I told you last year that the total value of the Michael Jackson music publishing company would not be $1.8 billion. I was right. It’s come in closer to $1.2 billion.
Variety reported the sale of a 50% interest to Sony Music Publishing was coming. Now they say it’s been completed. Sony will pay $600 million for half of Mijac and MJJ Publishing, although even that number seems high.
As I said last year, Michael didn’t write a lot of his own songs. He did amass a catalog of other people’s songs, which make up a big piece of this deal.
Read my original story here. See in that story all the songs in the catalog. Michael got that idea from Paul McCartney back in 1984.
This deal has nothing to do with the Beatles catalog. For a long time, Warner Chappell Music was the administrator for MJJ. This is a nice coup for Jon Platt, who ran Warner Chappell and is now in charge of Sony Music. Platt was feted last Saturday as an Industry Icon at Clive Davis’s pre Grammy dinner. He spoke for a long time but never mentioned this deal!
PS On a non business note, I ran into Paris Jackson at the Warner Music party last week. She is absolutely lovely, and a knockout beauty. Paris is making music and considers herself a rocker, which is fine. But something tells me bigger things are coming for her. Just hold on. Michael did a good job with his kids!
