Garabís
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Newly revealed documents explain how he pays the bills
Michael Jackson could be near the end of his life as a performing artist, as he mounts what may be a multimillion-dollar fight against child-molestation charges. How will Jackson pay expensive criminal lawyers and, if a trial happens, a legion of investigators and consultants?
Despite speculation that Jackson's financial empire is collapsing, documents obtained by Rolling Stone indicate that his assets may be far greater than reported. A significant portion of Jackson's money comes from his fifty percent interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the world's fourth-largest music-publishing company, a joint venture valued in 1999 at $931 million.
Details of the confidential 1995 deal have always been sketchy, and the document has never been made public. A copy of the complicated operating agreement, reviewed by Rolling Stone, provides a detailed picture of what an incredible investment the catalog was for Jackson, who paid just $50 million to $70 million for it in 1984.
For years, according to the contract and other financial documents, the Sony/ATV catalog has been a gold mine, providing Jackson with far more scratch than he probably earns from his own records. Revenues for companies that administer music publishing are often measured in terms of "net publisher's share," or the gross amount of money a composition brings in, minus the songwriter's share or any co-publisher's share. For the thirty-month period of October 1st, 1995, through March 31st, 1998, the NPS of the Sony/ATV catalog was an astonishing $142,230,000. The catalog's NPS was $62,221,000 in 1997 and $65,197,000 the following year, with annual growth estimated at around six percent. At that rate, the catalog could rake in $80 million in 2003.
Much of the cash derives from the ownership of 251 Beatles songs. In the twelve months ended June 1998, eight Beatles songs owned by ATV were among the most-played on American radio, led by "Yesterday," with 7 million plays, and "Eleanor Rigby" and "Penny Lane," each with 3 million plays. Jackson and Sony benefited enormously. Songs by Babyface also generated $3.8 million for the catalog for the year ended June 1998; Oasis tunes poured in another $1.6 million. The catalog encompasses some 240,000 income-generating songs.
Another major Jackson asset, Mijac Music Publishing, owns the rights to most of his songs. As of May 7th, 1999, Mijac was valued at $128 million.
Assessing Jackson's financial situation remains a favorite music-industry guessing game. Besides paying off massive loans and the astronomical maintenance costs of his Neverland ranch, Jackson was recently ordered by a California jury to pay promoter Marcel Avram $5.3 million for backing out of two concerts in 1999. To keep afloat, sources say, Jackson relies on income from the Sony/ATV catalog.
What, then, of the deposed King of Pop's unhappy marriage to Sony? "Sony agreed to cut ties after Number Ones, Jackson's latest record, came out," says a source who has done business with Jackson. "Sony doesn't give a shit about Michael Jackson anymore. The publishing catalog is all that matters."
PETER WILKINSON
(December 5, 2003)
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=19052
Michael Jackson could be near the end of his life as a performing artist, as he mounts what may be a multimillion-dollar fight against child-molestation charges. How will Jackson pay expensive criminal lawyers and, if a trial happens, a legion of investigators and consultants?
Despite speculation that Jackson's financial empire is collapsing, documents obtained by Rolling Stone indicate that his assets may be far greater than reported. A significant portion of Jackson's money comes from his fifty percent interest in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the world's fourth-largest music-publishing company, a joint venture valued in 1999 at $931 million.
Details of the confidential 1995 deal have always been sketchy, and the document has never been made public. A copy of the complicated operating agreement, reviewed by Rolling Stone, provides a detailed picture of what an incredible investment the catalog was for Jackson, who paid just $50 million to $70 million for it in 1984.
For years, according to the contract and other financial documents, the Sony/ATV catalog has been a gold mine, providing Jackson with far more scratch than he probably earns from his own records. Revenues for companies that administer music publishing are often measured in terms of "net publisher's share," or the gross amount of money a composition brings in, minus the songwriter's share or any co-publisher's share. For the thirty-month period of October 1st, 1995, through March 31st, 1998, the NPS of the Sony/ATV catalog was an astonishing $142,230,000. The catalog's NPS was $62,221,000 in 1997 and $65,197,000 the following year, with annual growth estimated at around six percent. At that rate, the catalog could rake in $80 million in 2003.
Much of the cash derives from the ownership of 251 Beatles songs. In the twelve months ended June 1998, eight Beatles songs owned by ATV were among the most-played on American radio, led by "Yesterday," with 7 million plays, and "Eleanor Rigby" and "Penny Lane," each with 3 million plays. Jackson and Sony benefited enormously. Songs by Babyface also generated $3.8 million for the catalog for the year ended June 1998; Oasis tunes poured in another $1.6 million. The catalog encompasses some 240,000 income-generating songs.
Another major Jackson asset, Mijac Music Publishing, owns the rights to most of his songs. As of May 7th, 1999, Mijac was valued at $128 million.
Assessing Jackson's financial situation remains a favorite music-industry guessing game. Besides paying off massive loans and the astronomical maintenance costs of his Neverland ranch, Jackson was recently ordered by a California jury to pay promoter Marcel Avram $5.3 million for backing out of two concerts in 1999. To keep afloat, sources say, Jackson relies on income from the Sony/ATV catalog.
What, then, of the deposed King of Pop's unhappy marriage to Sony? "Sony agreed to cut ties after Number Ones, Jackson's latest record, came out," says a source who has done business with Jackson. "Sony doesn't give a shit about Michael Jackson anymore. The publishing catalog is all that matters."
PETER WILKINSON
(December 5, 2003)
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=19052
Menuda pandilla de ineptos....