Tommy Mottola talks about Michael Jackson in his book Hitmaker - Comprehensive summary

[8701girl]

yes he did. he mentions what she said and how he understands it. he explains for example how he made song / producer choices for Mariah and how he understand Mariah saw it as controlling. He also mentions their age differences had caused problems. Such as how 19 year old Mariah wanted to go out and celebrate her success and how Mottola wanted her to work on the next project and so on.

I wonder what mariah 's response will be to that

 

[ivy]

A Quote that's making the rounds on the Internet

“Michael Jackson was the most brilliant artist of our time. He went through tons of abuse in early childhood that scarred him for life, monumentally overwhelming success, public scrutiny, and various surgeries. That can take over someone’s psyche and isolate him. On top of that, he had an army of yes men who were there to grant his every request. Yes, Michael, yes, Michael, yes, Michael, yes. There was absolutely no one who stood up and told Michael Jackson reality. When sales of Invincible completely stalled, I was the one who had to deliver reality. I was the one who had to say, “No, Michael, we cannot and will not put millions more into the promotion of this album.” When somebody who’s accustomed to hearing only yes suddenly hears no, it’s only natural for him lash out.”

http://thesmithian.tumblr.com/post/41793310187/michael-jackson-was-the-most-brilliant-artist-of

 

[144000]

The next time somebody tells you that there is nobody foolish enough to argue with the definition of success, you know to think again. I don't care how many times you say yes to something..if it works, you keep saying yes. And you don't worry about the fools who say no, and you don't worry about what they think of you, because you can't have substance if you worry about somebody's foolish opinion of you. You can't move forward in life if you're worried about 'peer pressure'. Mottola remains foolish and he's a fool for life.
No matter how successful something is there is always somebody who is never satisfied, and disagrees with it. There were enough people, as stated before, who disagreed with the idea of inventing the light bulb.

If you're looking for something to come along in life that everybody agrees with, don't hold your breath..even if that thing that comes along is true and right. How many millions in money does it take for Mottola to be satisfied? Don't ask him. He'll never be satisfied.

And the greatest way to lose your credibility if you believe an artist is not of enough cash worth, is if you decide to write a book on him, designed to CASH in.

Hello, Mottola. You're not credible.
Tabloids are worth more than you.

 

[Ashtanga]

A Quote that's making the rounds on the Internet

“Michael Jackson was the most brilliant artist of our time. He went through tons of abuse in early childhood that scarred him for life, monumentally overwhelming success, public scrutiny, and various surgeries.That can take over someone’s psyche and isolate him. On top of that, he had an army of yes men who were there to grant his every request. Yes, Michael, yes, Michael, yes, Michael, yes. There was absolutely no one who stood up and told Michael Jackson reality. When sales of Invincible completely stalled, I was the one who had to deliver reality. I was the one who had to say, “No, Michael, we cannot and will not put millions more into the promotion of this album.” When somebody who’s accustomed to hearing only yes suddenly hears no, it’s only natural for him lash out.”

http://thesmithian.tumblr.com/post/41793310187/michael-jackson-was-the-most-brilliant-artist-of

 

[jamba]

I agree. I have never understood why they even bothered to film the "Cry" video without Michael? They could have put the money behind making a video for "Unbreakable".

I read that Michael refused to participate in Cry--that film was directed by Nick Brandt--who had directed other great MJ films--Childhood, Stranger in Moscow, and Earth Song. I assume MJ refused b/c of the dispute with Sony.

It is true that TM was replaced at Sony in 2003. So maybe the fallout from Invincible affected his career as well? To me it's crazy they didn't do more promotion--it is a great album! TM is not telling the whole story IMO--there's more going on here.

That's a really good question. My guess is that WMCIG was not from Invincible, and Cry was maybe chosen as a low-budget post 9/11 song instead of it - considering that they weren't ready to invest much anymore.

Howard Mann supposedly has the masters for WMCIG.

They can't claim Unbreakable vs YRMW was for any sales reasons, because it would be the lead single. So why not use the one MJ wanted and IMO the better and more interesting song?

Cry seemed to be done intentionally so that when it would be released it would rate low and so not give them any incentive to do any more promo for other singles. And like Unbreakable, they also knew MJ didn't want to do it.

