Michael Jackson's estate has cleared much of the late singer's debts by selling its stake in Sony/ATV, giving up the publishing rights to about 3 million songs.
Jackson's estate is selling its half-share in the company to Sony for US$750 million. For that, Sony now has the sole publishing rights to music by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Taylor Swift, Neil Diamond and Eminem -- but nothing by the King of Pop himself, which stays under the Jackson family's control.
"This agreement further demonstrates Sony's commitment to the entertainment businesses and our firm belief that these businesses will continue to contribute to our success for years to come," says Sony president and CEO Kazuo Hirai.
"This transaction further allows us to continue our efforts of maximizing the value of Michael's estate for the benefit of his children," the co-executors of Jackson's estate, John Branca and John McClain, wrote in a statement.
Jackson bought the rights to the ATV catalogue -- including the Beatles' hits -- in 1985, outbidding Sir Paul McCartney. Ironically, it was Sir Paul who gave Jackson the idea to invest in music publishing.
Jackson paid US$41 million for it, and later merged it with Sony's publishing arm, to form Sony/ATV.
Publishers own the rights to the music and words, but usually not the recordings. For example, the Beatles' actual recordings were owned by EMI, which was sold to Universal Music Group in 2012.
Jackson's estate has kept its share in EMI Music Publishing, which has music by Megadeth, My Chemical Romance, the Black Eyed Peas and New Zealand's own Dragon.
Newshub.
