Michael Jackson a Billion-Dollar Man--Billboard Magazine

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Michael Jackson a Billion-Dollar Man

Reuters/June 20, 2010

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Michael Jackson's estate has generated at least $1 billion in revenues since the singer died a year ago, thanks in part to a lucrative new record deal with Sony Music and the most successful concert film of all time, according to Billboard estimates.
Through interviews with industry experts and some number-crunching, Billboard examines the various music-based revenue streams flowing into the estate.

MUSIC SALES -- VALUE: $429 MILLION
Since his death, Jackson has sold about 9 million albums in the United States, while the Jackson 5 and the Jacksons have sold about 800,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Outside the States, Jackson's album sales for the past year stand at around 24 million units. Based on a blended worldwide retail sales price of $11.62 ($12.30 per unit less mechanical royalties), Billboard estimates that Jackson's album catalog generated about $383 million in sales.

On the digital side, Jackson's songs have generated 12.9 million track downloads in the United States in the past 12 months, according to SoundScan. Based on those figures, Billboard estimates that the total number of worldwide downloads is about 26.5 million units, with a value of $34 million (net of mechanical royalties).

Jackson's ringtone sales totaled 1.5 million last year in the States, with the bulk coming after his death. Digital ringtones sales worldwide are about twice that stateside, which brings Jackson's global ringtone tally to 3 million. At $2 per unit, ringtone revenue was about $5 million last year (net of mechanical royalties).

Monies generated from subscription services and digital performance royalties typically amount to about one-third that of mobile revenue, so Jackson's catalog probably generated about $2 million from those streams.
U.S. digital performance royalties represent about 13% of the revenue generated by single track downloads. Applying that rate to global track sales, Jackson's recording catalog generated another $4.5 million from global digital performances.

FILM/TV -- VALUE: $392 MILLION
Sony Pictures bought Jackson's rehearsal footage from AEG for $60 million. In retrospect, the price was something of a bargain. "Michael Jackson: This Is It" was released October 28, 2009, and earned $72 million at the U.S. box office, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, making it the highest-grossing concert film in history.

Overseas, the film earned $188 million at the box office; of that, $56 million was tallied in Japan alone. After AEG recouped the company's investment of more than $35 million in the canceled shows at London's O2 and the film, the bulk of the theatrical take -- court documents indicate it could be as high as 90% -- went to Jackson's estate.

On the home video front, the "This Is It" DVD has earned $43 million in U.S. sales, with 2.7 million units sold since its January 26 release, according to The-Numbers.com, a division of Nash Information Services. Nash estimates the film made another $25 million in rental revenue.

In Japan -- where the film was also sold as part of a special "This Is It" bundle for the PlayStation 3 -- DVD sales topped $18 million on its first day of release; 351,000 Blu-ray copies have been sold, according to rankings service Oricon, adding about $7 million to the total.

In terms of TV, the industry standard is that exclusive rights for ad-supported TV costs 12% of the domestic box office for a four-year window; this rule of thumb is in flux, however, as the length of exclusive windows extend and the number of outlets involved in the deals increase. In November 2009, Viacom purchased the exclusive U.S. TV rights to air "This Is It" on its MTV and BET family of networks -- including VH1 and Palladia, as well as MTV and BET -- for six years. Given the additional years in the contract and the film's box-office tally, the deal could be worth upwards of $15 million. (By contrast, FX is reported to have paid between $25 million and $30 million for just the U.S. commercial TV rights to "Avatar.")

With its family-friendly rating, "This Is It" can be shown in all distribution media outside of traditional theaters, including airplanes, cruise ships and hotel chains. Licensing fees for nontheatrical performances vary based on the movie and its potential reach and how long it will air after it debuts in theaters, but it's generally forecast to be about 7% of total revenue for a film. For "This Is It," that puts the number at $24 million.