I don't see why doing what MJ wanted would've caused any money problems for them.

Butterflies charted at #2 on the R&B charts and #14 on the main chart without any music video, so why not make a video and help it go further? If it had had a video to begin with, it would've scored much higher.

I'm not one of the believers in a big Sony conspiracy, but I feel like they did seem entirely disinterested in letting Invincible have a chance at all. It still did better than most albums do, so to just seem to step back and hope it failed the way it did, just seems odd.

I agree it is odd not to promote the album. IMO that was a big mistake and maybe Sony regretted it and that's why they bumped TM???

Re YRMW vs. Unbreakable, mayne they thought Unbreakable had too clear an in your face reference to the allegations and they wanted to avoid that subject so they went with YRMW instead as more of a safe bet. I actually love both of them.

It's so obvious Sony wanted the catalogue but what I don't understand is why Michael didn't leave the company after the trial. I thought he was even with his contract when he released The Ultimate Collection Box Set.

This is a mystery to me: when did that 91 contract actually expire. The deal was for 6 original albums, but he only did 4 (including Blood on the Dance Floor). Also it was a 15 year contract. I wonder how or if it was resolved. Technically, compliations albums wouldn't fulfill the contract for 6 original albums, but I read that MJ used the argument of conflict of interest (that Branca represented him, but Branca's law firm also represented Sony in the deal) as a lever to break the contract.

 

[mj_brainiac]

Here's an article about why TM was fired from Sony
http://blogcritics.org/music/article/tommy-mottola-canned-by-sony/

 

[CaptainEoLove85]

Well this is just Mottola's perspective and judging by Michael's behavior, I don't trust Mottola's side of the story. They simply didn't promote the Invincible album enough. Michael didn't get the singles he wanted, the short films, the delayed release of the "What More Can I Give" single, ect. Yeah, Michael didn't just "snap" for no reason because I don't believe he was the kind of person to go on the attack for no reason. So, I trust in Michael's story more.

 

[Kingofpop4ever3000]

I heard that they gave Michael an advance on the album which he would have to pay back. If so, how was he supposed to pay that back unless he gave up the catalogue if they were going to stop the promotion on the album?

 

[arnebrits]

i still wonder where where the mj fans to buy invincible????

 

[qbee]

I heard that they gave Michael an advance on the album which he would have to pay back. If so, how was he supposed to pay that back unless he gave up the catalogue if they were going to stop the promotion on the album?

Well apparantly the profit from the Invincible covered any advance . Plus Michael had other assets beside his catalog at that time. He was still living large when the Bashir interview was broadcast. He still held his catalog in 2009 although he was paying for loans he secured with it. Sony even helped bail him out when they could have swiped it out from under him by letting him default. Branca coul have sold his 25% to Sony to give them control but he sold it back to MJ to help even the playing field. Even after his death his Estate still holds it. So Even His death would not place his half in Sony's hands as some were claiming was the objective of his death. It is still an asset for Michael's children .. and it has even grown more valuable. I believe had MJ lived he would still own it due to his earning power and his attorney Branca's legal/business savy.

I believe Michael had a right be upset and angry over Sony's lack of promotion at that time. He felt they abandoned him. Which they did. He felt with the short films and singles and more promotion Invincible would bounce back. They didnt give it a chance. TM was not going to give MJ any thing further as he stated. They should have listened to Michael. I believe with the singles videos and promo appearances Invincible would have been a huge success. Look at the turn out in NY alone. for his concerts and virgin record signing. What more can i give concerts etc. People loved Michael. 911 hurt the economy a lot too. but SONY really did suck big time during this period when Matolla was in control.


Moving forward ... Just some thoughts based on events since that time period

Once TM was removed from the company MJ and Sony's relationship slowly repaired over the years to the point he even drew up aNEW contract with SONY in 2007 for the T25 Album. Sony has changed management and the same people MJ felt had betrayed him were no longer there. The new management promoted T25 for MJ very heavy with various events and promotions ALL year long. It was Great. They created a new website for MJ thriller 25 and brought many fans to it. They interviewed everyone involved with the making of thriller and promoted them on the Sony website and on itunes. they were called Podcasts and were great promotion and publicity. They sponsored flash mobs and partnered with Soby Thrillicious Water for promotions. They spondored major TV spots on a the morning talk shows and the evening music shows to celebrate teh Anniversary. So maybe that was a test between them and MJ to prove they would support him. (just speculating here) But Michael did attend a special Sony event in 2008 to except an award FROM Sony for his 25th Anniversary of Thriller.

