In what could be the largest valuation of musical assets ever, Sony Music Group has struck a deal to buy half of Michael Jackson's catalog of releases and recordings in a deal that sources say valued those musical assets figures somewhere over $1.2 billion. Other sources have suggested it could be as much as $1.5 billion. At those valuations, Sony will pay at least $600 million for its share of the legendary rights.
That means Jackson's deal, which closed late last year, is worth more than the $1.2 billion Queen is currently seeking. And while Queen's valuation includes, sources say, royalties from income streams beyond masters and publishing, including the Freddie Mercury biopic, Bohemian Rhapsodyand theatrical productions using Queen's music, Sony's deal with the Michael Jackson estate does not include royalties from the Broadway play and other theatrical productions featuring Jackson's music.
It may not be just Jackson's music involved in the deal, however. Sources say the current deal includes songs not written by Jackson on his Mijac catalog, which also includes the roughly 250-song Sly & the Family Stone catalog, as well as iconic songs written and/or performed by Jerry Lee Lewis, Jackie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield, Ray Charles, Percy Sledge and Dion.
Last February, following a story first reported by Variety that Jackson's deal was being negotiated, Advertising sign the iconic artist's fortune is estimated to earn around $75 million annually. These assets include ownership of master recordings, publications for Jackson's share of his songs, Mijac's catalog of publications, and merchandising and theatrical rights to Jackson's music. At that time, Advertising sign He estimated that within the $75 million estimate, Jackson's recording and publishing assets alone brought $47.2 million to the estate. and that Mijac can bring in another $5 to $8 million a year.
Jackson's estimate, however, did not take into account that its popularity appears to be growing as the streaming market expands.
Sales and streams of Jackson's music rose steadily from 1.07 million equivalent album units in 2020 to 1.47 million in 2023 — a 37% increase over those three years — according to Luminate. This surpassed the overall US music market for album consumption units, which grew 22.9% during that time period. Outside the United States, Jackson is arguably even more popular. In 2023, consumption of his music grew 38.3% to 6.5 billion on-demand streams, up from 4.7 billion in 2021.
The next year, a Jackson biopic came calling Michael will be released, likely fueling even more growth in his fan base, boosting consumption and causing more revenue to flow into his estate and any other rights holders.
With all the financial returns that the estate offers, the masterminds behind it – lawyer John Branca and A&R executive John McClain — are expected to continue participating as co-executors.
Sources say Sony's deal also leaves in place Primary Wave's stake, which is believed to be about 10% of Jackson's publishing assets.
Over the years, Sony has paid Jackson's estate more than $2 billion in some major deals that go beyond distributing rights to his records and songs. In 1991, the company paid $100 million to buy the first half of what became Sony/ATV. ATV Music was the catalog purchased by Jackson in 1985 and contained the Beatles catalog and other popular songs. This was merged into Sony's music publishing operation to become Sony/ATV, with Sony and Jackson owning 50% of that company. In 2016, the company paid $750 million for the remaining 50% of Sony/ATV. He also paid $287.5 million for the share of Jackson's fortune in the joint venture that owned EMI Music Publishing in 2018, as well as dividends during his ownership of those assets that totaled about $1.6 billion. And now, the latest deal adds another $600 million or more, pushing the total past the $2 billion mark.
Sony has been on an acquisition spree over the past year. Last year, it was reported that he also acquired what was described as a significant minority stake in the Latin management and management company Rimas Entertainment, which launched Bad Bunny's career. The total deal for the label and management was expected to be valued at about $300 million, sources said at the time.
In May 2023, Sony also acquired the RECORDS catalog from Barry Weiss, Ron Perry and Matt Pincus, acquiring the latter duo in a deal that sought a $100 million valuation. and then made a 50/50 deal with Weiss, who retained control of the company's recent catalog.
Representatives for Sony, Jackson's estate and Primary Wave declined to comment.
