There has been a recent surge in artists selling their music catalogs for hundreds of millions of dollars. Soon, we might be able to add Michael Jackson to that list.
According to Variety, Michael Jackson’s estate is finalizing a deal worth between $800-900 million dollars for the late artist’s music catalog. While there are not very many details on the deal, Sony and another possible financial partner are looking to buy 50% of the estate’s interest in Jackson’s publishing, music revenues, the “MJ: The Musical” Broadway show, and the upcoming “Michael” biopic “Michael, and maybe even more.
Sources close to MJ’s estate told TMZ they would never sell 100% of the catalog. They said that the only way that even a 50/50 deal would work was if they still retained 100% management and control of the record.
If this deal goes through, it will become the biggest music catalog purchase in history. It would surpass Bruce Springsteen, who sold his catalog for $500 million to Sony.
This news comes just a week after MJ’s nephew Jaafar Jackson was announced as the lead in the Antoine Fuqua-directed Michael Jackson biopic Michael. “I’m humbled and honored to bring my Uncle Michael’s story to life. To all the fans all over the world, I’ll see you soon,” he wrote on Twitter following the announcement.