Sony also Created a New Website for TII and were promoting TII for Michael as well with promos and statements from Michael posted on the Sony Site "THE TIME HAS COME" They linked to Ticket master for the sales. and streamed his announcement for TII. So seems they had some kind of agreement in place to promote Michael's TII concert series as well. Im Not saying MJ and the NEW Sony exectutives were the best of buds, we dont know. but MJ and Sony were working together again in some capacity for the TII project as well. No on has to like Sony but that is just the company name and they are no longer the same people who betrayed MJ over Invincible. Fans can say they were not working together again all they want by continuing to use what happened in the PAST - but the proof is in the pudding that was being served at that time - That they were. What Michael's plans past that were .. all we can do is speculate.

 

[HIStory]

It's Mottola's side of the story and I don't know how much it is true or not true.

Two notes, though:

About Invincible: Sony was interfering with Michael's artistic choices - such as which song should be the first single of the album, which songs should be chosen as singles, so if it did not produce the initial success they hoped for Sony/Mottola needs to accept shared responsibility for that. I think it would have been more fair if Mottola had mentioned that.

My feeling is though, that around the time when Invincible was released Michael did have some very bad advisors in his life (Schaffel, Wiesner, Koinitzer) who might have fired him up against Motolla and Sony, whisper things in his ears about them, and make him do and say unwise and undiplomatic things. I really think those three did a LOT of harm in Michael's life.

 

[Carmour260]

^^^^I agree. Also, let's remember Invinicible came out in 2001. I believe 9/11 had a lot to do with that. Not just Michael, but the entire music industry at the time. Artists cancelled their world tours that year, including Janet, who was supposed to go overseas as well, but ended her tour in Hawaii with a HBO Special, I believe in order to make up for the loss. Good move, Janet!

I may be alone with this, but I believe Invincible came out at the wrong time. It should've came out between 1999-2000. Rodney Jerkins was the hottest producer everyone wanted to work with at the time, until 2001 came and it faded out. I think Michael did not want to do the 30th Anniversary Special either. Remember, he broke his foot earlier that year as well. That's a lot of pressure. He was not himself those nights. Just about everyone was not there at that time either. It just wasn't complete and you can tell from the footage from both nights, pro and ameteur. PLUS, Michael was still dealing with that back injury he suffered during that dramatic fall during the MJ & Friends performance in Munich in 1999.

I didn't like the way the 30th Anniversary Special was edited, now that I look back. Also, Michael didn't like to look back a lot. He said it himself, but I'm sure he appreciated everyone who came out to support him, even though they were dealing with their own problems at the time as well. "Unbreakable" would have been a great breakout single, ever since I first heard it. Don't get me wrong, I loved "You Rock My World" as well, but Michael wasn't feeling it, even in that short film he wasn't really into it. Just going through the motions.

So yes, he did have a lot of bad advisers and yes people around him. The 1993 allegations played a huge part of it.

 

[144000]

Tommy Mottola : “The attack was sad and pathetic. As the head of the company, I remained above the fray and most certainly did not comment on it. Now that Michael has passed there’s little benefit to me in bringing the incident back up. But if you know me, you know that I’m not the kind of guy to avoid it.”

ok. T. Mottola is one to remain above the fray vs. the term 'sad and pathetic'. an inflammatory phrase. Plus..wait till MJ is dead. Plus, it's in a book for sale. A study in opposites. He is above the fray, and, he's not one to avoid it. I guess..that's two cars travelling in the same direction...i guess. I guess I'm dumb, but for some reason..i don't agree with his statements travelling in the same consistent direction.

Tommy Mottola: “Anybody who punctured the balloons that Michael blew up around him was not aroundMichael Jackson very long. In other words, if you said no to Michael one time because it was the right thing to do, you’d be gone.”

