Jacko Money Safe; ‘Beatles’ Won’t Be Sold

La Toya Jackson, fronting for her dastardly father Joseph, went to the British papers over the weekend with a wild accusation. She said that Michael Jackson was murdered for his money and publishing catalogs. I just hope her dad cut her in when the checks came from the tabloids.

But La Toya is wrong, wrong, wrong. Maybe Michael was murdered, accidentally. That remains to be determined.

However: Michael’s estate’will remain the owner of all his publishing catalogs. Spread the word. Sources tell me that Michael’s half interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, as well as ownership of his own songs through MiJac Music, will continue to be owned by his estate.

In the case of the former: not only are the executors not planning to sell “the Beatles” catalog to anyone, they are indeed going to maintain it and grow it in a partnership with Sony, as it has been since 1995. Their intention, I am told, is simple: to give Michael’s three kids a legacy. For better or worse,’they will never have to earn a dime.

This plan suits everyone just’fine. Sony is already depleted from making deals this year. They’re not so eager to buy out Michael Jackson. But they do concede that with Jackson deceased, his wild spending has also’stopped. For years Sony has refinanced and’advanced Jackson to keep him from bankruptcy because he couldn’t curtail his spending.

Now Sony and the Jackson estate will refinance once again, lower the obligations and put the music publishing company on an even keel.

This is good news for Michael’s estate, for his kids and his mother. It’s bad news for LaToya, Joseph, and any one else who’d like to advance conspiracy theories. Michael was specific in his will: these other people are not to have a penny from his estate. And they won’t as long as the executors and trustees stick to the document as’Michael Jackson worded it.

As’for Joseph Jackson using’daughter LaToya in his campaign to shake some money free from the estate: a very reasonable, respected and normal friend of Michael’s told me over the weekend that he overheard Joseph screaming at’Michael in May that he didn’t have any money. The Jacksons don’t want this person’giving an affadavit, believe me.