Wishes and ideas for future releases

[MJImpeccable]

Hi guys,

I dont know if this has even been a topic, but I was wondering what you wishes and ideas are for future releases of Michael Jackson material if you were in charge of the estate.

- What to do with the (limited) unreleased songs? Use them in anniversary for albums (like Bad24 and Thriller40) or use them for new (reworked) albums like Xscape?
- Also in what form (e.g. per era), what time and what type of promotion or side projects would be beneficial?

- What to do with all the footage the estate potentially has in the vault? More documentaries or a series?

- What would you like for the biopic?

- What other things would be great for Michaels legacy (like the cirque du soleil or the broadway show)
- Would you use AI to create something or would you see it as fake (similar to slave to the rhythm performance 2014)

- Do you think the estate should more actively support and defend Michael's innocence and provide information/evidence?

I think the estate has done some great projects but after 15 years have lacked in releasing new footage or listen to the fans. So I hope they're watching this forum.

 

[Sophia2023]

revamped MJ the Musical (splits Middle Michael into two (Teenage Michael and Young Adult Michael of Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad), making the number of Michael Jacksons a foursome etc); revamped MJ the Evolution (replaces Michael Firestone with a black guy for the 90's era etc); revamped MJ One (new scenes etc); revamped Thriller Live (new songs etc); all concert performances and everything true for the biopic; Release every single footage of MJ's life and all performances; Release all unreleased songs; Neverland Ranch Tours; Michael Jackson The Experience 2 (tour version etc); First AI Michael Jackson Hologram Concert World Tour; Bring back Stark Raving Dad and Captain EO; Michael Jackson museum; MJ-themed hotels; MJ-themed amusement parks; Mattel Michael Jackson Barbie dolls (male (Michael Jackson's likeness) and female (white, black, asian, native american, mixed-race); everything brand-new etc!!!

 

[Hot_Street]

SCHEDULE FOR THE ESTATE

Let's support the Estate and collect dates and ideas for future releases. We can do it, we can do it We can work it out The Jacksons, 1976 SCHEDULE FOR THE ESTATE: 2024 Victory 40th Anniversary https://www.mjjcommunity.com/threads/victory-40th-anniversary.202865/...

www.mjjcommunity.com

 

[R1chard]

What to do with the (limited) unreleased songs? Use them in anniversary for albums (like Bad24 and Thriller40) or use them for new (reworked) albums like Xscape?

The second part is the only acceptable answer. Buying thriller for a 7th time is just dumb and insulting for fans. I will never buy another album twice. If they wanna release a bunch of unreleased demos then just release them standalone. They have nothing to do with Thriller.

As for biopics, honestly I couldn't care less. If he was still alive then great, but he's not, so all you get is a bunch of "celebrities" trying to promote themselves. Not to mention people on both sides tell lies.

 

[TheXscapeR]

I just want Invincible 25.

Studio footage exists (Rodney has basically all his sessions with MJ videotaped), 8-10 unreleased tracks are very much possible, maybe even demos of released tracks.

I feel like Invincible could've been much more, and as it is MJ's last album, it would make a lot of sense to give it a new release with more content...

 

[R1chard]

Invincible wasn't promoted when it was first released. They're not gonna promote it 20 years later. Especially considering how dated it sounds. Oh, and it's already too long, which turns a lot of people off, and there's literally no space left on the CD.

The ONLY way I'd buy Invincible again is if it was a complete overhaul on SACD or BD. ie 96kHz/24-bit, and make sure it doesn't sound compressed to shit like the appalling original release, and do the whole thing in 5.1 surround (songs like 2000W and Threatened would sound great like this). Anything less and I'm just not interested.

 

[Hot_Street]

Invincible double album or nothing

 

[TheXscapeR]

Invincible wasn't promoted when it was first released. They're not gonna promote it 20 years later. Especially considering how dated it sounds.

To be honest, considering the lack of promotion given to the anniversary albums since Bad 25 (which apparently did not sell as well as they thought it would), yeah. It wouldn't be that promoted. But I really would like to have a 2CD (maybe even a MoFi master in vinyl and SACD) of the Invincible album, with the second CD being demos and outtakes, and a documentary showing some studio footage from Rodney's sessions.

What surprises me though is the fact you call Invincible "dated". It's still relatively modern. Heck, if they released new Bad songs in 2012 (when it was wayyy more dated musically than Invincible is), why not Invincible, in 2026?