Tommy Mottola: “But there was virtually nobody around Michael who could speak truth to him because he was Michael Jackson, King of Pop, and he was writing the checks. He surrounded himself with people who said yes simply to be around him or because they were cashing his checks. Michael, what would you like? Michael, how would you like that? Michael, we can do this. Michael, of course we can do that. Yes, Michael. Yes, Michael. Yes, Michael, yes. That put me in somewhat of a unique position. I was in charge of Sony Music— and Sony was writing his checks. I didn’t confront him very often. But I might have been the only person in the world who was able to say “I don’t think that’s right” to Michael Jackson. From the beginning, part of him resented that, but mostly he respected that.”

So, what was Mottola doing around Michael Jackson in the first place? If Mottola had such a radar to see MJ as a self destructive delusional artist, he could have worked for any other artist in the industry from square 1. Plus, did Mottola work for free? Did he do anything to reduce support for HIS OWN salary, and HIS OWN interests? I have yet to meet a person who is intentionally interested in sabotaging their own interests, but, for some reason they are the almighty and wise and feel total freedom in LIMITING the interest of somebody OTHER than themselves.

Tommy Mottola: “So you can see how differently our views were of the same numbers from the start.”

Tommy Mottola: “But Michael was very right about one thing. As high as those numbers were, and as profitable as they were for the company, they were shrinking.”

Again, If you are Mottola, you will not tolerate anybody misquoting you or interpreting your statement. But apparently, it's ok to be the all wise one in interpreting and determining the meaning of the quote of somebody else. How do you know Michael was saying that the numbers were shrinking? How do you know he was not saying he was being sabotaged? How does anyone other than Michael really know? At this time, post June 25th 2009, it's safe to 'quote' somebody else.

Tommy Mottola “There are few charges more serious than molestation, and in the case of Michael Jacksonthere was little we at Sony could do but step back and wonder how it would play out. It was our job to handle the public relations as it pertained to his music and recording career, but we couldn’t do anything in these legal matters other than support him in any way he asked. Looking back now, it’s obvious that Michael’s career had already peaked by this time, though he refused to acknowledge it. Living in a delusional bubble permitted him to think these allegations and the press reports were not going to affect the way people thought about him. The reality is his career was certainly never the same from the moment that charge hit the airwaves.”

Oh yes..I, Tommy Mottola support the delusional Michael Jackson.

Tommy Mottola: “There was also a rendition of the Charlie Chaplin masterpiece, “Smile,” included on the new material, which was one of the most beautiful vocal performances I’d ever heard in my career. The song, all about pushing through pain with a smile, is touching and emotional, and I’d go as far as to call what Michael did with it perfection. Amid all the chaos within and around him, you couldn’t help but feel for Michael. Especially knowing that underneath everything he went through he was really a good guy.”

So, in light of all the other Mottola quotes, if I'm Michael, I'm supposed to trust him pacifying me by calling me a good guy? What's Motolla's version of a good guy? I'm confused. Perhaps I'm supposed to be Mottola's version of a good guy? What is that? The most postive thing I can say about that, is I'm confused. Either you believe in me, or you don't. It's that simple. The world is a hard enough place as it is.

2001

Michael was working on Invincible. Mottola says Michael would write and look at 120 songs before he edited and selected the songs that would make the cut.

Michael asked Mottola to come to Hit Factory at Miami and Mottola went there with his wife Thalia. They find the whole studio empty and Michael at a recording truck on the parking lot. (Mottola mentions there were 5-6 recording rooms and each of them cost $5,000 per day to rent)

Michael tells to them he likes the recording truck because it’s quiet, peaceful and private and he can think there. Mottola says he was worried because by that time the recording expenses had exceeded $30 Million and he hasn’t heard a single song.

Michael tells Mottola that this would be biggest album and it would sell over 100 Million units.

Tommy Mottola: “I know that was how he justified all of this in his own mind. To him, it didn’t matter how much he spent— or borrowed— to create his art. He thought he would make it back as soon as the album was released and became a megahit. And all of his handlers— and I mean all of them, every single one, allowed this to happen. No one said no. Ever. You only said yes to Michael Jackson or else you were history.”

