Michael Jackson is one of the most popular artists to have walked the earth. Regardless of the controversy that he experienced, the King of Pop was still loved by many and his music has withstood the test of time. His dance moves were legendary and inspired a generation of modern artists like Chris Brown, Usher, B2K, and Teyana Taylor.
The PYT singer amassed a large fortune not just by releasing his own music and merchandise and touring, but by owning the rights to other musical artists' songs and catalogs, including the likes of The Beatles.
But following Michael Jackson's death, portions of his catalog seem to slowly but surely gain value and get sold off, with major music giant Sony seeming to be at the forefront of the most recent alleged sale of Jackson's catalog. Sony has been in Michael Jackson's business both before and after his passing, and this potential purchase is a move that may likely help revive not only previously released songs, but may also allow for the release of music that fans haven't been able to hear yet.
Sony Has Owned A Portion Of Michael Jackson's Music For Some Time
For the most part, Michael Jackson's estate appeared to own most of the rights to his music, but Sony has been in the picture for quite some time.
Though his estate is looking at selling music rights now, Michael Jackson was once interested in maintaining his song rights but also the rights to other artists' songs.
At some point in Jackson's career, he was looking to own the publishing rights to some songs in order to make more money in the music industry.
The advice came from his long-time friend and fellow musician Paul McCartney. When music publisher ATV was being sold off, Michael Jackson and his lawyer placed and won a bid to own the company.
Michael Jackson eventually sold off half of the rights of ATV to Sony and then Sony/ATV was formed. In 2016, Sony/ATV paid a whopping $750 million to buy the remaining half of ownership from Michael Jackson's estate.
ATV previously owned the rights to around 4,000 songs when Jackson initially bought the company, and the catalog has drastically increased in size since Sony bought it out. The company now owns the rights to songs by artists like Lady Gaga and Alicia Keys.
Mijac Music And Michael Jackson's Estate Holds Some Power Over His Music
Michael Jackson also had his own personal record label under the name Mijac Music. This record label is the one that holds and owns the rights to his unreleased and released master recordings.
Jackson's estate was set up following his death in 2009 and manages things like merchandising, licensing, and recording contracts, and were ultimately the ones to handle the sell-off to Sony in 2016.
Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, received 40% of his estate following his death, and it is reported that this will be split among his three children whenever Katherine ultimately passes away.
Prince, Paris, and BJ Jackson will eventually get a total of $33 million each, with them also receiving allowances through the age of 21. They will each get access to a third of their trust fund when they hit age 30, with the remaining two-thirds being disbursed at later times.
Jackson's Estate Is Looking To Sell Off A Portion Of His Catalog
Jackson's estate is largely in charge of what goes down with the King of Pop's likeness and music, with them announcing the release of some previously unheard songs by the Thriller singer as recently as 2021.
There also appeared to be plans for the Jackson family to release music with some of Michael's previously unused and unreleased vocal tracks included in their songs, but for now, it seems that his estate is trying to sell off a major part of his catalog.
And once again, it seems that Sony is the mix to purchase that portion of the catalog from Michael Jackson's estate. It is reported that there is an offer just shy of $1 million on the table for 50 percent of his estate's interest.
This would include publishing rights and any recorded music-based revenues. While nothing has been set in stone, it appears that Sony is currently in talks with not only John Branca and John McClain, who are the representatives for his estate but Primary Wave as well.
Primary Wave is involved because they already own an undisclosed amount of Michaels catalog and have been slowly becoming known in the industry for just how many catalogs they attempt to own and apparently exploit by pushing their use in commercials, TV shows, and movies.
So while it remains largely unknown what the future holds for Jackson's catalog, it seems that Sony is pushing for ownership, and this may mean that fans will hear more of Jackson's music, both already released and previously unreleased, in the near future.
