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Sony and Jackson Estate reach agreement for Sony to acquire remaining half of Sony/ATV Music Publish

HIStoric said:
Nope, what I'm talking about is in fact the law! There's no way Sony would voluntarily hand back the Beatles catalogue to anyone!

At least in the USA, it's law that 55 years after initial publication, artists can apply to get the publishing rights back to their works. So last year, Paul McCartney began the legal process of having the publishing rights of The Beatles catalogue returned to him. Their first material came out in '62 and '63 (Two songs in '62, then first two albums/more singles in '63), so Macca will get his first rights back in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and so forth.

Not a single thing Sony can do about it, which is great :D You can read more here (it says 2018, but given their first single came out at the end of 1962, theoretically it should be 2017).
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Oh I'm not doubting the law.
I just don't think you, and many other people know/realize just how much dirt is done behind the scenes by Sony and in the music industry in general.
All I'm saying is don't count your chickens until they hatch.
 
Pink Diamond Princess said:
Oh I'm not doubting the law.
I just don't think you, and many other people know/realize just how much dirt is done behind the scenes by Sony and in the music industry in general.
All I'm saying is don't count your chickens until they hatch.
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Oh yeah, I get what you mean. The Beatles aren't the first artists to utilise this section in the Copyright Act, so I did some reading and it turns out that in 1999, the giant record labels actually DID try to undo this law but many big-time musicians reacted negatively (and publicly), leading to public outcry and the labels withdrawing. So theoretically, even if Sony try to get down and dirty in the politics of it all, the same outcome would very likely happen, so there's nothing they can do. They can hire the best lawyers and go to court, but so can Macca AND Macca has the law in his favour, as well as past instances of success in artists favours. He's not the first big artist to use this law in his favour.

From my readings, it seems so far there have been two outcomes:
1. The artist regains the rights (like The Eagles, who started regaining their rights as of 2013/2014). I imagine this is in the USA only, but I'm not completely sure.
2. The record labels negotiate with the artists for new deals. This happened with Prince. In 2013, he regained the rights to music he put out in 1978, but in 2014, he used the law to his advantage when he re-signed to Warner Bros. The agreement granted him the rights to the masters for all of the albums he made with them ('78 - '90s) in a global partnership agreement. That way he now owns all of the masters and Warner Bros have Prince back on their label, allowing them to re-master and re-release his music. Read more here.

So I'm pretty confident Macca should be fine. If other labels can't convince the law to help them in other big names, they probably won't be able to for the Fab Four.
 
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I know Paul has his attorneys and papers in place to get his songs back.
I wonder when and what songs he bought in the past will he lose?
 
barbee0715 said:
I know Paul has his attorneys and papers in place to get his songs back.
I wonder when and what songs he bought in the past will he lose?
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That's a good point. Here is his publishing company, you can see what publishing rights he owns and he does own a lot of older music (I.e. Buddy Holly). However the artist or their Estate need to apply for the transfer, it's not automatic (as I imagine you know); so it'll be interesting to see who does and doesn't apply, or alternatively works out some sort of deal.
 
Does anyone fallow the stocks? If so what do you think is going to happen with this within the next year?
 
HIStoric said:
That's a good point. Here is his publishing company, you can see what publishing rights he owns and he does own a lot of older music (I.e. Buddy Holly). However the artist or their Estate need to apply for the transfer, it's not automatic (as I imagine you know); so it'll be interesting to see who does and doesn't apply, or alternatively works out some sort of deal.
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I read somewhere that Yoko already worked out a deal for John's share. She's staying with Sony.
 
Sony Corp's Michael Jackson estate buyout 'clearly wrong' says IMPALA



by Daniel Gumble August 2nd 2016 at 12:12PM

IMPALA has slammed the EU’s decision to allow Sony Corp to buyout the 50% stake of Sony/ATV owned by the Michael Jackson estate, labelling it as “clearly wrong.”

The controversial deal, which was approved last night, means that Sony Corp will now own the copyrights for music by The Beatles and acts like Taylor Swift outright.

Despite concerns that the deal would be anti-competitive, the European Commission stated: "The transaction will not materially increase Sony's market power vis-a-vis digital music providers compared to the situation prior to the merger."