MUSIC PUBLISHING -- VALUE: $130 MILLION
Jackson's music publishing company, Mijac, is administered by Warner/Chappell. Based on a reported value for Mijac of at least $75 million in 2005, Billboard estimates Mijac currently has a value of around $150 million. At that value, it generates about $25 million per year in revenue. In the last 12 months, according to sources, that number could have doubled to as much as $50 million.
Jackson also owns half of Sony/ATV, formed in 1995 when Sony paid Jackson $90 million for 50% of ATV Music Publishing. Barry Massarsky of Massarsky Consulting says that Sony/ATV is comparable to BMG Music Publishing two years ago when Universal Music Group acquired it for $2 billion. Massarsky estimates Sony/ATV is worth about 80% of BMG at the time of acquisition, or $1.6 billion. Jackson's share is half that, or $800 million. Based on a multiple of eight to 10 times net publisher's share, Jackson's share of the company's revenue is $80 million per year.

LICENSING/TOURING -- VALUE: $35 MILLION
Despite being canceled, the 50-show This Is It tour at London's O2 paid big dividends. Revenue from tickets retained by fans as souvenirs and not refunded brought in an estimated $6.5 million, and Bravado's This Is It concert merchandise brought in $5 million, both less AEG's share.

An AEG-produced Jackson memorabilia exhibit is showing in Japan and has brought in another estimated $3.5 million to the estate. Plans call for the exhibit to head to China.

Last August, Bravado followed its AEG/This Is It merch deal with a new pact with the Jackson estate that included a $10 million advance, sources say.

Based on conversations with insiders, Billboard estimates licensing royalties and retail sales accounted for another $10 million in revenue to the Jackson estate. Actual retail sales were far greater.
This week, gaming company Ubisoft announced it will release a dance-oriented Jackson videogame in time for the holiday season. Licensing fees weren't disclosed.

Finally, sources say there wasn't any advance on royalties and no guarantees paid for the estate's two-pronged deal with Cirque du Soleil for a tour and a Las Vegas residency, a deal structure in line with past Cirque tributes to the Beatles and Elvis Presley. After startup costs are shared by the estate and Cirque, revenue will come from box-office receipts and other ancillaries associated with the projects.

The financial tragedy here is what might have been. Billboard reported before Jackson's death that the O2 shows would gross up to $100 million and merch possibly another $15 million. Beyond that, AEG had a 36-month global touring plan in place with Jackson had the run successfully been completed.

RECORDING CONTRACT -- VALUE: $31 MILLION
In March, Sony Music Entertainment reached a deal with Jackson's estate to release 10 albums of the singer's music through 2017. The albums' content will vary -- a collection of previously unreleased tracks is expected in November and a reissue of 1979's "Off the Wall" is expected next year. All told, the estate is guaranteed between $200 million and $250 million for the deal. Some of that amount was likely paid in an advance. No albums have yet been released, however. If just one of the contract's eight years is recognized, that would add $31 million to the money the estate received in the last 12 months.

At the time of the deal, John Branca, who serves as special administrator for the estate alongside John McClain, said that Elvis is the model for Jackson's legacy. "To this day, there's interest in Elvis," he said. "And I think there will be enduring interest in Michael. It's our job to continue to expose Michael to new generations."



http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=10967191
 
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it's interesting that they said that MJ's catalogue share was estimated at 80 mill a year, and yet the media liked to say that he was in debt while alive. who knows what else they're leaving out. but they went in depth for this study, because of their fascination with death. i don't think they went in depth before June 25 of last year.

geez..lol..i tell ya..
 
they are finally saying...sad that its after he passed.. but Michael has been a billionaire for years...before Oprah even could say the word
 
it's interesting that they said that MJ's catalogue share was estimated at 80 mill a year, and yet the media liked to say that he was in debt while alive. who knows what else they're leaving out. but they went in depth for this study, because of their fascination with death. i don't think they went in depth before June 25 of last year.

geez..lol..i tell ya..

you're right lol
 
Money generated...and money the estate receives are two different things.

