate’s record-breaking deal and its implications in the music industry. Stay tuned for more updates as the news unfolds!
Source: variety.com