 

[R1chard]

But I really would like to have a 2CD (maybe even a MoFi master in vinyl and SACD) of the Invincible album

Yeah, MoFi or nothing. I'll probably never buy another Sony album again, they all sound garbage.

with the second CD being demos and outtakes

Um... Wouldn't it be better just to release the demos and outtakes on their own? So you could pay $10 instead of $20? And reduce pollution? If they've got something new to still, then just sell it. It doesn't need to be packaged with old material. Xscape Volume 2.

Like, the only reason Sony did that was so they could count up another sale of Thriller. I can't believe people fell for it.

Don't you resent being taken advantage of?

What surprises me though is the fact you call Invincible "dated". It's still relatively modern. Heck, if they released new Bad songs in 2012 (when it was wayyy more dated musically than Invincible is), why not Invincible, in 2026?

When it came out, everybody just thought "oh, it's another R&B album", and they moved along. There was nothing that stood out as new or innovative the way Bad/Thriller/Dangerous/HIStory did. If you took a clip without MJ singing and you played it to a random person, probably most of them would guess 2001.

 

[DuranDuran]

In 2021, Sting released a compilation of some of the various duets/collabos he's done over the years including ones from other artists albums & soundtracks. This could be done with Mike. Some of the songs are little known such as Save Me by Dave Mason & When We Grow Up with Roberta Flack. Save Me reached #70 on the R&B chart in 1980 and When We Grow Up is from a 1974 TV special Free to Be... You and Me. Maybe even songs that never really came out such as the stuff with Roger Troutman, J5 collabos on 1970s TV shows (Carol Burnett, Cher, etc.), We Be Ballin' with Ice Cube & Shaquille O'Neal, the Butterflies remix with Eve, the 2 versions (English/Spanish) of What More Can I Give, etc. Not a collabo, but if the rumored version of Bad by Prince really exists, that could be another track used. This would have to get approval from the other artists & the various labels the songs were originally released on. There could be a booklet talking about how the collabs came together. I'd rather have this than anniversary albums or a Bad tour DVD.

 

[JustinC2002]

In 2021, Sting released a compilation of some of the various duets/collabos he's done over the years including ones from other artists albums & soundtracks. This could be done with Mike. Some of the songs are little known such as Save Me by Dave Mason & When We Grow Up with Roberta Flack. Save Me reached #70 on the R&B chart in 1980 and When We Grow Up is from a 1974 TV special Free to Be... You and Me. Maybe even songs that never really came out such as the stuff with Roger Troutman, J5 collabos on 1970s TV shows (Carol Burnett, Cher, etc.), We Be Ballin' with Ice Cube & Shaquille O'Neal, the Butterflies remix with Eve, the 2 versions (English/Spanish) of What More Can I Give, etc. Not a collabo, but if the rumored version of Bad by Prince really exists, that could be another track used. This would have to get approval from the other artists & the various labels the songs were originally released on. There could be a booklet talking about how the collabs came together. I'd rather have this than anniversary albums or a Bad tour DVD.

Yeah the stuff with Roger Troutman is interesting, like allegedly Al Capone with Roger, Tomboy, etc. If there is a version of Bad with Prince, I want to hear it

 

[R1chard]

In 2021, Sting released a compilation of some of the various duets/collabos he's done over the years including ones from other artists albums & soundtracks. This could be done with Mike.

Exactly. Great idea. A whole album packed full of rarities.

Imagine how much better TUC would have been if it was 4 discs of rarities, instead of approx 1 disc of rarities spread out and intermixed with over 3 discs of filler. Sometimes you have to skip 6 tracks in a row just to get to the songs you want!

Some of the songs are little known such as Save Me by Dave Mason

It's such a good idea that somebody in the 90s did this, and I bought it. And Save Me was on it.

Maybe even songs that never really came out such as the stuff with Roger Troutman, J5 collabos on 1970s TV shows (Carol Burnett, Cher, etc.),

I had the idea recently of a "best of the TV show" CD. Loads of duets, as well as Let It Be, Fever, Hello Dolly, Midnight at the Oasis, I Shot The Sheriff... I'd love an hour of that.

I'd rather have this than anniversary albums

Yeah. We've gotta move away from that nonsense.

 

[analogue]

I just want BAD Tour 1988 or 1989 in HD/4K quality. I don't care if it's released on physical media or streaming. The show I really want is Madison Sqaure Garden from 1988 because Smooth Criminal, Bad and The Way You Make Me Feel was sung live that night. But any show from 1988/1989 I'd be happy with.

 

[wonderouzmj]

If John ever leaves then...we might have a chance of this all!

 

[Prince Of Pop]

Would love to see an anthology set of album releases much like what The Beatles did in the mid 90s. I think that would be something nice to have in the MJ fan archives.