There are people out there, who are in professions where their whole life could end tomorrow. They don't develop the attitude..'i gotta look over my shoulder' To a person I always heard..'I'm not going through my life being afraid. I'm going to live my life.' I have yet to hear different. Throughout the history of music, if any artist has had half the success of Michael Jackson, there would be people out there going full speed ahead with promotion, without fear of repercussions from the public. And, if the record company likes the song, you never hear the end of it. Do they consider the public's feelings in THOSE cases? I can only speak from my own personal place. I hear Psy on overload right now. Nobody in that record company cares if I hate the overplaying of the song on the radio, and nobody in that record company fears that I won't buy that record. ( i didn't buy it because of overload). So...thirty plus years of the most unbelievable stratospheric success in the history of music wasn't enough to go on a fearless ride with The King of Pop? Again, I see the total opposition of a representative of a record company's two philosophies coming out of the same lying mouth.

 

[144000]

Part 2

I'd like to add that Mottola says Michael justified in his own mind that Invincible would sell 100 million copies.
To that, I say, unless you are an athlete or an artist, you can't step inside their mind and be an authority on their thinking. Again, It's easy to be the outsider and say Michael should have tempered his thinking. But that's why he was Michael and they were not. If Michael didn't think in the apparently non politically correct seemingly gradiose confident fashion, I surmise, he could not have gone as far as he has gone. You get out of life what you put into it, in my experience. These famous people..athletes, artists, the ones that millions come to see, usually give interviews where I hear them give rather grand thoughts about their own confidence. To me, there is a correlation between that and the fact that millions come to see them. Whether a person, in their life will or will not think along those lines, It's up to the individual to decide whether or not they will be grand in their thinking, think lonely thoughts that others find delusional, or decide not to...rock the boat with their thinking. That's just my personal view..but..the law of physics..the universe...whatever force you put out there..that force is coming back for you.

Mottola says Sony was advancing Michael tens of millions of dollars for the rent of the studio space, the producers, writers for the short films and so on. Mottola says Michael also went to the banks to get loans using Sony/ATV as collateral. Mottola says this put Michael in a very vulnerable position; Invincible had to be highly successful to cover all these millions of dollars of costs / debt. Mottola says everyone at Sony was shocked why Michael was advised not to do such decisions by his own people.

Mottola says after several years and $40 Million in costs Michael handed them Invincible album. Mottola saysSony thought Invincible was good but not Michael’s best work. However given the already high costs and how long it took for it to be finished, they did not ask Michael to go back and make some other tracks.

Mottola says that Sony helped arranged a deal with CBS to do a TV celebration of Michael’s 30th career anniversary at Madison Square Garden. This would propel into a tour and all of which will help Invincible sales.

Mottola says the Madison Square Garden concerts were a success, even the high cost tickets were sold, Michael had made $7 Million from the 2 concerts. It would have been the perfect promotion but the next day 9 /11 attacks happened and obviously no one was talking about Michael Jackson.

Michael’s Invincible album gets released, it immediately goes to Number 1 but within a month it was out of Top 10. Invincible had sold 8 Million units, the sales numbers were disappointing for everyone and not enough to cover the $40 Million expenses. Mottola says according to Michael’s perception this was not acceptable and Sony had failed him. Michael would call Dave Glew and ask him to do anything to get the album back at number one.

Tommy Mottola : “When you are used to hearing “Yes, Michael, yes, Michael, yes, Michael, yes,” from everybody who is around you, it must be unbearable to hear, “No, Michael, we cannot and will not put millions more into the promotion of this album.” Sales had completely stalled, and that was after we had already spent a global marketing budget of more than $ 25 million.”

So, they paid for his space, then decided I didn't buy a copy of Invincible, so they scaled back and told Michael he could not do what they paid him the rental space to do, because, in effect..he did it. Yep. That makes sense. (sarcasm).

By the way..I did buy a copy of Invincible. 14 times. But I don't count. Oh no. Somebody is spying on me, and knows what I buy and don't buy. Wow. I better look over my shoulder.