Now, Impala has publicly slammed the decision, with the company's executive chair Helen Smith, stating: “This decision is clearly wrong. It goes against the EU's previous analysis of concentration in music, as well as the concerns raised during this market investigation.

“We will need to read the decision in full when published to understand properly why the Commission has allowed this transaction to go ahead – there is a fundamental flaw somewhere.”

Earlier this year, the Independent Music Publishers Forum, which represents independent music publishers worldwide, joined Warner Music Group and Impala in expressing its "concern" regarding the agreement between Sony Corp. and the estate of Michael Jackson for the purchase of the remaining shares of its catalogue in Sony/ATV.

For IMPF, the transaction worth an estimated $750m, would lead to a "concentration of catalogue in the hands of Sony ATV, a company which arguably holds some 30% of the music publishing market," and would "put further strain on pricing and give Sony/ATV even more negotiating power on deal terms with over the top companies in the music market."
 
I just have no idea why this would even happen... a quick financial gain is NOT worth giving up Mikes half of Sony/ATV... my only understanding is if they are thinking of themselves and know with whatever lifetime the decision makers have will not make more money keeping it... SELFISH! if that is the case
 
KOPV said:
I just have no idea why this would even happen...
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Because Sony enacted a clause in a contract Michael signed with them back in 2006.

In short, the clause means Party A can buy out Party B's half for max price, but Party B will first have the opportunity to buy out Party A's half for max price too.

Because Sony enacted the clause last year, The Estate had NO choice but to either sell their half, or buy Sony's half for a whooping $750,000,000.

KOPV said:
a quick financial gain is NOT worth giving up Mikes half of Sony/ATV... my only understanding is if they are thinking of themselves and know with whatever lifetime the decision makers have will not make more money keeping it... SELFISH! if that is the case
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Hardly selfish, more-so just making good financial decisions. How exactly do you propose they raise nearly 750 million dollars? Especially for something that only earned them $17 million a year (judging by past discussions in this thread). The Estate explained that they explored many avenues to see if they could indeed buy out Sony's half, but after many months came to the conclusion that it was far better sense financially to sell the catalogue. While Michael's desires are absolutely important, they can only go so far unfortunately when it comes to financials of this magnitude (and, to be honest, it was him who signed the contract to allow this clause in the first place. Be glad they're doing it now rather than when MJ was vulnerable financially in his last few years).

Keep in mind that while Branca and McCain DO get a 10% of the royalties from the Estate's profits, they do NOT get this for anything related to either This Is It or the ATV catalogue, so they're not doing this to make a quick buck. They won't see a single cent of it in their personal bank accounts.

I feel like a record player haha. Many of these details where discussed in-depth in the first 10-15 pages of the thread. Everyone should go re-read those pages tbh.
 
Putting aside this been about mj im surpised considering previous rulings this was given the go ahead.they have been very strong in the past in making sure companies dont have monopolys
 
elusive moonwalker;4159219 said:
Putting aside this been about mj im surpised considering previous rulings this was given the go ahead.they have been very strong in the past in making sure companies dont have monopolys
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IMPALA said something similar.

Now , Impala has publicly slammed the decision, with the company's executive chair Helen Smith, stating: “This decision is clearly wrong. It goes against the EU's previous analysis of concentration in music, as well as the concerns raised during this market investigation.

“We will need to read the decision in full when published to understand properly why the Commission has allowed this transaction to go ahead – there is a fundamental flaw somewhere.”
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The Estate did a financial decision, however for keeping the fans happy, it would have been better to sell their part, it would be impossible to buy Sony's part, but sell it to someone else entirely, in this way they would keep financial integrity and respect Michael's wishes...
 
mjjmsc said:
The Estate did a financial decision, however for keeping the fans happy, it would have been better to sell their part, it would be impossible to buy Sony's part, but sell it to someone else entirely, in this way they would keep financial integrity and respect Michael's wishes...
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As far as I understand, according to the contract obligation they couldn't sell it to anyone else but Sony. Correct me if I'm wrong, please.
 
Seemingly KJ and PPB are not against the sale of the Sony/ATV catalogue, and it looked like Sony not only triggered B&S clause, but they also refused to renew loan that MJ had against the catalogue. I understood that the Estate would have needed to find parter to buy 50% (Sony's share of catalogue) and they had to find someone to loan them money to pay MJ's loan to Sony, but they couldn't.

