Sony Corp. has reached an agreement with the late Michael Jackson’s estate to acquire the former King of Pop’s stake in their joint music business for $750 million, Bloomberg reported Monday.
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Sony/ATV’s catalog includes the copyrights to most of the Beatles’ songs, as well as songs by stars including Marvin Gaye, the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift.
The proceeds go to his mother and three children, known as Prince, Paris and Blanket.
During his lifetime, Jackson was among the first to recognize the value in owning the publishing rights of popular works, leading the singer to purchase rights to most of the music produced by the Beatles.
“The entertainment businesses have always been a core part of Sony and are a key driver of our future growth”, Kazuo Hirai, Sony’s president and chief executive, said in a statement. His estate said it will still own his master recordings and the publishing company that owns all the songs he penned. “His ATV catalogue, purchased in 1985 for a net acquisition cost of $41.5 million, was the cornerstone of the joint venture and, as evidenced by the value of this transaction, is considered one of the smartest investments in music history”. “It also further validates Michael’s foresight and genius in investing in music publishing”. It remained his most lucrative asset at the time of his death in June 2009 at age 50, though by that point Jackson was hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.
The two expect to have a definitive deal by March 31; it’s not expected to be material to the fiscal year ending then, and Sony is evaluating impact to the fiscal year ending next March 31. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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