Did Michael Jackson decide to refinance his music catalogs at the last minute, just before he was about to go on tour? That would be hard to believe. Yet it looks like someone did.
A look at the copyrights for his music catalog shows a transfer of security interest on 5/29/2009, not even a month before he passed.
Michael Jackson had his music catalogs in a company he owned and kept managed by Warner Music. Just prior to his death (looks like 5/29 to be precise) those catalogs that he borrowed against were paid off. They went into the hands of WMG and Wells Fargo. Apparently WMG is now the employer for Randy Phillips, former CEO of AEG Live.
"Time-Warner used to own Warner Music Group. Warner Music Group owns Atlantic Records, and the largest music-publishing companies, Warner/Chappell Music. Currently, WMG is owned by Access Industries, under multi-billionaire Len Blavatnik. If you go to any media event in the world, you'll see these people. Blavatnik, Parsons, Randy Phillips (former AEG CEO), Joel Katz (handles Michael Jackson's estate), Evan Lambert (Universal Music), Larry Rudolph (don't get me started), and others..."
US Copyright Office
Type of Work: Recorded Document
Document Number: V3578D649
Date of Recordation: 2009-05-29 Entire Copyright Document: V3578 D649-677 P1-417
Date of Execution: as of 27May09; date of cert.: 28May09
Title: 5150 & 26862 other titles (part 001 of 029)
Type of Work: Recorded Document
Document Number: V3578D649
Date of Recordation: 2009-05-29 Entire Copyright Document: V3578 D649-677 P1-417
Date of Execution: as of 27May09; date of cert.: 28May09
Title: 5150 & 26862 other titles (part 001 of 029)
Title: $$ Girlz & 36108 other titles (part 011 of 037)
Notes: Notice of relinquishment of security interest in United States copyrights.
Party 1: Bank of America, NA.
Party 2: WMG Acquisition Corporation.
**This transfer included rights to Michael Jackson songs such as Beat It, Another Part of Me, Bad, Billie Jean and Black or White
______________________________________________________
"AEG is in discussions with the Jackson family to mount a tribute concert. It would employ staging and choreography that Jackson helped develop for his London shows and may include the singer's superstar friends as well as family members. New revenue for Jackson's estate could come from television rights and a DVD of the concert, AEG Live's Chief Executive Randy Phillips said at a news conference last week."Originally published Monday, July 6, 2009
Was that the tribute concert that went bankrupt? http://www.mtv.com/news/1675058/michael-jackson-concert-promoters-bankruptcy/
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Michael Jackson Song Catalog Will Moonwalk to Sony/ATV Publishing
"For all these years, Michael’s MiJac Publishing has been administered by Warner Chappell, part of what is now Warner Music Group. MiJac includes not only Michael’s hits that he wrote, like “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” but a vast number of other hits including those of Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield, and Sly and the Family Stone.
Warner Chappell doesn’t own MiJac but it administers the rights to it and collects hefty fees. With WMG for sale, and talk of Warner Chappell being sold off, MiJac would seem like an integral part of their story.
But there’s a hitch that I can reveal to you: MiJac is leaving Warner Chappell and going to become part of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the company that Michael Jackson’s estate co-owns with Sony and contains the Beatles catalog.
According to sources, this arrangement was written into the MiJac contract with Warner Chappell years ago. It would be triggered by the release of the next Jackson album–in this case, the recent “Michael”–and the repayment of loans.
The move by MiJac to Sony/ATV is a big deal for many reasons. With both WMG and EMI Music for sale, Sony
Sony/ATV could be kicking the tires of each company’s publishing divisions for purchase. But Warner Chappell might be less interesting to Sony ATV considering they’re already getting Mi Jac. And without MiJac, Warner Chappell–which just had a down quarter–might not look so good to other potential buyers.
What may happen now: the newer, and very hot, BMG Music Rights will likely make a play for EMI Music Publishing. EMI Music–the record company, which has the Beatles albums in its catalog–the physical albums and box sets–could then be merged with another record company like Sony Music or, more horrifyingly, Warner Music. Stay tuned."
source: http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/02/16/michael-jackson-song-catalog-will-moonwalk-to-sonyatv-publishing
It's hard to believe isn't it? After all that money the estate has claimed to have made and all that debt they got Michael out of and they still needed to get that catalog.
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