Moonwalker.Fan
Proud Member
How the King of Pop has earned $90 million in the months since his death.
On March 5, 2009, Michael Jackson stood in front of an audience of cameras, flashbulbs and screaming fans with the promise of a comeback. Bearing his signature sunglasses and bejeweled armband, he pronounced with pumping arms: "This is it!" He would take the stage at the O2 arena in London in July for his last tour. "This will really be it. This is the final curtain call."
A few months later, Jackson was dead. Though he didn't survive to perform his anticipated grand finale, the pop star portended the summer with eerie accuracy. With his posthumous return to radio, television and the cultural zeitgeist, this year will ultimately belong to Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.
Forbes estimates Jackson has made $90 million in gross earnings since his death June 25. This figure is based primarily on estimated royalties from album sales, radio play, rights to his name and likeness and royalties from his stake in the Sony/ATV music catalog.
Attorney John Branca, an executor of Jackson's estate, refused to comment for this story. Calls to the attorneys of Michael's mother, Katherine Jackson, who oversees the 80% of the estate left to her and the pop star's children, were not returned.
Jackson's music was his most evident legacy in the last months. "Nothing increases the value of an artist's catalog than death ... an untimely death," says Barry Massarsky, a music industry economist and consultant.
The music's immediate value was clear. Since June, Jackson has sold more than 5.5 million albums in the U.S. and and another 4.5 million overseas. In the first weeks after his death, Nielsen counted 5.6 million single downloads across North America, Europe and Australia. Jackson currently has three of the top 20 best-selling albums of the year domestically, according to Nielsen SoundScan. His 2003 hits album Number Ones is the second-best seller of the year, behind Taylor Swift's Fearless.
More than 500,000 Jackson ring tones and 100,000 music videos were sold. In the week following his death, songs by the The Jackson 5, The Jacksons and Michael were played over 100,000 times on the radio, according to Nielsen BDS, which tracks airplay.
The gloved one's posthumous earnings were also bolstered by an agreement with Sony ( SNE - news - people ) in which the film production company paid the Anschutz Entertainment Group and the singer's estate $60 million in return for use of Jackson's name, image and rehearsal footage from his London concert preparation to create the movie This Is It. AEG ( AEGXY.PK - news - people ) was the promoter behind Jackson's planned O2 residency and owns the rights to the footage.
Jackson's executors also reached a lucrative merchandising agreement, which reportedly includes everything from commemorative coins to school supplies.
Jackson's estate will likely see more money by the end of this year, as it has rights to a portion of the profits from This Is It as well as the two-disc album of the same name. The estate will share 90% of the film profits with AEG.
Ticket sales from a memorabilia exhibit opening in London will also contribute a likely profit. Hundreds of Jackson's personal effects--his L.A. Rolls Royce, the Neverland Gates, the white glove from the moonwalk debut--will remain on display for three months at the O2 arena for fans willing to shell out $25 for a view. Though there are hopes of sending the exhibit to two other cities, no formal plans have been announced.
Despite his flagrant spending habits, Jackson leaves behind the legacy of a savvy businessman in light of his stake in the Sony/ATV catalog. In a prescient move, the pop singer bought ATV Publishing, a catalog stocked with valuable Beatles music, for $47.5 million in 1985. Ten years later, he sold the catalog to Sony for $95 million and took a 50% stake in the combined catalog, Sony/ATV, which is now worth an estimated $1.7 to $2 billion.
Despite rampant speculation that the late singer had sold part of his stake in to pay off debts, an executive with direct knowledge of the situation says Jackson still owned half the Sony/ATV catalog at his death.
Jackson's future earning potential is based on his stake in valuable music and well as the value of his image. As many musicians, actors and artists before him, Jackson's fame could have a long tail on the consumer market with licensed merchandise, advertising and entertainment ventures.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/27/mi...celebs-09-business-entertainment-jackson.html
The Top Ten
Yves Saint Laurent
Rodgers & Hammerstein
Michael Jackson
Elvis Presley
J.R.R. Tolken
Charles Schultz
John Lennon
Dr. Suess
Albert Einstein
Michael Crichton
Aaron Spelling
On March 5, 2009, Michael Jackson stood in front of an audience of cameras, flashbulbs and screaming fans with the promise of a comeback. Bearing his signature sunglasses and bejeweled armband, he pronounced with pumping arms: "This is it!" He would take the stage at the O2 arena in London in July for his last tour. "This will really be it. This is the final curtain call."
