Sony to Deal With Jackson Estate, Release New Songs (Update1)
March 16, 2010, 1:38 AM EDT(Adds estimated value of deal in second paragraph.)
By Adam Satariano and Ronald Grover
March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Sony Corp. said it had reached a “landmark recording deal” with Michael Jackson’s estate that includes albums of unreleased material and older tracks.
The agreement is valued at as much as $250 million and includes the release 10 albums over the next seven years, said a person familiar with the deal. The deal guarantees the estate a minimum of $200 million, said the person, who declined to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
“This agreement with Sony Music demonstrates the lasting power of Michael’s music by exceeding all previous industry benchmarks,” John Branca, the attorney who is an administrator of the Jackson estate, was cited as saying today in a Sony Music release, which didn’t give details on the value of the deal.
Jackson, who died at age 50 on June 25, was the top-selling U.S. artist of 2009, with more than 8.3 million albums purchased, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In the week following his death, the singer had the three best-selling albums in the U.S. New sales of “Thriller” pushed it into a tie with the Eagles’ “Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)” for the best-selling album of all time, with more than 29 million copies, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
“Michael has always been a treasured member of the Sony Music family. 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,” Rob Stringer, chairman of Sony’s Columbia Epic Label Group, said in the release. The first project featuring unreleased music is expected for release in November 2010, according to the statement.
Album Sales
Sony will receive revenue from album sales and licensing Jackson’s songs for use in movies, video games and other outlets, the Wall Street Journal, which reported the arrangement earlier, said.
Jackson’s sales, along with the debut album from Susan Boyle, helped Sony’s music unit increase its U.S. market share to 28.6 percent last year from 25.3 percent, SoundScan said in January.
The estate is likely to pay off about $125 million of debt by year-end and to refinance $325 million backed by Jackson’s stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing and his 2,600-acre Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara, California, the Journal reported.
The singer’s $300 million loan backed by Sony/ATV and held by Barclays PLC matures at year-end, the Journal said.
Jackson died in Los Angeles while preparing for a series of comeback concerts at London’s O2 arena. Sony released the movie “This Is It” about the concert preparations, which generated $260.8 million in global box-office sales, according to researcher Box Office Mojo.
The singer’s death was ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County coroner and his doctor, Conrad Murray, has been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter. Murray has pleaded not guilty.
--Editors: Anthony Palazzo, Stephen West, Suresh Seshadri
To contact the reporters on this story: Adam Satariano in San Francisco at asatariano1@bloomberg.net. Ronald Grover in Los Angeles at rgrover5@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net
