Thriller 40th Anniversary

But why does the Estate have to pay money to the producers for the material if they owe the rights themselves?
My thoughts exactly!
This is the bit that bends my brain out of shape. :eek:

I just cannot get to grips with it. I understand why Michael Prince, for example, has that stuff on his hard drive. And all of the other collaborators. And I'm not having a go at any of them. I'm just confused af. I don't get why or how they are entitled to payment. They don't own the stuff. They are not the songwriters or the record company ... or even the producer. They are creative but they do not own the material, afaik.

wth?
 
I think if they had released MJ's solo version after his death it would be a smash hit/Christmas classic. IMHO it's alsmost as haunting as 'Imagine'. No further instrumentation needed

This is one of his greatest vocal performances. Even Freddie said that he sang it so beautifully he had to go back and re-imagine the track as a bit more orchestral.

Usually I don’t miss a chance to criticize the estate but it gets more difficult when it comes to the Freddie/MJ tracks. TMBMTLTT is a Freddie song. Written by Freddie and included in his solo album in 1985. MJ is a guest on that track so it’s safe to say that this track belongs on a Queen related project. State Of Shock is a MJ song. Written by MJ and officially released. This song should not come out on a Queen related project. This is MJ feat Freddie Mercury. I understand why the estate would veto such a thing. Victory is a different beast since they both are co writers. They would have to come to an understanding on what project/projects would be a good vehicle for this song.
 
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I still cannot believe the lack of promo & how things went with this. It had so much potential to be a great package...the time has now passed. Smh I don't understand wtf is going on with them or why they don't wanna give us footage but man...its starting to affect me
 
I am sad about the doc. - I really can not understand what's going on.

Still hope we get to see it one day. - And hope it is not released as connected to T40. - Hope it's just a stand alone doc about Thriller, making of the album etc.
 
Maybe I'm not counting right, but isn't the doc the third project shelved during production since 2020?
 
Maybe I'm not counting right, but isn't the doc the third project shelved during production since 2020?
There was HIStory 25 but I think that the plans they had for it they're saving for HIStory 30. What was the other project?
 
I still cannot believe the lack of promo & how things went with this. It had so much potential to be a great package...the time has now passed. Smh I don't understand wtf is going on with them or why they don't wanna give us footage but man...its starting to affect me
They do it on purpose, unfortunately
 
This is one of his greatest vocal performances. Even Freddie said that he sang it so beautifully he had to go back and re-imagine the track as a bit more orchestral.

Usually I don’t miss a chance to criticize the estate but it gets more difficult when it comes to the Freddie/MJ tracks. TMBMTLTT is a Freddie song. Written by Freddie and included in his solo album in 1985. MJ is a guest on that track so it’s safe to say that this track belongs on a Queen related project. State Of Shock is a MJ song. Written by MJ and officially released. This song should not come out on a Queen related project. This is MJ feat Freddie Mercury. I understand why the estate would veto such a thing. Victory is a different beast since they both are co writers. They would have to come to an understanding on what project/projects would be a good vehicle for this song.
Well Victory falls into the Jackson's reign as well. Since it's for a Jacksons album. Probably also why the tour hasn't been negotiated. They won't do much of anything. Maybe if Prince Michael takes over, he can have an Tony Stark/Obadiah Stand stand off and then finally get to hold the reigns..
 
Why would it solely fall into the reign of Michael? The only connection the song has to the Jackson album, as far as we know, is the title. They both created the song together and it could have easily been meant for a freddie/queen album as much as a Jackson related album.
 
Yeah, IIRC when asked about the status of TMBTLTT before it was released Roger described trying to get the track out like wading through mud.
They started to work on the project in 2011 and only managed to get it out in 2014 after loads of compromises, and even then they were left unsatisfied with it. I won't blame them one bit if it's revealed that the Estate approached them for another project but they were told to buzz off.
 
Yeah, IIRC when asked about the status of TMBTLTT before it was released Roger described trying to get the track out like wading through mud.
Something that is really mind boggling to me is how Victory seemed to be Queen's first pick. I remember seeing comments that it's the least complete of their joint sessions.
 
Something that is really mind boggling to me is how Victory seemed to be Queen's first pick. I remember seeing comments that it's the least complete of their joint sessions.
The book For The Record stated that Brian and Roger tried to release the song in 2002 but they had no idea how to finish it. I don't know how reliable that is since a lot of the book is outdated at this point.
 
The book For The Record stated that Brian and Roger tried to release the song in 2002 but they had no idea how to finish it. I don't know how reliable that is since a lot of the book is outdated at this point.
If that's in fact the case, I bet they can work around it. Most of the outtakes from their Miracle sessions are unfinished and they had to work them for the boxset released last year.
 
Just imagine there is footage of Freddie and Michael in the studio, they could make a beautiful video out of it accompanying Victory. It would also get LOTS of attention. They both are without doubt the most popular artists these days originating in the 1970s/1980s. The Estate should relish working with Queen to get this song done. It is perhaps the last chance of getting MJ in the singles charts again. Why do they not see that?
 
Just imagine there is footage of Freddie and Michael in the studio, they could make a beautiful video out of it accompanying Victory. It would also get LOTS of attention. They both are without doubt the most popular artists these days originating in the 1970s/1980s. The Estate should relish working with Queen to get this song done. It is perhaps the last chance of getting MJ in the singles charts again. Why do they not see that?
I don't think they like making compromises and want to do it their way or not at all.
 
Just imagine there is footage of Freddie and Michael in the studio, they could make a beautiful video out of it accompanying Victory. It would also get LOTS of attention. They both are without doubt the most popular artists these days originating in the 1970s/1980s. The Estate should relish working with Queen to get this song done. It is perhaps the last chance of getting MJ in the singles charts again. Why do they not see that?
I disagree. Give some unfinished MJ demo to a popular contemporary artist and he will be on the singles charts, even 15 years from now.
 
Hopefully more like Love Never Felt So Good.

But if they'd give it to Kendrick or Tyler the creator then we'd have something real on our hands.
Kendrick, Anderson Paak or Bruno Mars would be perfect for an MJ collaboration.

They look up to him and I think they would care that the demo was respected and well represented. Not just copy and paste Mike's vocals onto their beat

As for the Freddie/Michael duets, I've never really thought much of them to be honest. I don't think Thriller era Mike and Freddie's voices blend that well together.

The less said about that William Orbit mix the better
 
Apparently there was no chemistry at all between Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury during that recording session, which in turn resulted in these duets not being good enough.

There were not even other musicians, producers, sound engineers, etc, present at that recording session, as confirmed by Freddie Mercury's personal assistant Peter Freestone.

There is also a story that Michael Jackson did not like the fact that Freddie Mercury smoked a lot in his home studio (in Encino) where together they recorded these duets.
 
There is also a story that Michael Jackson did not like the fact that Freddie Mercury smoked a lot in his home studio (in Encino) where together they recorded these duets.
Michael had a problem with Freddie's use of cocaine during the session.
 
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