Michael Has 100 Songs To Be Released After His Death - Dallas Cowboys Forum

Hostile · 06-29-2009

Michael Jackson's Songs Waiting For Posthumous Release

March 1st, 2009 1:30pm EST

Michael Jackson has recorded more than 100 songs in secret - but is refusing to release the tracks until after his death, according to a biographer.

The Thriller singer has amassed a stack of tunes but only wants them to be heard by his children - Prince, 11, Paris Katherine, 10, and five-year-old Prince Michael II - after he dies, according to Ian Halperin, author of forthcoming book Unmasked, The Michael Jackson Story.

Halperin says, "I was astonished by the number of songs which have been held back. I was told that he will not let them come out now but wants to leave them for his kids, a very personal legacy to them."

Aikbach · 06-29-2009

If any of them were any good wouldn't he have released them in life to pay of his incredible debt? I hope this will create a trust for his orphaned children at least but it smacks of opportunism on the part of record executives or heaven forbid family members and associates involved with the rights. I hate to play the cynic but someone is going to extort this and make profits, it won't be an innocent dying wish.

Bob Sacamano · 06-29-2009

wacko jacko

jimmy40 · 06-29-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hostile

Michael Jackson's Songs Waiting For Posthumous Release

March 1st, 2009 1:30pm EST

Michael Jackson has recorded more than 100 songs in secret - but is refusing to release the tracks until after his death, according to a biographer.

The Thriller singer has amassed a stack of tunes but only wants them to be heard by his children - Prince, 11, Paris Katherine, 10, and five-year-old Prince Michael II - after he dies, according to Ian Halperin, author of forthcoming book Unmasked, The Michael Jackson Story.

[View Full Quote]

Who????

Hostile · 06-30-2009

If released these will sell huge. Even if they never reach his previous levels of quality. The sheer nostalgia will drive this.

Bob Sacamano · 06-30-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hostile

If released these will sell huge. Even if they never reach his previous levels of quality. The sheer nostalgia will drive this.

his parents are probably going to want them to be released to them

the money-grubbers

**Sarge** · 06-30-2009

Almost all artists have a huge number of recorded songs "on the shelf." They are on the shelf for a reason - they didn't make the cut. Springsteen for example, probably has thousands.

**WoodysGirl** · 06-30-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarge

Almost all artists have a huge number of recorded songs "on the shelf." They are on the shelf for a reason - they didn't make the cut. Springsteen for example, probably has thousands.

Right, but when re-engineered, they can actually turn out ok. Tupac's posthumous work is one example that I can think of off the top of my head.

**WoodysGirl** · 06-30-2009

AP Exclusive: Jackson wrapped video before death

Associated Press - June 29, 2009 8:04 PM PDT

celebs:Michael Jackson..LOS ANGELES - Two weeks before he died, Michael Jackson wrapped up work on an elaborate production dubbed the "Dome Project" that could be the final finished video piece overseen by the King of Pop, The Associated Press has learned.

Jackson was apparently preparing to dazzle concert audiences in London with a high-tech show in which 3D images — some inspired by his "Thriller" era — would flash behind him as he performed on stage.

"It was a groundbreaking effort," said Vince Pace, whose company provided cameras for the shoot, a 3D system he created with filmmaker James Cameron.

"To think that Michael's gone now, that's probably the last documented footage of him to be shot in that manner," Pace said.

Two people with knowledge of the secretive project confirmed its existence Monday to the AP on condition they not be identified because they signed confidentiality agreements.

They said it was a five-week project filmed at Culver Studios, which 70 years ago was the set for the classic film "Gone With the Wind." Four sets were constructed for Jackson's production, including a cemetery recalling his 1983 "Thriller" video.

With 3D technology "the audience would have felt like they were visiting the 'Thriller' experience, like they were there," Pace said.

Shooting for the project lasted from June 1-9, with Jackson on the set most days. The project was in post-production, at the time of Jackson's death, and had been expected to be completed next month. It was not immediately clear what would be made of the video footage now.

Producer Robb Wagner, founder of music-video company Stimulated Inc., did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the project.

Michael Roth, a spokesman for Jackson's Los Angeles-based promoter AEG Live, said he hadn't heard about the production but did not rule that it could be part of the company's contract with the entertainer.

