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Michael Jackson's Mijac catalog was recently bought by Sony Music for a price of somewhere between $1.2 and $1.5 billion. Given the price of the deal, it is believed to be the highest one so far to purchase a singer's assets. Additionally, Marca reported that Sony is supposed to offer around $600 million for their stake in the company.
The deal reportedly includes the late artist's music along with the projects of other artists that were associated with the catalog. The news comes at a time when Jackson's music witnessed a rise in popularity and sales since last year.
Sony is yet to disclose more details related to the deal but the reports that previously emerged stated that it has been in progress for the last few months. However, when netizens found out about the news of Sony buying the catalog, they were left furious with the deal. They took to social media to vent out their frustration with many stating that Jackson "despised Sony."
Netizens share their reactions after Sony Music finalizes a deal to purchase Michael Jackson's catalog
Social media platforms were flooded with negative reactions after Sony purchased Michael Jackson's catalog at a record price. Netizens specifically recalled the pop star's problems with Sony in the past. The LA Times reported that the problems began in 2002 when Jackson criticized the poor presentation of his CD titled Invincible.
Jackson's fans took to the comments section of The Shade Room on Instagram to share their criticism of the deal. While many said that it was "wrong" of his estate to sell "his stuff to a company he despised," others said that the singer wouldn't have approved of this deal.
The news of the deal was revealed around three days ago and sources for Variety reported at the time that it was priced between $800 and $900 million. They additionally stated that Sony was aiming to take over half of Jackson's assets, including the profits earned by the projects.
Jackson's entertainment lawyer John Branca, who serves as co-executor for Michael's estate, responded stating that they don't intend to hand over the control of his assets to someone else.
Sony Music previously finalized another deal of $750 million in 2016 to purchase the 50% stake in Jackson's estate. The deal stated that Sony had to pay $733 million for their stake along with the rest of the distributions that were confirmed earlier.
Michael Jackson's issues with Sony Music explained
In 2002, Michael Jackson opened up on the promotions of his CD Invincible, which he described as a failure. He specifically mentioned the chairman of Sony Music, Thomas D. Mottola, even calling him a "racist."
According to the Los Angeles Times, Sony replied in a statement which reads:
"The bizarre, false statements Mr. Jackson made on Saturday made it clear that his difficulties lie elsewhere than with the marketing and promotion of 'Invincible.'"
Michael Jackson was reportedly a part of Sony Music since 1985. According to his deal with the company, he was getting half of the profits earned by the company from his music. The contract was supposed to expire in 2004 and Jackson was yet to release four more songs for Sony Music at the time.
