Michael Jackson estate ‘earns $250m in one year’

It seems Michael Jackson, who died a year ago tomorrow, is a bigger earner posthumously than when he was alive. Two of the executors of the Michael Jackson Family Estate have claimed that it has earned more than $250 million in the past 12 months thanks to a massive resurgence in the singer's popularity.
 
Jackson was on the verge of bankruptcy when he died aged 50 of a cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009, with debts of more than $500 million.
 
The executors, who declined to be named, told Bloomberg that just under $200 million of that debt has been paid off in the last 12 months. Jackson's posthumous fortune has been boosted by $125 million in recording sales, $60 million from an advance for the This is It documentary, about $35 million from music publishing, and more than $50 million from merchandise such as video games.
 
As a result, Jackson’s executors will hold on to the rights to more than 250 Beatle songs - the estate's most valuable asset. Jackson held a 50 per cent stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, a venture which owns the rights to almost the entire Beatles' back catalogue. At one point the executors considered selling the stake but it no longer seems necessary.
 
A former financial adviser to Jackson, Ivan Thornton, told Bloomberg that Sony/ATV, which also holds rights to songs from Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan, is valued at $1.5 billion to $2 billion. This would make Jackson’s half worth more than enough to settle all the estate’s debts.
 
This week Sony Music announced that more than 31 million Jackson albums have sold worldwide since he died, a vast number for a music industry in decline. Record executives also hope to capitalise on Jackson nostalgia with a new album of unreleased material which goes on sale in November, along with a new video game in which fans can mimic his signature moves.
 
"In the year that Michael has gone, we realise how incredibly talented he was," said Marty Bandier, the chief executive of Sony/ATV. "The guy was the King of Pop and more."
 
Meanwhile an unseen photo of Michael Jackson has been released to the press on the eve of the first anniversary of the singer's death. The 1999 portrait, Michael Jackson's Blue Eye, will be one of 12 unpublished photos to go up for auction later this year.
 
French photographer Arno Bani's image of Jackson with blue glittery make-up over his left eye was one of the options considered for his 10th and final studio album Invincible, released in 2001.
 
The 12 portraits will go under the hammer in December along with 50 contact boards (above) at the Paris auction house Pierre Berge & Associes. Bidding for each portrait is expected to start at €1,000, auctioneer Frederic Chambre said. ·