Any future albums featuring previously unreleased material (like the Xscape album) should be a deluxe edition. I think having MJ's original versions with finished contemporized versions is the way to go. They got it right going that route.

video footage of him in the studio would be a fantastic release too.

 

[Mister_Jay_Tee]

I dont know if this has even been a topic, but I was wondering what you wishes and ideas are for future releases of Michael Jackson material if you were in charge of the estate.

✂️ ,

29 seconds · Clipped by Jay Tee · Original video "Doctor Who - Heaven Sent - NO!" by THEVALEYARD

youtube.com

 

[DuranDuran]

Would love to see an anthology set of album releases much like what The Beatles did in the mid 90s. I think that would be something nice to have in the MJ fan archives.

The difference is with the tracks, it's still members of The Beatles, even if the tracks are instrumental. That isn't the case with Michael Jackson, his instrumental versions would be session musicians. The Beatles also recorded way more material than Mike, and a lot of it still hasn't been released.

I think classic rock listeners are more likely to buy a release with messed up takes & studio chatter than the audience for other types of music. Some Beatles fans will buy the stereo & mono versions of their albums. That's a reason Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd gets reissued every few years. There are also deluxe box sets like this 3CD with a vinyl picture disc & 2DVD of Dream Into Action by Howard Jones

 

[R1chard]

I just want BAD Tour 1988 or 1989 in HD/4K quality

I'd like more Bad tour, but it would be very similar to the one we have. I'd probably prioritize them as follows:

1. Victory Tour
2. HIStory Tour
3. Another Bad tour date
4. Another Dangerous tour date

Would love to see an anthology set of album releases much like what The Beatles did in the mid 90s. I think that would be something nice to have in the MJ fan archives.

Good idea. A full album of outtakes would be cool. No need to fill it with original studio versions that we already have. Just a new standalone release with nothing but unreleased stuff. Try to convey MJ's sense of humour, etc.

There are also deluxe box sets like this 3CD with a vinyl picture disc & 2DVD of Dream Into Action by Howard Jones

To be honest, these sorts of things are overblown and silly. ONE Blu-ray can hold HUNDREDS of songs. You really could do everything on one disc. Anything more than about 2 discs is just trying to create hype. But invariably these things end up selling a total of about ten copies. Most stores don't carry them, and at $200, they simply price out most fans.

Plus, even for those that do buy it, they never listen to it because it's too unwieldy - it doesn't fit on a normal shelf with your other CDs, you can't take it in the car, etc.

The reason Dark Side keeps getting rereleased is because they keep making better versions of the album - in 2003 it got a 5.1 mix, and in 2023 it got a Dolby Atmos mix. I'd love this for MJ, but (1) those should be kept separate from unreleased demos, and (2) the whole thing is unlikely, because they have never released the 5.1 mix that was produced in 2001!

 

[DuranDuran]

To be honest, these sorts of things are overblown and silly. ONE Blu-ray can hold HUNDREDS of songs. You really could do everything on one disc. Anything more than about 2 discs is just trying to create hype. But invariably these things end up selling a total of about ten copies. Most stores don't carry them, and at $200, they simply price out most fans.

Plus, even for those that do buy it, they never listen to it because it's too unwieldy - it doesn't fit on a normal shelf with your other CDs, you can't take it in the car, etc.

So what? More people have a DVD player than a Blu-ray player. Right now, Walmart sells DVD only players for around $25. DVD discs still outsell Blu-ray & 4K discs put together. That's irrelevant anyway since they don't put CD players in cars anymore and many new PCs/laptops don't have a disc drive. The general public streams music/movies, not buy discs. More music can be put on a phone or Bluetooth than any kind of disc. Physical media isn't even really a thing with the younger generation, except maybe video games. They grew up post-Napster/MP3. I read an article that said many young people who buy new release vinyl don't even have a turntable to play it on. It's a collectible like Funko Pops, Marvel/DC action figures, Beatles Lego sets, or all the kinds of merchandising that KISS (the rock band) sells. Such as a KISS Kasket to get buried in.

 

[R1chard]

The general public streams music/movies, not buy discs.

I said that 6-disc box sets were a waste of time. Why type all that if you agree with me?!

 

[DuranDuran]

I said that 6-disc box sets were a waste of time. Why type all that if you agree with me?!

The general public and collectors are 2 different things. It's like people decades ago who collected postage stamps, sports cards, or old money. The general public did not collect stamps. If the box sets didn't sell, the record companies wouldn't make them. There are reissue labels like "Numero Group" & "Light In The Attic" who specialize in box sets of obscure artists & obscure record labels. They don't really do any mainstream artists at all. They document music for fans of music, not fans of whatever was popular on the radio, MTV, or chart hits. Collectors are also generally the ones who buy bootleg albums & promo records, because those aren't sold in chain stores. A person has to know where to get those.