According to one of the people with knowledge of the project, a willow-thin, pallid Jackson left a memorable impression on the crew, arriving in a caravan of SUVs with hulking security guards in tow. The person said Jackson introduced himself to workers on the set and walked with a spring in his step but at one point needed assistance as he descended steps off a stage.

Besides the cemetery, one set was draped in black with an oversized portrait of Jackson in his "Thriller" werewolf costume. Another set was designed to simulate a lush jungle, and a fourth was built to replicate a construction site, with a screen in the back to allow projection of different backgrounds.

Taping took place in marathon sessions ending early in the morning. One scene filmed on the construction site set included scantily clad male dancers wearing carpenter's belts.

According to Stimulated's Web site, the company was hired to produce screen content for Jackson's planned comeback concerts in London. Stimulated has worked with Def Leppard and the *****cat Dolls, and produced content for the Academy Awards and the Emmys.

Last year, U2 released the concert film "U2 3D," a film of the band's 2005-06 Vertigo tour, shot at several shows in South America with 3-D technology.

At the time, guitarist The Edge told The Associated Press the 3-D technology allowed "the songs to shine through."

**WoodysGirl** · 06-30-2009

Battle to control Jackson's fortune begins

Associated Press - 2 hours, 9 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES - So, who gets Michael Jackson's riches?

His mother took the first step Monday when she petitioned the Superior Court of California to be named the administrator of the late singer's estate. Katherine Jackson said in the filing she was acting to ensure Michael Jackson's three children are the beneficiaries.

It's the opening salvo in a complicated battle for a fortune that includes a lucrative music catalog of the King of Pop's own hits, the rights to songs by the Beatles, and the Neverland ranch that could one day be a tourist attraction.

There's even an elaborate video production, dubbed the "Dome Project," that was overseen by Jackson and finished two weeks before he died.

The high stakes and array of people involved will likely make the fight far more convoluted than recent high-profile squabbles over the estates of singer James Brown and ex-Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith.

"There's no doubt that there's going to be a big battle," said Alexis Martin Neely, a Los Angeles-based estate attorney. "It's going to be very messy and I don't see anything comparing to this."

Complicating matters is that few, if any, people know all the details of the reclusive entertainer's financial affairs. His mother's filing, for example, declares that Jackson died "intestate," or without a will. But that is in dispute. Another person with knowledge of Jackson's business matters told The Associated Press last Friday that there is a will, which would take precedent in court. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material.

Becoming an estate administrator "puts a vast amount of power in one person's hands," said Roy Kozupsky, a lawyer with Smith, Gambrell & Russell. The person would have the power to sell assets, make deals and determine how to pay off creditors, he said.

At stake is Jackson's 50 percent ownership in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company itself estimated to be worth $2 billion; Jackson's own recordings and songwriting rights, which could be worth more than $150 million; and his joint ownership of the Neverland ranch.

Katherine Jackson said in her filing she intends to use the estate's assets for "the exclusive use of the decedent's (Jackson's) three children." But the filing could also be the first move in contesting the validity of a will, if there is one, Kozupsky said.

Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50, left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7. The youngest was born to a surrogate mother, while the first two were born to ex-wife Deborah Rowe.

The list of potential parties seeking a piece of Jackson's estate is long, ranging from financial firms to the companies involved in his planned comeback. Among them is AEG Live, the concert promoter that booked Jackson for 50 sold-out performances at London's O2 arena starting next month.

AEG Live reportedly gave Jackson a $20 million advance, which it may seek to recover from the estate. AEG Live declined to comment.

How much AEG can recover will likely depend on the wording of insurance policies it took out and whether they included protection against "medical conditions or another event," said Mary Craig Calkins, a partner at Howrey LLP who handles insurance recovery cases for TV and film productions.

The promoter took out about $18 million in insurance through Lloyd's of London, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.

A big part of determining what the estate is worth — and how much it owes in taxes — will depend on how much Jackson owed to creditors. Estimates put the tally around $400 million.

The federal government will be able to collect around 45 percent in tax on the value of the estate's assets, minus its debts and administration costs including attorney fees.

It appears that the most valuable assets will likely remain in the estate's control.

The Sony/ATV stake and 100 percent of Mijac, the company that controls Michael Jackson's own music, were held in a trust whose beneficiaries are Jackson's children. That trust is safe from creditors, said Al Malnik, its former trustee and Jackson's business adviser from 2002 to 2005.