In conclusion..and to mention the most heartbreaking event in American History, because I have to, to make my point. My observation of 911...and any tragedy that has ever happened in comparison..a saying from many years back has always been adhered to, by the entertainment world. That saying is..'The Show Must Go On'.
Please..I am appalled, that suddenly, they blame 911 for singling Michael out to 'scale back' on promotion. Hollywood has never scaled back on show business after tragedies. NEVER. That's where that phrase comes from. You know what? Michael came out in times square to attempt to heal New York City by just being there for them. Just being there. And everybody paused, including Michael. But nobody ever stops trying to make a living, and make income for their families. They don't have a choice. Neither does Michael. The fact that Michael was so astronomically big, if anything, should have been continually embraced, because it would only mean more jobs. If anything..jobs are needed to try to bring a community back to normal. Obviously, the economy is important, and spending makes an economy robust. If I want my country to survive, am I supposed to not invest in the companies? If my brother runs a auto company, and a tragedy happens..after we grieve, am I going to my brother, and deciding to tell him, that life stops here, and I won't buy a car to support his company, and him? And I would like to think that if I am the one that passes away, that my wish isn't a selfish one..that everybody else's life and mode of making a living must stop, forever...or..for that matter, be dramatically scaled back. For when I lived..I didn't seek to scale back my own attempt to make a living.

And if Mottola is NOT singling out Michael and using 911, then what's Motolla's excuse?

I have to go out on a limb and say Michael seemed to never limit himself in his thinking. There was such a freedom and refusal to put a ceiling on himself..that I felt it way over here. It was refreshingly healing for me in my slum of an environment. To me, it CERTAINLY was unusual. I can't fault him for that. For, if he didn't do it, I wouldn't have his music.

To me, Invincible is his greatest achievement, because of the results of the attempt by others to put a ceiling on it..which no one can deny happened. We're still talking about the album, twelve years later. And again, unless you don't count as a person..there are still people buying the album in current real time.

I ask again, over all the years I've been around...certainly through all of Invincible's years, and all the MJ fansites I've been on, I have yet to hear a person so methodically and completely talk about every song on this album, as if they studied it and heard it more than once in an environment, that everybody agrees, there was a record low amount of radio airplay for this album, than any other one by such an immensely popular artist, in history. The only conclusion I can draw is, all those people talking so knowledgeably about the album, bought at least one copy. Now I'm talking 12 years, non stop from a guy who spent plenty of ( i have too much time on my hands style) time on MJ fansites. Of course, if you didn't buy a copy, you're in a position where I can't prove otherwise..but i'll take the flaming..and say...you did.

So, to me, Invincible is the biggest most successful 'failure' I've seen in my entire life. To me, that's a more solid proof of his unfathomable sales overall, than Thriller, which nobody questioned at the time. You're much more believable in the face of adversity than you are in the face of people pumping sunshine up your skirt.

Michael did a good job of transcending both versions of success.
The reality is, that with what Sony and Mottola did, You shouldn't know about the album Invincible. But you do. There must be a reason. And please..don't marginalize the MJ fanbase. I'm not just talking about today. I'm talking about a twelve year period's worth of fans.

The biggest misconception of the out of touch with reality Mr. Mottola is..and I'm talking to him..The music industry is not aimed at you, Mottola. It's aimed at me. The fan. And you are out of touch with me. And Michael knew that. I remember one of his first quotes. 'It's about word of mouth' He meant me. The fan. Not you..the mind controller. Somehow, your idea of numbers doesn't include me. And with Michael's passionate thinking, I can understand the way he lashed out at you for what you did. It's a lonely way of lashing out, but that doesn't make it untrue.
And what is the ultimate definition of success? Someone is always saying..it could be better. How much? What configuration? There's always a what if.
I guess..I'm satisfied with Michael's success. Through everything.

And I can't credit Mottola and Sony for Invincible's success. Yeah. They latched on. They saw talent way back when, because of all the screaming fans. And with that comes money. But the law of math is, you don't get more pie if you cut a piece away. You get less pie, left over.
So, why does Invincible non sensibly still thrive if something was cut away from it?
I credit the music on the album for that. And the artist behind it.
BY law, No album survives the treatment the Invincible album and Michael Jackson got.
There's only one reason that law of gravity was skipped over in this case.
That reason is Michael Jackson. I do give props to one other man in the beginning. Yetnikoff (sp) back then. What I have trouble with is anybody who changed their position as the years passed, in order to betray Michael.

Oh yeah. Thomas Mottola is 'The Hitmaker' by scaling back, because Tom, alone, the latest fifteen minute piggyback on the back of a thirty plus years of massive success artist, at the time, knows that the entire world thinks Invincible is not good enough. And that's his only formula for scaling back. That makes plenty of sense to me?
What planet am I on, anyway? Does that make sense to you? Because..for.uhm..some reason..that..doesn't make sense to me.