All that information was taken from court transcript that was added to Anthony Jackson complaint (he wanted his share of MJ's estate)
You can download the copy from here:
http://www.filedropper.com/anthonyjacksoncomplaint

That file is 128 pages long, but the part you want to read starts from page 84 onwards. At some parts in might makes to laugh in relation Anthony and his mother questioning basically everyone, but ignore those part and read what attorneys and judge tells there.
 
When did Prince and Paris get their own attorneys? I figure that is good -more people looking over everything.
 
When they turned 18 i presume. They dont need a guardian (lawyer) they get their own to speak for them
 
While they are smart young adults, lets remember that they are fresh out in adulthood.. Experience in this area is new!! I hope the people hired can be trusted
 
Sony Corporation and Jackson Estate Announce Closing of Sony's Purchase of Remaining 50% Interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing



NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Corporation ("Sony") and the Estate of Michael Jackson ("the Estate"), today announced that following the satisfaction of applicable closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals, Sony Corporation of America ("SCA"), Sony's wholly owned subsidiary, has closed on the purchase of the remaining 50% interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC ("Sony/ATV") from the Estate. The agreement for this purchase was first announced on March 14, 2016.

As previously announced, the purchase calls for total payments of 750 million U.S. dollars, which includes a lump sum payment by SCA of approximately 733 million U.S. dollars, as well as distributions previously committed to by Sony/ATV to be paid to the Estate. The payment also reflects certain contractual and accounting adjustments related to the Sony/ATV joint venture and other commercial opportunities involving Sony and the Estate.

The purchase is not expected to have a material impact on Sony's forecast for its consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017.

The Estate noted that the transaction will not affect its continuing substantial interests in other music assets, including all of Michael Jackson's master recordings as well as Mijac Music, the publishing company that owns all of the songs written by Michael Jackson as well as songs by some of his favorite songwriters and artists that were acquired by Michael during his life. In addition, the Estate will also retain its ownership interest in EMI Music Publishing.

About Sony Corporation
Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading electronics and entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $71 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

About the Estate
Following in Michael's footsteps, the Estate of Michael Jackson continues to produce artistically exceptional and enormously successful ventures. "Michael Jackson's This is It" became the highest grossing music documentary of all time. A history making touring show produced in partnership with Cirque du Soleil, Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour, played 4 continents, 157 cities, was seen by 3.7 million fans and became the #8 top grossing tour of all time. The second venture between the Estate and Cirque du Soleil, the critically acclaimed Michael Jackson ONE, a permanent show at Mandalay Bay Las Vegas, gave Cirque its biggest opening ever in Las Vegas and continues to be one of the top shows in the city. In 2014, The Estate astounded the world with the technical wizardry of a 'virtual Michael Jackson' performance during the Billboard Music Awards, which gave the show its biggest ratings in years and became the topic of conversation worldwide. That same year, Xscape, the second posthumous release of previously unreleased music by Michael Jackson, was released and became one of the top selling albums of 2014. Late last year, Thriller became the first album in RIAA Gold & Platinum Program history to be certified 30X multi-Platinum for U.S. sales, continuing The King of Pop's reign as the biggest selling artist of all time with worldwide sales of over 100 million for Thriller and 1 billion overall. Earlier this year, the Estate released the documentary MICHAEL JACKSON's Journey From Motown To Off The Wall, directed by Spike Lee. The documentary made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2016, and its subsequent broadcast on SHOWTIME® became the channel's highest rated music documentary of all time and its second highest rated documentary ever.

About Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing, established in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and Michael Jackson, is the world's leading music publisher. Together with EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV owns or administers more than 3 million copyrights including those from such iconic music catalogs like Leiber & Stoller, Mijac Music, Motown and Famous Music. Sony/ATV also controls many of the best known songs ever written like "New York, New York", "Hallelujah", "All You Need Is Love", "You've Got a Friend", "Moon River", "Jailhouse Rock", "The Mission Impossible Theme", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Over the Rainbow", "Stand By Me", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Singin' in the Rain." In addition, Sony/ATV represents the copyrights of such legendary artists as The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Kraftwerk, Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Richie Sambora, Sting, The Supremes, Wyclef Jean, Hank Williams and Stevie Wonder, among others. Its ever-growing list of chart-topping artists, writers and producers includes Akon, Avicii, Calvin Harris, Jessie J, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, P!nk, RedOne, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Stargate, Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.

