Anonymous
(ID: FT9M4P6B)
7/26/2025, 2:20:53 AM
No.511373567
7/26/2025, 2:20:53 AM
No.511373567
Michael Jackson’s fight wasn’t just with executives; it was a war against a system built to own Black talent from cradle to grave.
Motown 1969-1975: Berry Gordy treated the Jackson 5 like a cash crop—family got pennies per record while Motown kept publishing. Lesson burned in early: the label, not the artist, owns the masters.
CBS/Epic 1975-1985: MJ renegotiated a then-mythical royalty (≈42 % of net) and, crucially, wrestled songwriter control—he co-owned ATV with Branca. That catalogue (250+ Beatles songs) became the nuclear option the industry feared.
1993-2005: The Takedown Phase
– Sony/ATV merger (1995) gave MJ 50 % of a $1 billion catalogue; Sony wanted it all.
– 1993 and 2003 child-molestation cases were weaponized: DA Sneddon, tabloid cash-for-lies, and Sony’s own PR firm (Ruder Finn) stoking flames. The goal: bankruptcy, catalogue fire-sale.
– Trial acquittal 2005: jury foreman later admitted Sony execs in the gallery looked “visibly angry.”
2006-2009: Financial Siege
– Sony/ATV refinancing forced MJ to sign a “reversion clause”: if he died, Sony could buy his share at steep discount.
– London concerts (50 dates, 2009) were engineered by AEG to raise $400 M—money earmarked to pay back Bank of America and keep Sony at bay. When he died days before the tour, Sony quietly exercised the reversion clause and completed full acquisition of his share by 2016.
Endgame: Michael owned half a billion-dollar catalogue, so the industry had to destroy the man to get the masters. They succeeded posthumously; he succeeded artistically.
Motown 1969-1975: Berry Gordy treated the Jackson 5 like a cash crop—family got pennies per record while Motown kept publishing. Lesson burned in early: the label, not the artist, owns the masters.
CBS/Epic 1975-1985: MJ renegotiated a then-mythical royalty (≈42 % of net) and, crucially, wrestled songwriter control—he co-owned ATV with Branca. That catalogue (250+ Beatles songs) became the nuclear option the industry feared.
1993-2005: The Takedown Phase
– Sony/ATV merger (1995) gave MJ 50 % of a $1 billion catalogue; Sony wanted it all.
– 1993 and 2003 child-molestation cases were weaponized: DA Sneddon, tabloid cash-for-lies, and Sony’s own PR firm (Ruder Finn) stoking flames. The goal: bankruptcy, catalogue fire-sale.
– Trial acquittal 2005: jury foreman later admitted Sony execs in the gallery looked “visibly angry.”
2006-2009: Financial Siege
– Sony/ATV refinancing forced MJ to sign a “reversion clause”: if he died, Sony could buy his share at steep discount.
– London concerts (50 dates, 2009) were engineered by AEG to raise $400 M—money earmarked to pay back Bank of America and keep Sony at bay. When he died days before the tour, Sony quietly exercised the reversion clause and completed full acquisition of his share by 2016.
Endgame: Michael owned half a billion-dollar catalogue, so the industry had to destroy the man to get the masters. They succeeded posthumously; he succeeded artistically.