And..oh yeah..no memorable accumulation of negative comments about the supposedly unrelaseable 1st single, Unbreakable, over these twelve years, either. The abundance of positivity was so great, and still is, that's all I remember.

 

[OnirMJ]

Bull***t in my opinion. They released You Rock My World which is a great song and it peaked at #10. So what? They should have continued to promote the album with Butterflies, Heaven Can Wait, Whatever Happens, Threatened. But no, they released one of the worst MJ song ever (Cry). And What More Can I Give which is a great song, why the refused to release that? Because it wasn't on the album, so what? It should have been released under a different name (like USA for Africa). That album could have sold 15 MIL then easily and 5 more over the years.

 

[ScaredOfTheMoon]

i still wonder where where the mj fans to buy invincible????

I can only speak for myself but I bought it at my local record store the day it came out. I bought the silver version and the red one (later got all colours)


About TM/Sony, it has always been so confusing and such a mess to me. I was only 15 when it happened and it was hard for me to understand exactly what was going on in the feud, but I did believe Michael. I didn't believe (and I still don't) that Michael would ever say such things about another person unless it was true.

It seems TM is just trying to make himself look better and making MJ look like this person who was manipulated and misused by all these yes men around him. He is pretty much doing the same thing everyone else is doing in terms of trying to make themselves look better by saying these things about MJ.

 

[ivy]

I heard that they gave Michael an advance on the album which he would have to pay back. If so, how was he supposed to pay that back unless he gave up the catalogue if they were going to stop the promotion on the album?

well he didn't give up the catalog to pay it back and Sony didn't exercise the option to get half of Michael's share - 25% of the catalog when they had the chance.

It's a fact that Michael felt that they wanted to get his catalog, but over a decade later Michael's catalog is still owned by Michael safe and sound.

^^^^I agree. Also, let's remember Invinicible came out in 2001. I believe 9/11 had a lot to do with that. Not just Michael, but the entire music industry at the time.

Yes I think so too. Mottola was right in at least to one regard - when 9/11 happened no one talked about the 30th anniversary concerts and they planned to use them as a promotion tool. Cancellation of the Invincible tour also had an effect. Then add to that the already existing issue with the Napster and illegal downloading of music , the sales numbers were low.

I think unfortunate timing also had an effect on the sales numbers.

 

[bad25]

i don't believe him.....

 

[OnirMJ]

Such a great album, by the way. I own 6 copies, red, green, blue, orange & 2 silver ones.

 

[Smooth72]

i don't believe him.....

He is a snake. When MJ first gave him Invinceable he told him it was not good enough. That's when MJ went and made new tracks for the album. From what I understand the original tracks he submitted were much better. IMO the dance tracks were weak. Heartbreaker, invincable and unbreakable were weak in terms of MJ tracks. Rodney's beats just did not work. The vocals on those tracks were just about perfect. There is a ton of toons left over from that session that I would bet are killer.. That was a odd time for MJ. His appearance and behavior just were not right. Too much pressure is what I think. Then a few years later all hell broke loose. The 03 allegations were fabricated to ruin MJ for ever. I just don't get why he died during this is it. If anything was going to kill him
I would have thought the trial would have. I'm not the conspiracy guy but something was definately going on right after or during invincable. **** TM he's a snake. Two people I wish never had came in contact with MJ are Matolla and Thome.

 

[StellaJackson]

Despite all the water that's gone under the bridge, what Motolla said in this book seems a fair assessment. It's also because of everything that happenend that I think the Estate would have been better signing with a different label and having a fresh start.

 

[Tinkerbell88]

An interview by CYinterview.com with two industry insiders Cory Rooney and Chris Apostle:

http://www.examiner.com/article/cor...hael-jackson-his-effect-on-the-music-business

"...CY: The comments he made about Tommy Mottola many years ago, the comments he wasn’t happy with the album he released back in 2002. It was 30 million dollars that was put behind it, but were you surprised when he made those very candid comments calling Tommy Mottola a bunch of different things?

CR: “I was not surprised. Like I said, he didn’t really feel like he had people in his corner at the record company. For the most part, I don’t think people really showed him the love and respect that they should’ve been showing him at the record company. True, they may have spent 30 million dollars on the record, but at the same time the business affairs on that record was set up to the point where Michael couldn’t win if he wanted win. You understand?”

