Sony to buy MJ's music catalogue
LOS ANGELES: American popstar Michael Jackson's estate has agreed to sell its remaining stake in a lucrative music catalogue to Sony Corp for $750 million, the entities announced on March 14.
The agreement for Jackson’s half-share of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalogue will give the company sole ownership of works by The Beatles, Bob Dylan and other hit making musicians, including Eminem and Taylor Swift.
The deal is another posthumous blockbuster deal for Jackson, whose estate has erased the singer's massive debts through a mixture of new music and movie ventures and re-releases of the singer's most popular music. Jackson's estate benefits his mother and three children, known as Prince, Paris and Blanket.
The sale does not include rights to Jackson’s master recordings or songs that he wrote, and the singer's estate will continue to have a stake in EMI Publishing, Inc.
"This transaction further allows us to continue our efforts of maximising the value of Michael's Estate for the benefit of his children," the co-executors of Jackson's estate, attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain, wrote in a statement. "It also further validates Michael’s foresight and genius in investing in music publishing."
Jackson purchased ATV portion of the catalogue in 1985 for $41.5 million, and he later merged it with Sony. The deal is expected to close by the end of March.