9/10/17

Michael Jackson - "People wanted the Beatles catalog"

In 1969 Dick James and Brian Epstein, part of Northern Songs Ltd (formed by them as well as John Lennon and Paul McCartney), sold their shares of the Beatles music to Britain's Associated Television (ATV) giving no warning to the Beatles and their record company Apple Corps.  Northern Songs then passed into the control of ATV.

It's been said that Michael Jackson maneuvered past his friend and collaborator Paul McCartney for rights to the Beatles back catalog in August, 1985.  However, in October, 1986 CBS sold CBS Songs, its music publishing business, for $100 million to three entrepreneurs:

Stephen Swid, Charles Koppelman and Martin Bandier.

The sale included the CBS Catalogue Partnership, April Music Inc., Blackwood Music Inc., Music Theater International and CBS Songs International.

Two weeks later, the CBS Catalogue Partnership took a loan from Citibank, that included songs from the Beatles catalog Jackson purchased in 1985.  The songs "Help" and "Revolution" were included in the collateral assignment entitled "Wish I had a girl & 42,922 other titles; musical compositions".

When it came to the Beatles' original studio recordings, controlled by EMI-Capitol Records, permission was another matter. After Nike used the Beatles' original of "Revolution" in 1987 for its "Revolution in Motion" TV commercial campaign (in a licensing deal worth $250,000 to the label, according to Nike at the time), Apple Corps and Apple Records sued Nike, its advertising agency and EMI-Capitol for $15 million.

Paul Russell, former chairman of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, recalled, "Once Sony/ATV was formed, any requests for those songs came to Sony/ATV and not to Michael Jackson."

"(When) those requests came in, serious requests for serious money, for products that we knew were noncontentious, they would come to me and we would form a view, and then we'd go to Michael, even though he didn't have the right to approve it, and say, 'We've received this request, we think it's the right price and an OK use, what do you think?' If somebody had come back to us, either Michael or the Apple people, and said, 'We really don't want you to do this,' we probably wouldn't have done it."

But neither Sony/ATV or Michael Jackson were named in the lawsuit - EMI was.

In 1991, EMI Music Publishing Worldwide, then the world's largest music publisher, named Bandier chairman and chief executive. He also owned SBK Records Group, along with Charles Koppelman, a record label that EMI operated with its parent.  Charles Koppelman also made a bid on the Beatles catalog in 1985, according to Forbes magazine.  The magazine stated that it was in 1993 that Koppelman finally got his hands on the Beatles as chairman and Chief Executive of EMI.

By 1994, the same Beatles titles were entered into another security agreement, which included John Branca, the now acting executor of the Michael Jackson Estate, with EMI April Music, Inc. & EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. named as party 2 on the agreement.  ATV Northern Songs (the Beatles songs) was being administered by EMI April Music, Inc. and EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. in 1994.

In 1995 Jackson merged with Sony, forming Sony/ATV.  It was said that he made the merger deal with Sony because he was having "financial problems".  Although it looks as if the loans taken out using the Beatles catalog as collateral were not made by him.

The article "Jacko May Claim Threats by Mottola" in 2002 stated that Sony Music President Tommy Mottola "threatened" Jackson. "Not physical threats, but certainly the threat that Michael would be destroyed and his career would be over if he didn't agree to Tommy's terms."  The article stated it was Tommy saying "I'll ruin you"  and the basis for all of it was said to be the Beatles catalog.  "All in an effort to squeeze Michael financially."

Mr. Mottola was also formerly with CBS Records (with Charles Koppleman and Martin Bandier). He was named Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment Worldwide in 1993.

Jackson spoke out against Mottola in 2001 and again against the industry in 2002.  His 2002 speech in New York City was made at the same time, apparently, as he supposedly signed his now enstated will in Los Angeles, CA.




In February, 2003 Jackson wrote a letter to John Branca terminating his services, instructing him to forward all documents, releasing him to represent him in any interests - and to RELEASE all funds being held in TRUSTS.  It was during that year that a report from a company called Interfor named John Branca as suspect to funds being diverted from Jackson to Branca and Mottola in offshore accounts.  The Interfor report investigation was requested by Jackson and revealed an improper relationship between Branca and Tommy Mottola.   It stated they were illegally transferring Jackson’s funds to offshore accounts.

Yet that same year Branca wrote to Koppelman regarding a combined publishing operation. "It should be clear that Michael does not contribute, assign or relinquish ownership of his publishing interests unless and until Warner/Chappel is acquired and until it is clear what Michael’s equity interest would be in the COMBINED PUBLISHING OPERATION"

Vanity Fair published the article "Jacko Story: Branca in negotiations" that March. Stating Jackson was "finished" with Sony.  That since the departure of Tommy Mottola from Sony, things had cooled off.  But John Branca, it stated, was still in negotiations to get Jackson a new deal at Sony, "at least for one new album as well as a boxed set he was preparing for the company. Even though right after Mottola left, Sony business-side people said it would never happen, it is happening."  Trudy Green resigned the account.  Green, who is a witness listed on the 2002 will, apparently called Branca about his termination. Branca was stumped. "By that time there was nothing anyone could do," a source said.