SOURCE Sony Corporation of America
Related Links

http://www.sony.net
 
ILoveHIStory;4168654 said:
Sony Corporation and Jackson Estate Announce Closing of Sony's Purchase of Remaining 50% Interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing



NEW YORK, Sept. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Corporation ("Sony") and the Estate of Michael Jackson ("the Estate"), today announced that following the satisfaction of applicable closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals, Sony Corporation of America ("SCA"), Sony's wholly owned subsidiary, has closed on the purchase of the remaining 50% interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC ("Sony/ATV") from the Estate. The agreement for this purchase was first announced on March 14, 2016.

As previously announced, the purchase calls for total payments of 750 million U.S. dollars, which includes a lump sum payment by SCA of approximately 733 million U.S. dollars, as well as distributions previously committed to by Sony/ATV to be paid to the Estate. The payment also reflects certain contractual and accounting adjustments related to the Sony/ATV joint venture and other commercial opportunities involving Sony and the Estate.

The purchase is not expected to have a material impact on Sony's forecast for its consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2017.

The Estate noted that the transaction will not affect its continuing substantial interests in other music assets, including all of Michael Jackson's master recordings as well as Mijac Music, the publishing company that owns all of the songs written by Michael Jackson as well as songs by some of his favorite songwriters and artists that were acquired by Michael during his life. In addition, the Estate will also retain its ownership interest in EMI Music Publishing.

About Sony Corporation
Sony Corporation is a leading manufacturer of audio, video, game, communications, key device and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, computer entertainment and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be the leading electronics and entertainment company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $71 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016. Sony Global Web Site: http://www.sony.net/

About the Estate
Following in Michael's footsteps, the Estate of Michael Jackson continues to produce artistically exceptional and enormously successful ventures. "Michael Jackson's This is It" became the highest grossing music documentary of all time. A history making touring show produced in partnership with Cirque du Soleil, Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour, played 4 continents, 157 cities, was seen by 3.7 million fans and became the #8 top grossing tour of all time. The second venture between the Estate and Cirque du Soleil, the critically acclaimed Michael Jackson ONE, a permanent show at Mandalay Bay Las Vegas, gave Cirque its biggest opening ever in Las Vegas and continues to be one of the top shows in the city. In 2014, The Estate astounded the world with the technical wizardry of a 'virtual Michael Jackson' performance during the Billboard Music Awards, which gave the show its biggest ratings in years and became the topic of conversation worldwide. That same year, Xscape, the second posthumous release of previously unreleased music by Michael Jackson, was released and became one of the top selling albums of 2014. Late last year, Thriller became the first album in RIAA Gold & Platinum Program history to be certified 30X multi-Platinum for U.S. sales, continuing The King of Pop's reign as the biggest selling artist of all time with worldwide sales of over 100 million for Thriller and 1 billion overall. Earlier this year, the Estate released the documentary MICHAEL JACKSON's Journey From Motown To Off The Wall, directed by Spike Lee. The documentary made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2016, and its subsequent broadcast on SHOWTIME® became the channel's highest rated music documentary of all time and its second highest rated documentary ever.

About Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing, established in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and Michael Jackson, is the world's leading music publisher. Together with EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV owns or administers more than 3 million copyrights including those from such iconic music catalogs like Leiber & Stoller, Mijac Music, Motown and Famous Music. Sony/ATV also controls many of the best known songs ever written like "New York, New York", "Hallelujah", "All You Need Is Love", "You've Got a Friend", "Moon River", "Jailhouse Rock", "The Mission Impossible Theme", "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "Over the Rainbow", "Stand By Me", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Singin' in the Rain." In addition, Sony/ATV represents the copyrights of such legendary artists as The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Carole King, Kraftwerk, Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Richie Sambora, Sting, The Supremes, Wyclef Jean, Hank Williams and Stevie Wonder, among others. Its ever-growing list of chart-topping artists, writers and producers includes Akon, Avicii, Calvin Harris, Jessie J, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, P!nk, RedOne, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Stargate, Taylor Swift, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams.

