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In what is likely the largest transaction for the work of a solo musician, Sony has completed a deal to acquire half of Michael Jackson’s recorded masters and publications.
The deal values the music assets at more than $1.2 billion, the sources said. Billboard. The outlet also estimated that Sony will pay at least $600 million for its participation. An attorney for Jackson’s estate declined to comment. Rolling Stone.
Last February, Variety reported that Jackson’s estate was in negotiations seeking between $800 million and $900 million for half of their interest in the singer’s music catalog. At the time, Billboard assessed the estate earned about $75 million a year, with assets including ownership of master recordings, publishing of Jackson’s portion of his songs, the singer’s Mijac publishing catalog and royalties from entertainment. theatrical performances based on his iconic music.
In 2016, 21 years after Jackson and Sony formed Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Sony bought his half of the company in a deal that gave Jackson’s estate $750 million. Jackson first acquired ATV Music Publishing, which owned the publishing rights to most of the Beatles’ music, in 1985 for $41.5 million. The singer merged his stake in ATV with Sony Music to form Sony/ATV eleven years later.
Although Jackson’s legacy has faced multiple allegations of child sexual abuse, he remains one of the best-selling artists of all time. These claims came under renewed scrutiny following the 2019 release of the HBO documentary, Leaving Neverland, in which Wade Robson and James Safechuck claimed that Jackson, who died in 2009, groomed and sexually abused them for years when they were children. Jackson and his estate have repeatedly denied the allegations.
This article was updated at 12:44 a.m. ET on February 10, 2024 to include that a representative of Jackson’s estate declined to comment.