On late Monday, Sony announced that it will pay Michael Jackson estate an amount of $750 million for its Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog share. The said catalog is for the music publishing rights which envelop the music and lyrics that are represented in any recordings.
In 1995, Michael Jackson and Sony formed Sony/ATV as a joint venture and considered as one of the music industry's jewels. The catalog consists of more than one million copyrights including that of the Beatles' 250 songs.
The term is asking Sony to pay a lump sum amount of $733 million for the late Jackson's 50% stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing including future distributions. It was in September when the talks about the deal started as Sony wield its rights under their joint venture to acquire Jackson's estate, Bloomberg reported.
"This agreement further demonstrates Sony's commitment to the entertainment businesses," Kazuo Hirai, chief executive of the Sony Corporation, said in a statement, "and our firm belief that these businesses will continue to contribute to our success for years to come."
More than $500 million in debt has been paid by the estate amid recordings, movies, merchandise and theatrical shows agreement. Sony, on the other side, has been losing sales from a shrinking consumer electronics business and in the previous years, investors have urged the company to raise cash by selling assets, according to The New York Times.
In 1985, Jackson bought a portion of the ATV catalog for $41.5 million based on the released reports. The sale does not transmit to Sony ownership of Jackson's master of recordings or rights to songs he had written, as reported by CNBC.
Both parties anticipate a conclusive agreement by the end of March and the estate will be free of debt and hundreds of millions richer. The estate helps his mother and three children. One of Jackson's greatest assets is the Sony/ATV catalog when he died in June 2009 at the age of 50, even in that time he was totally in debt.
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