"The assets were protected through the trust against creditors," Malnik said Monday.

Jackson used those assets as collateral to secure $200 million in loans from Bank of America in 2001. He then refinanced several times. Malnik said the loan total reached $275 million by the time he quit as trustee in 2005. Fortress Investment Group LLC, which took control in 2005, sold the loans off entirely "over a year ago," said company spokeswoman Lilly Donohue.

It is unclear who holds the loans now, but one candidate is Colony Capital LLC, a Los Angeles real estate firm owned by billionaire Thomas Barrack, which also set up a joint venture with Jackson to own Neverland, the 2,500-acre property in Santa Barbara County that once included amusement park rides and zoo animals.

Barrack had lunch with Jackson brothers Jackie, Jermaine and Tito on Saturday at Neverland.

Jackson's estate is still growing through record sales and songwriting rights.

So far this year, some 297,000 of his albums have sold in the U.S., and that's not including last week, when sales spiked in the wake of the singer's death. Jackson's existing works will continue to sell well, said Keith Caulfield, senior charts manager for Billboard magazine.

"He's good for at least a half a million albums a year," Caulfield said.

Songwriting rights also keep earning revenue. Jackson wrote many of the songs he recorded including "Beat It," "Bad," and "Black or White."

For the past three years, Jackson has ranked among the top-earning 100 U.S. songwriters for royalty payments collected by Broadcast Music Inc.

"Michael Jackson is the number one international songwriter in the world for BMI. He is it," BMI chief executive Del Bryant said, adding that use of the singer's songs outside of the U.S. earn more than $1 million dollars annually just for Jackson's share of the royalties.

Warner-Chappell Music, a division of Warner Music Group Corp., is Jackson's music publisher, meaning it promotes use of his songs and lyrics in commercials and TV shows. Jackson's own works, plus scores of song rights he purchased, gross several million dollars per year.

Jackson also owns the master recordings of his own albums such as "Thriller" and "Bad" and had a distribution deal with Sony, according to a person familiar with his finances, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the material.

The surge in interest in his music could inflate the value of assets held by his estate, and the tax bill owed to the U.S. government.

"Unfortunately due to his demise, the value of these entities has increased substantially," Malnik said.

___

AP business writers Alex Veiga in Los Angeles and Stevenson Jacobs in New York contributed to this report.

Temo · 06-30-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by WoodysGirl

Right, but when re-engineered, they can actually turn out ok. Tupac's posthumous work is one example that I can think of off the top of my head.

Yea, I thought about Tupac as well. Of course, his music was so "re-engineered" that it's barely his music at all.

I always think about that classic Chappelle skit about it:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c22...om-uploaderguy

Hilariously true.

DIAF · 06-30-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hostile

If released these will sell huge. Even if they never reach his previous levels of quality. The sheer nostalgia will drive this.

Sheer nostalgia is driving huge sales already. Jacko stuff has been dominating iTunes, amazon, and all the other pay services since Thursday. Much of the top 100 or so on both youtube and other video services in other countries like nico nico douga have been Jackson or Jackson tribute videos. xbox live was giving away MJ videos. It's a feeding frenzy.

Avaj · 06-30-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Temo

Yea, I thought about Tupac as well. Of course, his music was so "re-engineered" that it's barely his music at all.

I always think about that classic Chappelle skit about it:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c22...om-uploaderguy

Hilariously true.

I miss the Chappelle show

Hostile · 06-30-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by DIAF

Sheer nostalgia is driving huge sales already. Jacko stuff has been dominating iTunes, amazon, and all the other pay services since Thursday. Much of the top 100 or so on both youtube and other video services in other countries like nico nico douga have been Jackson or Jackson tribute videos. xbox live was giving away MJ videos. It's a feeding frenzy.

This almost always happens when a star dies. It did when Kurt Cobain died too. Dale Earnhardt's death, etc. His name will make a fortune for the rest of 2009.

**WoodysGirl** · 06-30-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Temo

Yea, I thought about Tupac as well. Of course, his music was so "re-engineered" that it's barely his music at all.

I always think about that classic Chappelle skit about it:

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c22...om-uploaderguy

Hilariously true.

Another example...or slightly better example is Natalie Cole's duets with her father.

Either way, not everything in the vault is garbage. It's just that when you're limited to 12 or songs out of 50 that might be recorded, you try to go with the absolute best...