There are people who buy several copies of the same album, not reissues or remasters either. They buy the different versions released in different countries. Sometimes these are identical (but have different bar codes) and sometimes they are different. Like the Japan versions of albums often have extra songs not released anywhere else. Or the mixes and/or cover artwork are different in different countries. Most of The Beatles albums released in the USA were different from the ones released elsewhere, and a few were exclusive to the USA. One famous one is the compilation with the "Butcher Babies" cover. The original pressing is worth a lot of money today. Even in the USA by itself, various stores have different versions of the same album like a Target edition, a Barnes & Noble edition, a Best Buy edition and so on. The different versions have different songs. Or an artist may release a different version of an album a few months later.

 

[R1chard]

There are reissue labels like "Numero Group" & "Light In The Attic"

I still don't get it. Seems like all of your posts are just really long stuff that isn't relevant to the conversation. It's as though you're constantly trying to impress people with how much you know.

Collectors are also generally the ones who buy bootleg albums & promo records

Again, I said that these boxsets are pointless because you could have released one disc instead of six, and because the people who buy them don't listen to them. All you're doing is agreeing with me.

But yeah, I know about the Beatles, I know about Japanese imports and promo discs and bootlegs, I have many of each.

Even in the USA by itself, various stores have different versions of the same album like a Target edition, a Barnes & Noble edition, a Best Buy edition and so on.

Yes, and that's stupid too. Just taking advantage of gullible people. I never bought anything like that, I just copied the bonus track, lol.

Perhaps it is best that CDs died out after all.

 

[DuranDuran]

Again, I said that these boxsets are pointless because you could have released one disc instead of six, and because the people who buy them don't listen to them. All you're doing is agreeing with me.

Few if anybody agrees with you, because everything you say is nonsense just like mjfrenzy. How do you know what somebody listens to? Are you in their house? Why would somebody go through the trouble of looking for a bootleg, which can cost a lot of money and not listen to it? If you go to a Prince site, they often talk about unreleased vault songs that came out on bootleg. There's even an entire site that lists many of these songs called Princevault. Some artists like Bob Dylan & Bruce Springsteen later released albums that had songs that were on bootlegs, but in better audio quality than the bootlegs. There used to be a radio program called Breakfast With The Beatles, that would play bootleg group & solo songs

It's the same for a person who pays a scalper thousands of dollars for a concert ticket. They really want to see the artist. Why are you so concerned about what people do with their money? They aren't gullible, they know what they are spending their money on.

 

[rockwitu]

I have been suprised that there has not been more use of the GIGANTIC video library Michael must have left behind. He had a cameramen with him almost everyday when he went outside during his tours, capturing his every moment. I think it was Hamid Moleshi (spelling) during the History tour and other people during Bad and Dangerous Tour. We also knew there was cameras on scene during some of the time when he recorded his albums and when he rehearsed his performences/dancing.

So I would like documentarys along these lines:

1. Michael Jackson in the studio (just look at the footage of MJ recording TDCAU or Childhood on youtube) with never before seen footage and commentary from people like Brad Buxer, Brad Sundberg and Michael Prince and so on...
2. Michael Jackson the dancer, same idea as above
3. Michael Jackson around the world with footage from the cameramen who followed him everywhere. Shopping, visiting hospitals, meeting fans , meeting dignitarys and so on.....
4. "The Michael we knew" Documentary with rare private video footage with commentary/interviews with friends and family. A little bit like "private home videos"

 

[MJImpeccable]

I have been suprised that there has not been more use of the GIGANTIC video library Michael must have left behind. He had a cameramen with almost everyday when he went outside during his tours, capturing his every moment. I think it was Hamid Moleshi (spelling) during the History tour and other people during Bad and Dangerous Tour. We also knew there was cameras during some of the time when he recorded his albums and when he rehearsed his performences.

So I would like documentarys along these lines:

1. Michael Jackson in the studio (just look at the footage of MJ recording TDCAU or Childhood on youtube) with never before seen footage and commentary from people like Brad Buxer, Brad Sundber and Michael Prince and so on...
2. Michael Jackson the dancer, same idea as above
3. Michael Jackson around the world with footage from the cameramen who followed him everywhere. Shopping, visiting hospitals, meeting fans and so on.....

I had the same though on this footage that must exist, but I wonder if the estate still had all of it or if its lost. Love these ideas tho.