The executors of Michael Jackson’s estate have entered into talks with Sony Corp. to determine ownership of about 100 unreleased songs and how best to market them.
The tracks are leftovers from the studio albums Jackson recorded for Sony. Rob Wiesenthal, chief financial officer of Sony’s U.S. operations, says that most of the songs are owned by MJ’s estate or by Sony. He says that the master recordings, which include everything recorded while making the albums, are controlled by Sony, but full ownership of the masters will eventually revert back to Jackson’s estate.
Wiesenthan said he met with John McClain yesterday. McClain, who is a former music executive and friend and manager of the late singer, is one of the estate’s executors. The other executor, John Branca, was Jackson’s lawyer for most of his solo career.
According to Wiesenthal, when Jackson recorded the 2001 release “Invincible,” he and Sony spent more than $35 million in order to create all of the tracks. The majority of those tracks, however, didn’t make it onto the album. There are also many, many unreleased tracks from other albums as well.
So now, the focus for Sony and the estate executors is to sort through everything that Jackson recorded and figure out who has an ownership interest in each recording. For example, some Producers may claim that they have a stake in certain tracks.
Says Wiesenthal:
It will get worked out. It will take time.”
Source: MJFC / bloomberg.com
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