Half of Michael Jackson’s music catalog bought by Sony Music for $600m

Entertainment

By Patrick Reilly

This deal, you just can’t beat it.

Half of Michael Jackson’s music catalog has been reportedly purchased by Sony Music Group for at least $600 million.

The deal values the King of Pop’s music at some $1.2 billion, which could be the largest valuation ever of a musician’s music assets, according to Billboard.

The deal would also be the biggest ever for the work of a single musician, the BBC reported.

Jackson, who died in 2009, remains immensely popular on music streaming services like Spotify, where he averages 40 million monthly listeners.

Just two of his countless hits, “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” have each been played more than one billion times on Spotify alone, according to the BBC.

The deal comes just as an upcoming biopic about Jackson’s life and career starring his nephew is set to hit the big screen next year.

The deal also reportedly includes tracks by other artists that had been acquired by Jackson’s Mijac publishing group — including hit songs by Ray Charles, Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, the BBC reported.

The Jackson deal is as big or bigger than the $1.2 billion deal sought by Queen, which includes royalties for streams and other uses like the Freddy Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” and theatrical productions, according to Billboard.

Sony’s deal with Jackson’s estate does not include royalties from the Broadway play and other theatrical productions featuring his music, the outlet reported.

Sony paid $100 million in 1991 to buy the first half of what became Sony/ATV— ATV being the catalog that Jackson purchased in 1985 that included the Beatles catalog, according to Billboard. Sony and Jackson each owned 50% of Sony/ATV.

In 2016, Sony paid $750 million for the remaining 50% of Sony/ATV.