SOURCE Sony Corporation of America
Related Links

http://www.sony.net
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What's done is done and cannot be undone, but people really shouldn't make promises they know that can't/won't keep.
[video=youtube_share;B7ANuT9Ivjc]http://youtu.be/B7ANuT9Ivjc[/video]
 
Sigh .........Michael tried so hard to keep it :(
 
I guess it will be interesting to read over the next few years if this proves to be a good or a bad thing for the Estate and Michael's kids. I had gathered with the copyright law of 78 that so many songs would be returning to the writers, and publishing rights would not be as lucrative as they were in the past. But last week I read an interesting article about Smokey Robinson, who right now is receiving his copyrights back, and the multi-million dollar deal he just struck with a new publishing company.
It also named off a dozen or more artists (including the John Lennon Estate), who are busy striking new publishing deals with huge million dollar advances-there appears to be multiple start-up companies with the desire and millions to invest in publishing now. Makes you wonder.

Quite frankly, I've been surprised at my own reaction to this deal-when they announced the Neverland Sale, I was glad-I was happy that they were going to be rid of it because in my mind it had been ruined years ago. Good riddance.
But this-for some odd reason, just got to me and made me so depressed. A funk I can't shake. It wasn't that it was the Beatles catalog, etc. It could have been ANY catalog he might have bought-the Motown catalog, or Rodger's and Hammerstein's catalog-it was just the fact that Michael had invested in MUSIC and that made it so dear to me.
I don't know why-this just didn't ever feel like a savvy financial investment-this always seemed personal.
 
barbee0715 said:
Quite frankly, I've been surprised at my own reaction to this deal-when they announced the Neverland Sale, I was glad-I was happy that they were going to be rid of it because in my mind it had been ruined years ago. Good riddance.
But this-for some odd reason, just got to me and made me so depressed. A funk I can't shake. It wasn't that it was the Beatles catalog, etc. It could have been ANY catalog he might have bought-the Motown catalog, or Rodger's and Hammerstein's catalog-it was just the fact that Michael had invested in MUSIC and that made it so dear to me.
I don't know why-this just didn't ever feel like a savvy financial investment-this always seemed personal.
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You aren't alone.
I feel somewhat the same way for many reasons, and trust me, the catalogue meant a lot to Michael too.
There are people that will tell you to get over it, but they aren't you, and they can't tell you how to feel.
 
8701girl said:
Sigh .........Michael tried so hard to keep it :(
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Branca said it wouldn't be sold, and when he said this I imagine he knew about the buyout clause, so why say something that you can't be sure of or that you know is an outright lie?
I wonder what asset will be sold next.
Maybe it will be MIJAC, or Michael's masters.
After hearing him sit there and say that no assets would be sold then a few years later seeing what is quite possibly the biggest one being sold....all I have to say is don't be surprised at any future sellings.
I certainly won't be.

However, I do hope the estate is now solvent, and that they can pay any debt that they may have with this money.
 
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It's business people, John Branca is a business man and stuff changes all the time. Just because he said something a few years ago doesn't mean he was going to stick to it. As I said the business world changes all the time and everything is taken into consideration when decisions like this are made.
 
Pink Diamond Princess said:
Branca said it wouldn't be sold, and when he said this I imagine he knew about the buyout clause, so why say something that you can't be sure of or that you know is an outright lie?
I wonder what asset will be sold next.
Maybe it will be MIJAC, or Michael's masters.
After hearing him sit there and say that no assets would be sold then a few years later seeing what is quite possibly the biggest one being sold....all I have to say is don't be surprised at any future sellings.
I certainly won't be.

However, I do hope the estate is now solvent, and that they can pay any debt that they may have with this money.
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everything is going to the highest bidder....

there is nothing else coming down the pike

it's all over.....

there is not going to be any history left
 
Pink Diamond Princess said:
I wonder what asset will be sold next.
Maybe it will be MIJAC, or Michael's masters.
.
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This is a totaly diffrent thing and it was one of their first priorities to pay the debt from the catalog. As long as Branca has a say I am 100% sure it will not be sold.
 
Annita said:
This is a totaly diffrent thing and it was one of their first priorities to pay the debt from the catalog. As long as Branca has a say I am 100% sure it will not be sold.
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I would like to think you are correct, and I hope you are, but the estate has already tried to deceive the entire fanbase to make a quick buck(the Michael tracks anyone?), so while I'm not pro-estate or anti-estate I cannot in all honesty say that I trust them.
Time will tell.
 
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