CY: Yeah.

CR: “They set it up and they put such a high marker on the record in terms of his recoupment and things like that. It was kind of a lose…lose situation. And they did that like to dangle a carrot and say ok, we want you to do the whole thing. We want you to sell records. We want you to tour. They thought that he was going to go running after the carrots saying, ‘Man, I gotta do all this so I can recoup.’

CY: Chris, thoughts?

CA: “A powerful artist like Michael, he’s not the first artist that has ever decided when he’s not comfortable at his home, the label to sit there and decides he’s going to take some shots and say his piece. When artists at his level aren’t comfortable they say things. Someone like him, who only dealt with the top level – Japan and Mottola and stuff like that, he came out and said he’s fine. I’m sure the frustration level was out of control. There is a lot of circumstances that pushed him to that point.

The thing that I’m so brutally offended about and it’s only a rumor, but it’s something I really believe, but I really think he got blackmailed in that whole scandal thing. I think at some point the truth will come out. This man gave people millions and millions of dollars to philanthropic stuff. Never comes out what he did. I think his reactions were natural and I’m sure he was getting pushed. If you look at the quality of his work Chris, go back to Off The Wall, which is my favorite Michael Jackson record. But every single record, I don’t care if you go to Dangerous, any single one, these records are perfect, blue book standard records, nothing but hits..."

 

[Electro]

I don't understand why some fans think Unbreakable would have been a bitter first single.
The song may have strong lyrics and power... but its not a good song musically, its an album filler.
Heartbreaker, Cry, Whatever Happens for example... are much better songs.
Anyway, just my 2 cents on this... sorry for the off topic.

 

[arnebrits]

I don't understand why some fans think Unbreakable would have been a bitter first single.
The song may have strong lyrics and power... but its not a good song musically, its an album filler.
Heartbreaker, Cry, Whatever Happens for example... are much better songs.
Anyway, just my 2 cents on this... sorry for the off topic.

i thought because mj want unbreakable as the first single instead of you rock my world

 

[Gaz]

Me thinks a Q&A is in order here, Michael is not here to refute argue what TM is saying but we have been around long enough to see everything that happened so its on us to ask those all important question's.

Let me know your thoughts on this guys.

 

[mthalen]

Thanks for this!
A lot of this actually makes a lot of sense: we all know Michael was surround by yes men (hi, Conrad).
And no matter how you look at it, Sony had a business to run. If they spent 50 million and the album wasnt selling, why put more money into a bottomless well?

 

[marebear]

He got one thing right and that was Michael was the most brilliant artist of our time.

Michael stood up for himself and that was a problem. If you look back Michael always kept quiet or didn't say much about things. I think he surprised people by that. Sometimes I wish he would have spoken up more about things but I respect his decision not to. But this was about his work and he was passionate and it was so important to him. Michael was in the business most of his life and everyone practically says that he was great to work with and a fair person. It wasn't about ego or anything like that. Michael had a strong work ethic and believed in quality work. He wanted to give people the best.

 

[Snow White luvs Peter Pan]

The only reason TM said those things about Michael is the fact he was publicly humiliated and didn't expect an artist of such caliber was that outspoken and frank at that moment, he didn't like it and he's still resented because that mess caused he was fired from Sony.

 

[etoile 37]

There never was any question in my mind, then or now, that all of Michael’s intentions were loving and good, and that he was a kind soul.”

That's an interesting thing to say coming from him... If you had never done Michael wrong and he went and called you a racist devil in front of the whole world, would you call him loving and kind? I would think he's a very mean person to attack me like that for no reason. So this quote right there tells me Michael didn't lie. If Tommy Mottola really had never done him wrong, he wouldn't call Michael a nice person. Mottola knows what he did and he knows he deserved Michael's backlash.

 

[jamba]

According to Joe Vogel, Invincible was scheduled for release Nov. 9, 1999. Too bad it got pushed back so that it didn't appear until right after 9/11. What about "Break of Dawn'? I love it. They were fools not to promote the album more. So what if you spent 50 million getting it to that point--if you just drop it, you lose the investment you already made.

The other thing to consider is the music critics trashed that album so bad it was disgraceful.