A few months later, Jackson was dead. Though he didn't survive to perform his anticipated grand finale, the pop star portended the summer with eerie accuracy. With his posthumous return to radio, television and the cultural zeitgeist, this year will ultimately belong to Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.
Forbes estimates Jackson has made $90 million in gross earnings since his death June 25. This figure is based primarily on estimated royalties from album sales, radio play, rights to his name and likeness and royalties from his stake in the Sony/ATV music catalog.
Attorney John Branca, an executor of Jackson's estate, refused to comment for this story. Calls to the attorneys of Michael's mother, Katherine Jackson, who oversees the 80% of the estate left to her and the pop star's children, were not returned.
Jackson's music was his most evident legacy in the last months. "Nothing increases the value of an artist's catalog than death ... an untimely death," says Barry Massarsky, a music industry economist and consultant.
The music's immediate value was clear. Since June, Jackson has sold more than 5.5 million albums in the U.S. and and another 4.5 million overseas. In the first weeks after his death, Nielsen counted 5.6 million single downloads across North America, Europe and Australia. Jackson currently has three of the top 20 best-selling albums of the year domestically, according to Nielsen SoundScan. His 2003 hits album Number Ones is the second-best seller of the year, behind Taylor Swift's Fearless.
More than 500,000 Jackson ring tones and 100,000 music videos were sold. In the week following his death, songs by the The Jackson 5, The Jacksons and Michael were played over 100,000 times on the radio, according to Nielsen BDS, which tracks airplay.
The gloved one's posthumous earnings were also bolstered by an agreement with Sony ( SNE - news - people ) in which the film production company paid the Anschutz Entertainment Group and the singer's estate $60 million in return for use of Jackson's name, image and rehearsal footage from his London concert preparation to create the movie This Is It. AEG ( AEGXY.PK - news - people ) was the promoter behind Jackson's planned O2 residency and owns the rights to the footage.
Jackson's executors also reached a lucrative merchandising agreement, which reportedly includes everything from commemorative coins to school supplies.
Jackson's estate will likely see more money by the end of this year, as it has rights to a portion of the profits from This Is It as well as the two-disc album of the same name. The estate will share 90% of the film profits with AEG.
Ticket sales from a memorabilia exhibit opening in London will also contribute a likely profit. Hundreds of Jackson's personal effects--his L.A. Rolls Royce, the Neverland Gates, the white glove from the moonwalk debut--will remain on display for three months at the O2 arena for fans willing to shell out $25 for a view. Though there are hopes of sending the exhibit to two other cities, no formal plans have been announced.
Despite his flagrant spending habits, Jackson leaves behind the legacy of a savvy businessman in light of his stake in the Sony/ATV catalog. In a prescient move, the pop singer bought ATV Publishing, a catalog stocked with valuable Beatles music, for $47.5 million in 1985. Ten years later, he sold the catalog to Sony for $95 million and took a 50% stake in the combined catalog, Sony/ATV, which is now worth an estimated $1.7 to $2 billion.
Despite rampant speculation that the late singer had sold part of his stake in to pay off debts, an executive with direct knowledge of the situation says Jackson still owned half the Sony/ATV catalog at his death.
Jackson's future earning potential is based on his stake in valuable music and well as the value of his image. As many musicians, actors and artists before him, Jackson's fame could have a long tail on the consumer market with licensed merchandise, advertising and entertainment ventures.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/27/mi...celebs-09-business-entertainment-jackson.html
The Top Ten
Yves Saint Laurent
Rodgers & Hammerstein
Michael Jackson
Elvis Presley
J.R.R. Tolken
Charles Schultz
John Lennon
Dr. Suess
Albert Einstein
Michael Crichton
Aaron Spelling
uke:
