$ony kills music, MJ said In June 2002 Michael Jackson made a rare appearance at a fan appreciation event called Killer Thriller. In 2002 Michael Jackson was in the midst of a very public disagreement with his record label over the lack of promotion of his Invincible album. At the event the Jackson detailed his relationship with Sony Music in a way that was more specific than he ever had before. During the speech Jackson stated that Sony was sabotaging Invincible as retaliation for him out thinking the record label. Sony Music stopped promoting Invincible just five months after its release, despite the album debuting at number-one in the US and thirteen other countries around the world and selling over six million copies in just over three months. Jackson told the crowd, who often interrupted him with cheers and applause, that because of practicing good business he was leaving Sony, owning half of Sonys publishing. The King of Pop then laid into then-head of Sony Music, Tommy Mottola. He called Mottola a “devil” and told fans at the event that they had to continue their drive until he was “terminated”. Mottola resigned six months later. Jackson also talked about Mariah Carey, but not before asking that cameras be turned off, then telling the crowd “you know what tape it, I don’t mind.” Jackson told the crowd that after divorcing Mottola, Carey came to him crying, telling him that Mottola would tap her phones and have her followed. Considering the controversy that has been brewing about Michael, the new Jackson album from Sony, which multiple Jackson collaborators and family members have come out against, I thought it was particularly poignant and important to hear Michael Jackson himself talk about the way he felt about Sony and his interactions with the label. Here is the full text of the speech by the pop titan himself - “First let me say, I really don’t like to talk that much. I really don’t. I prefer to perform than talk. Let me just say this; the tradition of great performers from, and I really want you to hear what I have to say, from Sammy Davis Junior, James Brown, to Jackie Wilson, to Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly. The story is usually the same though. These guys worked really hard at their craft but the story ends the same. They usually are broken, torn and usually just sad, because the companies take advantage of them, they really do. Sony, being the artist that I am at Sony, Ive generated several billion dollars for Sony, several billon. They really thought that my mind is always on music and dancing. It usually is, but they never thought that this performer, myself, would out think them. So, we cant let them get away with what theyre trying to do, because now Im a free agent. I just owe Sony one more album. Its just a box set, really, with two new songs which Ive written ages ago. Because for every album that I record, I write literally, Im telling you the truth I write at least 120 songs every album I do. So I can do the box set, just giving them any two songs. So Im leaving Sony a free agent, owning half of Sony. I own half of Sonys Publishing and Im leaving them and theyre very angry at me because I just did good business, you know. So the way they get revenge is to try and destroy my album. But Ive always said, you know, art, good art never dies. Thank you, I love Unbreakable (opening track on Invincible). And Tommy Mottola is a devil! Im not supposed to say what Im going to say right now, but I have let you know this. Please dont videotape what I am going to say, ok? Turn that off, please. You know what, you know what tape it, I dont mind! Tape it! Mariah Carey, after divorcing Tommy, came to me crying, crying. She was crying so badly I had to hold her. She said to me, This is an evil man and Michael, this man follows me. He taps her phones, and hes very, very evil and she doesnt trust him and he is a horrible human being. We have to continue our drive until he is terminated. We cant allow him to do this to great artistry, we just cant. I just wanted to let you know, I appreciate everything youve done, youve been amazing. Youre so loyal! Diana, everybody, Waldo, all the people here! I love you all. Youve been amazing, I love you! But still, but still, I promise you, the best is yet to come! Though Michael Jackson himself chose to only go into so much detail, many decided to take it a bit further. In July of 2002 Roger Friedman revealed, in his entertainment column for Fox News, that a serious source told him there was “correspondence” of Mottola telling Jackson that he would “ruin him” and his reputation if he was unable to wrest full control of Jackson’s music catalogue from him. It was that correspondence, Friedman said, that gave Michael Jackson the confidence to slam Mottola in such an uncharacteristically public fashion. Some fans have gone into more detail, stating that Michael Jackson frequently borrowed against his catalogue with Sony, and if Sony could make Jackson default on those loans they stood much more likely to gain his %50 share of the music catalogue. Fans contend, what better way to do this than for Sony to suddenly stop promoting such a large portion of Jackson’s income, an album Sony says they spent $30 million to make? In 2003, during his interview with Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes, Jackson was asked why his Number Ones CD, the greatest hits collection that followed Invincible, was not performing as well in the US as it was in other places around the world. Jackson replied, “My album is number one all over the world, all over the world. America is the only one because…” Bradley commented, “But it’s not number one in the US.” Jackson replied, “Its conspiracy. I don’t want to say too much. I’m done. I don’t want to say much.” Lisa Marie Presley recently told Oprah that during a conversation in 2005 Jackson told her that he was afraid for his life. Presley told Oprah, “The final part of the conversation was him telling me that he felt that someone was going to try to kill him to get a hold of his catalogue and his estate.” She continued, “He expressed to me his concern for his life.” Presley also said Jackson gave her names but that she would prefer not to say them. Michael Jackson’s 50% stake in the Sony/ATV catalogue is said to be worth upwards of $1 billion.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Apr 2014 08:39:52 +0000
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