Sony Buys Michael Jackson’s Music Catalog for $600 Million Despite the Pop Star Calling Sony’s Former CEO the “Devil” Before His Death

Sony finally got its wish to own a major stake in Michael Jackson’s music catalog.

Billboard has reported Sony Music Group will pay $600 million for a stake in the late pop star Michael Jackson’s recorded masters catalog and publishing rights.

Jackson’s estate was making close to $75 million annually off Jackson’s publishing rights and masters catalog.

If alive, Jackson himself would be outraged over the deal, considering in 2002, Jackson called out Sony for “attempting to destroy” him.

Jackson gloated that Sony was mad at him for owning “half of Sony’s Publishing” and continued to call Sony’s CEO at the time, Tommy Motolla, the “devil.”

WATCH:

Sony Music buys half of Michael Jackson’s catalog for more than $600 million, and his music catalog becomes the most valued in history, settling at between $1.2 and $1.5 billion.

Let’s not forget he fought so hard for this NOT to happen. Michael Jackson exposed Tommy Mottola and… pic.twitter.com/LpFJQBCoUS

— JR (@jamster83) February 9, 2024

Per Billboard:

In what could be the largest valuation ever of a musician’s music assets, Sony Music Group has closed an agreement to buy half of Michael Jackson‘s publishing and recorded masters catalog in a deal that sources say valued those music assets somewhere above $1.2 billion. Other sources have suggested it might be as much as $1.5 billion. At those valuations, Sony will pay at least $600 million for its stake of the legendary rights.

That means that the Jackson deal, which closed late last year, is at a bigger valuation than the $1.2 billion that Queen is currently seeking. And whereas the Queen valuation includes, sources say, royalties from income streams beyond the masters and publishing, including from the Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, and theatrical productions using Queen’s music, Sony’s deal with the Michael Jackson estate does not include royalties from the Broadway play and other theatrical productions featuring Jackson’s music.

It may not, however, just be Jackson’s music that’s involved in the deal. Sources say the current deal includes non-Jackson-authored songs in his Mijac publishing catalog, which also includes the approximately 250-song Sly & the Family Stone publishing catalog as well as iconic songs written and/or performed by Jerry Lee Lewis, Jackie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield, Ray Charles, Percy Sledge and Dion.

Michael Jackson is rolling over in his grave. He despised Sony Music. pic.twitter.com/3dX1eDLci8

— MY NAME IS MY NAME (@ctreid89) February 10, 2024

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