He generated 1 billion before Sony take their cut...so the estate won't receive a check for 429Mils from Sony...

Generating 1 billion doesn't make MJ a billionaire.

But I think even with his current debt of 300Mil..he is already a billionaire...Sony/ATS is worth about 1.6 billion ...so MJ gets 800Mil + his own catalogue & Hayvenhurst & Neverland....he is already a member of the Billionaire's club.

Still...bittersweet.
 
Jackson Estate Steers to Next Crisis

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...od=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories#articleTabs=article

Nearly a year after Michael Jackson's death, the managers overseeing his estate have stabilized its precarious financial situation, but at least one major liability still looms: a $300 million loan due at the end of this year.

Thanks to the surge of fan interest sparked by Mr. Jackson's death, the singer generated an estimated $200 million posthumously, allowing the estate to pay off tens of millions of dollars in debt and avert foreclosure on the suburban Los Angeles complex where the singer's mother lives.

Since Mr. Jackson's death last June 25, his businesses have been run by the singer's longtime lawyer, John Branca, and a music-industry veteran and personal friend of Mr. Jackson's named John McClain. Unlike traditional executors, Messrs. Branca and McClain are aggressively managing Mr. Jackson's affairs as a going concern. The estate's primary beneficiaries are Mr. Jackson's three young children and his 80-year-old mother, Katherine, who is now the children's guardian.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jackson's absence from the equation has eliminated the chaos and out-of-control spending that reigned during his life.

Using income from past music sales and advances against future ones, music-publishing royalties, a film-rights sale and various other licensing deals, the estate has paid off nearly $200 million of the $500 million debt the singer had used to fund his extravagant spending in his final years.

The estate has collected as much as $125 million in royalties and advances from Sony Corp.'s Sony Music, which has sold 31.5 million Jackson albums since his death and plans to distribute an album of previously unreleased music around November. Corporate sibling Sony Pictures paid another $60 million for the rights to "This Is It," the documentary about rehearsals for Mr. Jackson's planned comeback concert series.

Mijac, the publishing company that controls the copyrights to songs written by Mr. Jackson, is on track to generate $35 million in royalties. The estate is set to collect $11 million in dividends from Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the joint venture with Sony Corp. that controls 251 songs by the Beatles. Television and merchandise deals could generate another $10 million, while deals to create a videogame and two Cirque du Soleil shows based on Mr. Jackson's music are set to provide additional revenue later this year. The Sony Music deal guarantees Mr. Jackson's estate significant additional cash advances in coming years, too.

However, Mr. Jackson's biggest financial obligation remains unresolved. A $300 million loan from Barclays PLC, backed by his 50% stake in SONY/ATV, matures at the end of the year. To secure the loan in 2006, Mr. Jackson appealed for help from Sony, which dispatched two executives to meet him in Dubai and negotiate terms under which it would guarantee the loan.

At the time, Mr. Jackson was in danger of defaulting on a $270 million loan held by hedge fund Fortress Investment Group LLC. As part of the agreement under which Barclays ultimately refinanced that debt, Mr. Jackson granted Sony an option to buy half of his stake in the company at any time for a fixed price of $250 million. At the time that was a generous valuation, but Sony/ATV's value has since soared to around $2 billion.

The Jackson estate and Sony have held talks about whether the company will again guarantee a refinancing of the debt backed by Mr. Jackson's Sony/ATV stake. If it won't, the estate could be forced to sell its stake in Sony/ATV at a steep discount, though that would still generate enough cash to wipe out the Barclays loan with hundreds of millions to spare. But Sony may have an incentive to reach a deal on refinancing, because buying out Mr. Jackson's estate would require it to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for an asset it already effectively controls.

All of this stands in stark contrast to the state of affairs when Mr. Jackson died. Despite being poised for what was heralded as a major comeback concert series, his finances were in shambles and he was unable to meet some of his most basic financial obligations.

