"The King of Pop": Michael Jackson's Estate to be Sold for Billions

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Half of the late pop icon Michael Jackson's copyright and publishing rights are up for sale, and the estimated sum is expected to reach anywhere between 800 and 900 million US dollars. The publishing giant Sony and a potential financial partner are rumored to be negotiating to take over a 50% stake in the estate, which includes the publishing house, income from recorded songs, the Broadway show "MJ: The Musical" and the upcoming biopic "Michael".

Biggest Music Catalog Deal Yet

If the information is accurate, the Jackson deal would be the largest offering to date on the music catalog market, and the price could even rise higher. This would surpass some of the biggest known catalog deals to date, such as Sony's acquisition of Bruce Springsteen’s publishing and recorded-music catalogs for a combined price rumored to be around $600 million, and the company's acquisition of Bob Dylan’s rights to his recorded-music catalog for an estimated $150 million to $200 million.

The publishing house Primary Wave Music already holds a share in Jackson's publishing catalog.

Sony's Connection to Michael Jackson

The Sony publishing house and its predecessor CBS have owned the catalog of recorded music for Jackson's entire solo career, as well as the last years of his career with the Jackson 5 family band.

In 2016, Sony Corp. reached a $750 million agreement with the estate to acquire the Jackson estate’s 50% stake in their joint venture, Sony/ATV Music Publishing. In 2018, Sony reported in an earnings report that as part of its $2.3 billion acquisition of EMI Music Publishing, it had acquired the Jackson estate’s 25.1% stake in that company for $287.5 million.

The Legacy of Michael Jackson

The catalog of recorded music is one of the most profitable in music history, with only Jackson's album "Thriller" being one of the two best-selling albums of all time. The late pop star won numerous music awards during his lifetime and continues to be remembered as a legendary figure in the music industry.