Paris78;4277259 said:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackom...earning-musicians-of-the-decade/#4234667c7fe5
Forbes measures the industry’s top-earning musicians annually for the Celebrity 100 by looking at touring data from Pollstar, music consumption numbers from Nielsen and interviews with managers, agents and many of the stars themselves. The list doesn’t include behind-the-scenes earners such as agents, managers and promoters, nor does it deduct living expenses or taxes.
Our ranking doesn’t extend beyond the grave; if postmortem earnings were counted, Michael Jackson would be No. 1. His staggering $2.37 billion total
for the decade by our count is higher than his estate’s recently filed estimate of $1.7 billion because we counted reinvested royalties from his half of the Sony/ATV publishing catalog (his estate sold the asset for $750 million in 2016).
He easily tops his living peers by either measure.
I think those few lines are highly significant and they ought to shake to core those [known and unknown] who tried over all the years to defame and destroy Michael. Some might say that the very success of the Estate has been a magnet for leeches and plotters, traitors and framers, but I dare think that there are even darker roots than mere greed to Michael's troubles. Without doubt, racism also played a part in his tribulations. After all, how dare a skinny black man that was supposed only to sing and dance around (hits created by others, of course.........not) consider himself some powerhouse in terms of publishing rights? But I am afraid, not even that is enough of an explanation for the diabolically cyclical attacks on Michael's integrity.
With the risk of sounding condescending, I must say that I’ve never been one easily impressed either by the accumulation of wealth, by fame or awards. Some have called that attitude
sassy, but that’s another issue, for another day maybe. Having said that, I cannot help but feel a certain sense of pride and vindication for Michael’s business acumen. In between his record-breaking generosity and the countless trials and tribulations which drained his finances, he had reached a certain critical situation.
However serious things may have gotten, I was always convinced that the world held enormous resources of good will towards him and the possibility of sales and revenue generation. This entire decade has proven exactly that. And this year in particular, the gains in terms of streaming are even more relevant.
Only his magic could have turned an entire cancelling campaign, not just in a futile exercise to delete his contribution to music and world History, but increase his streaming numbers. People of common sense and good will saw through the lies and instead of cancelling Michael, they amplified him.
As I predicted from the very beginning, that whole buffoonery of swamp-level acting didn’t have any major impact on Michael’s legacy, in spite of all the hysteria of the blue-checked nobodies on Twitter or the temporary loss of reason of certain radio stations. Some people/entities will forever be lost causes to reason and truth, but they are in such a insignificant number that their obstinate ignorance and malice cannot even be taken into account. I certainly could care less what music critics or the bloody mass media says about Michael.
What matters more is the reaction of fans and of the general public and
Michael has always been a champion of the people, triumphing against all odds and evil thrown at him. And in another twist of most poetic justice, I was more than content to read all throughout this year the countless testimonies of people who discovered not only Michael’s music, but the truth about all the allegations
because of that mockumentary. Clearly, the general public hasn’t been impacted in any major way, while the fans have been absolutely fantastic throughout this entire year. It’s sad it took such an awful catalyst, but still, I am glad to see the community so united around Michael. This year, the fans have truly been Michael’s shield and his voice in the propaganda war fought online.
And they certainly did him proud. I am convinced that he would be extremely proud, thankful and overjoyed at seeing all the love and support people shared for him (on and offline) in yet another hour of need. The fans have been so amazing, that even the media had to take notice and recognize us.
Can’t help but wonder if the image for that article wasn’t also inspired by our little campaign of using the MJInnocent image as avatar for everyone. I wonder who came up with that ‘Spartacus’ idea that would be
visually striking for the guests of the forum?
MJfam has really done Michael proud this year and I’m convinced it will continue to do so in the future. This decade has started and ended with terrible news, but overall we can hold the head high because we’ve been on the right side of History, on the side of a kind, decent and most talented man. A man whose name, allow me to remind everyone once again just in case it wasn't clear first time around ,
has generated more revenue than ANY of his peers, dead or alive, has managed to get more streams this year than the last and has gathered new fans from a sick ploy aimed at destroying him.
There are still battles to be fought, in courtrooms, on tv screens and on Twitter threads and I’m convinced Michael’s powerful enemies will not stop attacking. But if they are relentless in their attacks and viciousness, we are united in our love and loyalty to an innocent, beautiful man they’ve been trying to destroy for far too long and the righteousness of our cause will be the source of our victory. Eventually, even they will understand that theirs was a futile mission from the get-go.
I hate to remind everyone how on June 25/26[SUP]th[/SUP] 2009, depending where on earth you were, the internet and especially Twitter froze upon the news related to Michael. I believe the memorial on July 7[SUP]th[/SUP] 2009 still is the single most watched event ever. I am convinced that if time and circumstances would have allowed, that gorgeous king of ours (who doesn't actually have any peers) could have reached even greater heights, brought so much honor and grace to his homeland and enriched the world in most magnificent ways. I genuinely believe that.