Among the unpaid bills at the time of his death, Mr. Jackson had not paid $341,000 to Thomas Mesereau, the lawyer who successfully defended him against charges of child molestation in 2005. That bill and many other creditors' claims, including invoices from several other law firms, have now been paid.

The singer was also months behind on utility bills for his longtime family home in Encino, Calif., where his mother, Katherine, now lives with his three children, along with the children of two of his brothers. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, owed nearly $9,000, was threatening to disconnect service. AT&T Inc. was owed $1,300.

More troubling, Mr. Jackson had fallen behind on the payments for a $5 million IndyMac loan secured by the house. The property was scheduled to enter foreclosure the day after Mr. Jackson died. A nearby condominium, four months behind on loan payments and homeowners' dues, was also threatened with foreclosure, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Jackson's representatives have now paid off those loans.

Mr. Jackson was living in a rented mansion in Holmby Hills, a ritzy neighborhood near Bel Air, covering his sizable personal overhead with a $35 million cash advance from AEG Live, the concert promoter that was planning to stage his London concerts. That loan, too, has been repaid.

Mr. Jackson's debts were spiraling out of control in other ways, too. A loan backed by Mijac carried a crushing 16.5% interest rate, to be paid out of royalties generated by the company. When the royalty payments fell short of the towering cost of servicing the debt, any unpaid interest was piled on to the principal. As a result, by the time of his death, the Mijac loan had reached $75 million, with $11 million due in annual interest, which was several million dollars more than the catalog was generating annually. The loan has now been refinanced with an interest rate of less than 4%. And thanks to increased album sales since Mr. Jackson's death and a new deal for public-performance royalties, the catalog is generating enough cash to pay off the refinanced loan a little more than a year from now.

Looking to raise cash Mr. Jackson had planned, then scrapped, an auction of most of his personal effects from Neverland, his 2,600-acre ranch near Santa Barbara. In 2008, after he had defaulted on a $24.5 million loan backed by the ranch itself, the property was spared from foreclosure when Colony Capital LLC, a Los Angeles real-estate investment firm, bought the note and put the property into a joint venture with Mr. Jackson. That venture is structured in such a way that Colony is responsible for the ranch's overhead, maintenance and tax costs.

If the property is sold, Colony is entitled to recover its costs, including the $24.5 million is paid to take over the busted loan, with the majority of the additional proceeds going to Mr. Jackson's estate. People with knowledge of the situation say that because of logistical issues, Neverland is unlikely to be converted into a public attraction like Elvis Presley's Graceland, making a sale the most likely outcome, though it doesn't appear imminent.

Write to Ethan Smith at ethan.smith@wsj.com
 
I love the WSJ. They always bring the most interesting details. Again, what can one say...the estate is in VERY GOOD & CAPABLE hands.

I think the WSJ & the Billboard report give us a broad view of the financial dealings of the estate.

God bless Mj! God bless his 3 wonderful kids!
 
Jackson Estate Steers to Next Crisis

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703438604575315364195884770.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories#articleTabs%3Darticle

Nearly a year after Michael Jackson's death, the managers overseeing his estate have stabilized its precarious financial situation, but at least one major liability still looms: a $300 million loan due at the end of this year.

Thanks to the surge of fan interest sparked by Mr. Jackson's death, the singer generated an estimated $200 million posthumously, allowing the estate to pay off tens of millions of dollars in debt and avert foreclosure on the suburban Los Angeles complex where the singer's mother lives.

Since Mr. Jackson's death last June 25, his businesses have been run by the singer's longtime lawyer, John Branca, and a music-industry veteran and personal friend of Mr. Jackson's named John McClain. Unlike traditional executors, Messrs. Branca and McClain are aggressively managing Mr. Jackson's affairs as a going concern. The estate's primary beneficiaries are Mr. Jackson's three young children and his 80-year-old mother, Katherine, who is now the children's guardian.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jackson's absence from the equation has eliminated the chaos and out-of-control spending that reigned during his life.