In 2004 Charles Koppelman was quoted in an article called “Jackson’s finances are solid, adviser says”(USA Today): “Everything’s in good shape.” Said Charles Koppelman, quoted as a trusted Jackson confidant who was instrumental in renegotiating Jacksons debts.  “He’s in no financial straits as far as I’m concerned.” “We’re basically finished with the refinancing that needed to get done.  That’s the bottom line.” Said Koppelman.

In 2005 Bandier asked EMI to sell him its publishing unit.  When they refused he resigned in 2006. A few months later he took over as head of the music publishing entity Sony/ATV.

In June of 2008 Mr. Bandier was quoted in an article stating that he was focusing on Sony/ATV’s most valuable asset – its trove of Beatles songs. “There’s no bigger star than ‘All You Need is Love’,” he said, calling the collection “unique”.

In 1985, Bandier had traveled to Perth to also try to buy the catalog.  Yet it was stated that Jackson beat him out.  Apple Corp, the company the Beatles created to manage their business affairs, has balked at the licensing deals over the years.  In 2008 Apple and Sony/ATV  licensed the Beatles compositions for use in American Idol, a Las Vegas show and a Hollywood film. They were also closing in on a multi-million dollar deal to create a Beatles-themed video game.  Although Jackson, at the time, was still deemed to be in financial ruins.

By 2009, Bandier was chief executive of Sony/ATV.  That March Rolling Stones magazine reported that Dr. Tohme Tohme, and Randy Phillips, the CEO of AEG Live (the company promoting MJ's London gigs) said the pop star's stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which owned the Beatles catalog, was keeping Jackson financially afloat, but he had borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars against that investment.

It was that year that Michael Jackson was pronounced dead.  One day later a Business Insider writer, Joe Weisenthal, wrote the article "Here Come The Leeches For Michael Jackson's Money"  stating Fortress Investment Group (FIG) owned a 50% stake in the Sony/ATV music catalog, which controlled Jackson's music and the Beatles.  "FIG acquired the stake after foreclosing on debts it had acquired from other creditors."

In March of 2011, Jackson Estate Executor, John Branca, told Piers Morgan during his interview that Sony ATV was worth upwards of about 2 Billion $ and Michael owned half.

In September of 2011, The Huffington Post wrote that people had arrived at the LA courthouse as early as 6 am in hopes of being one of the six people selected for lottery seats held for the public in the Conrad Murray trial.  The remaining seats would be held for the media and families of Michael Jackson and Dr. Conrad Murray.  Eight years prior, the author, Tanya Young Willimas, sat on the family row of a high-profile trial and no one sitting in the lobby could watch Court TV's coverage on their computers and/or phones. At this hearing everyone was immersed in the trial, What surprised her the most on day one of the trial, was the repeated opinions from devout Michael Jackson's fans that he was killed for money.  She heard over and over again, different theories on Dr. Murray's actual understanding of the "master plan to kill" Michael Jackson. Fans of Michael's and supporters of Dr. Murray's continued to say that Michael Jackson was killed because he was worth more dead than alive. "People wanted the Beatles catalog." declared Brian Ciram, a 25 year old private banker from San Francisco.

Murray was found guilty of manslaughter November 7, 2011.  Four days later Rolling Stone Magazine reported that Universal Music Group had acquired EMI's recorded music division for $1.9 billion. Universal, it stated, would acquire the major works of acts including the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Coldplay and the Beach Boys.  That same day it was announced that Sony was to acquire EMI music publishing from Citigroup  - "An investor group comprised of Sony Corp, in conjuction with the Estate of Michael Jackson: Mubadala Development Company, Jynwel Capital Lmtd, Blackstone Groups GSO Capital Prtners LP and David Geffen (the "Group") announced today the execution of a definitive agreement . . to acquire EMI from a wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup for $2.2 billion.  Sony/ATV Music Publishing is co-owned by subsidiaries of SCA (Sony Corporation of America) and TRUSTS formed by the Estate of Michael Jackson." 

The Music Network reported that Mr. Bandier played a key role in the acquisition of EMI Music Publishing by Sony Corporation of America, the Estate of Michael Jackson and the investment group headed by Mubadala Development Company, for whom Sony/ATV administered the EMI catalog.
Sony itself was to be a minority investor, but the company's Sony/ATV Music Publishing division, headed by Martin Bandier, would run EMI's publishing business. "EMI's assets count more than 1.3 million songs, including 251 Beatles compositions" 

In 2014 a Daily Mail reporter wrote that the Michael Jackson Estate was embroiled in major tax-cheating scandal  "Among the disputed values, the estate said a trust that holds interest from some of Jackson's music and most of the Beatles catalog was worth $0"

In 2015 the Beatles song Day Tripper showed up on Amazon as part of the EMI Catalogue

Copyright: (C) 2015 Apple Corps Ltd.  The Jackson’s estate retains a 10 percent share of EMI’s publishing arm.

In 2016  it was reported that the EU antitrust regulators cleared Sony Corp's bid to buy out Michael Jackson's stake in its music publishing joint venture, with copyrights to the Beatles' songs that was apparently worth "$0". Sony signed a memorandum of understanding to pay the Jackson estate $750 million. . . for Jackson's stake that was worth "0".

Mr. Bandier (below) now portrays his accomplishments on his desk.  Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Michael Jackson are all symbolized by figurines that sit upon his desk.


As for Mottola, he served as the "gatekeeper" to Jackson's music, working alongside Bandier and Branca, even though he was no longer part of Sony as of 2003(?)





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