Using income from past music sales and advances against future ones, music-publishing royalties, a film-rights sale and various other licensing deals, the estate has paid off nearly $200 million of the $500 million debt the singer had used to fund his extravagant spending in his final years.

The estate has collected as much as $125 million in royalties and advances from Sony Corp.'s Sony Music, which has sold 31.5 million Jackson albums since his death and plans to distribute an album of previously unreleased music around November. Corporate sibling Sony Pictures paid another $60 million for the rights to "This Is It," the documentary about rehearsals for Mr. Jackson's planned comeback concert series.

Mijac, the publishing company that controls the copyrights to songs written by Mr. Jackson, is on track to generate $35 million in royalties. The estate is set to collect $11 million in dividends from Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the joint venture with Sony Corp. that controls 251 songs by the Beatles. Television and merchandise deals could generate another $10 million, while deals to create a videogame and two Cirque du Soleil shows based on Mr. Jackson's music are set to provide additional revenue later this year. The Sony Music deal guarantees Mr. Jackson's estate significant additional cash advances in coming years, too.

However, Mr. Jackson's biggest financial obligation remains unresolved. A $300 million loan from Barclays PLC, backed by his 50% stake in SONY/ATV, matures at the end of the year. To secure the loan in 2006, Mr. Jackson appealed for help from Sony, which dispatched two executives to meet him in Dubai and negotiate terms under which it would guarantee the loan.

At the time, Mr. Jackson was in danger of defaulting on a $270 million loan held by hedge fund Fortress Investment Group LLC. As part of the agreement under which Barclays ultimately refinanced that debt, Mr. Jackson granted Sony an option to buy half of his stake in the company at any time for a fixed price of $250 million. At the time that was a generous valuation, but Sony/ATV's value has since soared to around $2 billion.

The Jackson estate and Sony have held talks about whether the company will again guarantee a refinancing of the debt backed by Mr. Jackson's Sony/ATV stake. If it won't, the estate could be forced to sell its stake in Sony/ATV at a steep discount, though that would still generate enough cash to wipe out the Barclays loan with hundreds of millions to spare. But Sony may have an incentive to reach a deal on refinancing, because buying out Mr. Jackson's estate would require it to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for an asset it already effectively controls.

All of this stands in stark contrast to the state of affairs when Mr. Jackson died. Despite being poised for what was heralded as a major comeback concert series, his finances were in shambles and he was unable to meet some of his most basic financial obligations.

Among the unpaid bills at the time of his death, Mr. Jackson had not paid $341,000 to Thomas Mesereau, the lawyer who successfully defended him against charges of child molestation in 2005. That bill and many other creditors' claims, including invoices from several other law firms, have now been paid.

The singer was also months behind on utility bills for his longtime family home in Encino, Calif., where his mother, Katherine, now lives with his three children, along with the children of two of his brothers. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, owed nearly $9,000, was threatening to disconnect service. AT&T Inc. was owed $1,300.

More troubling, Mr. Jackson had fallen behind on the payments for a $5 million IndyMac loan secured by the house. The property was scheduled to enter foreclosure the day after Mr. Jackson died. A nearby condominium, four months behind on loan payments and homeowners' dues, was also threatened with foreclosure, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Jackson's representatives have now paid off those loans.

Mr. Jackson was living in a rented mansion in Holmby Hills, a ritzy neighborhood near Bel Air, covering his sizable personal overhead with a $35 million cash advance from AEG Live, the concert promoter that was planning to stage his London concerts. That loan, too, has been repaid.

Mr. Jackson's debts were spiraling out of control in other ways, too. A loan backed by Mijac carried a crushing 16.5% interest rate, to be paid out of royalties generated by the company. When the royalty payments fell short of the towering cost of servicing the debt, any unpaid interest was piled on to the principal. As a result, by the time of his death, the Mijac loan had reached $75 million, with $11 million due in annual interest, which was several million dollars more than the catalog was generating annually. The loan has now been refinanced with an interest rate of less than 4%. And thanks to increased album sales since Mr. Jackson's death and a new deal for public-performance royalties, the catalog is generating enough cash to pay off the refinanced loan a little more than a year from now.

Looking to raise cash Mr. Jackson had planned, then scrapped, an auction of most of his personal effects from Neverland, his 2,600-acre ranch near Santa Barbara. In 2008, after he had defaulted on a $24.5 million loan backed by the ranch itself, the property was spared from foreclosure when Colony Capital LLC, a Los Angeles real-estate investment firm, bought the note and put the property into a joint venture with Mr. Jackson. That venture is structured in such a way that Colony is responsible for the ranch's overhead, maintenance and tax costs.

If the property is sold, Colony is entitled to recover its costs, including the $24.5 million is paid to take over the busted loan, with the majority of the additional proceeds going to Mr. Jackson's estate. People with knowledge of the situation say that because of logistical issues, Neverland is unlikely to be converted into a public attraction like Elvis Presley's Graceland, making a sale the most likely outcome, though it doesn't appear imminent.

Write to Ethan Smith at ethan.smith@wsj.com

couldn't go five seconds without these published lies. who is ethan smith.. somebody else in the ether of the blogosphere?

it never fails to amuse me, how people kept forecasting MJ going into financial doom, but it never actually materializing. while they never reported on entertainment figures who DID go into bankruptcy, DID foreclose, DID lose property. they just can't stand the fact that Michael never had financial trouble.
 
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i don't like this part :

The Jackson estate and Sony have held talks about whether the company will again guarantee a refinancing of the debt backed by Mr. Jackson's Sony/ATV stake. If it won't, the estate could be forced to sell its stake in Sony/ATV at a steep discount, though that would still generate enough cash to wipe out the Barclays loan with hundreds of millions to spare. But Sony may have an incentive to reach a deal on refinancing, because buying out Mr. Jackson's estate would require it to pay hundreds of millions of dollars for an asset it already effectively controls.
 
i don't like this part :

they're lying. they've said shit like that, for years. they had to give MJ's estate 250 mill to distribute HIS published music. if they controlled it or he was in debt, they wouldn't have had to give him ANY money for that deal.
 
i don't like this part :

But that wont happen. Sony seems willing to guarantee the 300Mil loan once again...like they did in 2006 or 2007 after the Fortress debacle.

they're lying. they've said shit like that, for years. they had to give MJ's estate 250 mill to distribute HIS published music. if they controlled it or he was in debt, they wouldn't have had to give him ANY money for that deal.

Do you have any credible information that refute their statement? You are confusing matters..distributing his music has nothing to do with them guaranteeing the Barclays loan. An it is a fact that Sony got MJ out of the mess with Fortress & helped him settled the 2007 lawsuit.
 
But that wont happen. Sony seems willing to guarantee the 300Mil loan once again...like they did in 2006 or 2007 after the Fortress debacle.



Do you have any credible information that refute their statement? You are confusing matters..distributing his music has nothing to do with them guaranteeing the Barclays loan. An it is a fact that Sony got MJ out of the mess with Fortress & helped him settled the 2007 lawsuit.

all you have is media claims. not facts. you don't give anybody money if they owe you money. i'm not confusing any issue.
 
all you have is media claims. not facts. you don't give anybody money if they owe you money. i'm not confusing any issue.

well WSJ is a reputable industry paper. they report these kind of business news all the time. And they have in the past based their reports on lawsuits, sworn testimonies, signed contracts, business agreements, interviews with industry folks.

You are free to think whatever you want, but you need some backing up.
 
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well WSJ is a reputable paper. they report these kind of business news all the time. And they have in the past based their reports on lawsuits, sworn testimony, interviews with industry folks.

You are free to think whatever you want, but if you need some backing up.

no paper is reputable. they are politically motivated. you can come up with whatever you want. you won't prove your point. and..industry insiders? that's a laugh.

and while you're at it, perhaps i can ask you for some more money if i owe you money, since you seem to think it's not weird for somebody to keep giving money to somebody who is so perpetually in debt, supposedly.
 
no paper is reputable. they are politically motivated. you can come up with whatever you want. you won't prove your point. and..industry insiders? that's a laugh.

huh? :bugeyed Oh, you think they want to take down Obama?
:yes:
 
well WSJ is a reputable industry paper. they report these kind of business news all the time. And they have in the past based their reports on lawsuits, sworn testimonies, signed contracts, business agreements, interviews with industry folks.

You are free to think whatever you want, but if you need some backing up.

The Wall Street Journal is now owned by Rupert Murdoch:
I rest my case. :agree:
Here's the link read about his ownership:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118595206198884573.html
 
no paper is reputable. they are politically motivated. you can come up with whatever you want. you won't prove your point. and..industry insiders? that's a laugh.



144,000, i agree with you. I have caught the WSJ LYING about MJ just like other so-call reputable news organizations. Don't have much respect for the WSJ.
 
well WSJ is a reputable industry paper. they report these kind of business news all the time. And they have in the past based their reports on lawsuits, sworn testimonies, signed contracts, business agreements, interviews with industry folks.

You are free to think whatever you want, but if you need some backing up.


The WSJ is not the paper it once was.
 
well..i keep looking all over this board, and i see so many fans in heartbreak mode, right now, talking about how their so called 'friends' keep making jokes about Michael..even after his death..a person they never met. do you know what is responsible for that? the 'reputable' media.

there are hundreds of thousands of media. most of them are supposed to be reputable. yet, everything that haters think about MJ is copy and paste from that SAME media. the standout media had plenty of chances to refute the tabloids. but they didn't. they sounded like copy and paste from the tabs. NO exceptions. Every media outlet sounded like the tabloids, conerning him. NOBODY stood out as the exception. NOBODY. so, now, fans are faced with trying to save a reputation that DOESN'T need saving.
 
lol...i didn't know we were discussing Obama. where did that come from?

but we can get into talking about him, if you want.

it was a tongue in cheek statement because you mentioned the wsj is politically motivated.

The WSJ is not the paper it once was.

Stil...it remains a very reputable business paper. Look how influential they've been with Geithner (am sure i misspelled his name) & the Obama administration. They have been in the forefront of the current economy crisis...they are still the top rated business paper.
 
it was a tongue in cheek statement because you mentioned the wsj is politically motivated.

it is politically motivated. and politics doesn't just extend to the President of the United States. but there are plenty of people that will tell you that the president was getting blamed for things that sounded like they were outside his power, by 'reputable' media sources. and i don't necessarily support all that Obama does, but i can tell when media is politically motivated.

the word 'politics' just means who you like and who you don't like. it isn't just about government.

and if wsj is the best rated paper, that doesn't bode well for this country. the media hasn't decided whether or not there is still an economic crisis. some say we're getting out of it. some say we're not. but people are going to subscribe to media, whether or not it is reputable. there are people who think tmz is reputable, now. so, just because media is at the forefront and highly rated, that doesn't mean it is reputable. it just means, it's all we have.
 
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You have to separate the WSJ EDITORIAL PAGE from the rest of the paper.The EDITORIAL PAGE was always an arm of the REPUBLICAN PARTY. And doubly so, now that RUPERT MURDOCK is in charge.
 
the line between editorial and the rest of the outlet, has been blurred, where Michael is concerned. and, there's nothing more sinister than media which mixes arguable supposed truths, with lies. even the things that seem to be true, have two sides to them, so that makes THEM questionable, as well.
 
'In March, Sony Music Entertainment reached a deal with Jackson's estate to release 10 albums of the singer's music through 2017.'

So is it albums or projects?
 
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