Jackson estate agrees huge deal (From Croydon Guardian)

Jackson estate agrees huge deal

4:39am Tuesday 16th March 2010 in

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The estate of Michael Jackson has apparently landed the late King of Pop the biggest recording deal in history: a £132.8 million guaranteed contract with Sony Music Entertainment for 10 projects over seven years.

One of the albums will be of never-before-released Jackson recordings that will come out in November.

The record-breaking contract stretching to 2017 could even be worth up to £166 million if certain conditions are met, sources said.

Future projects may include a video game, a DVD compilation of videos and a re-release of Off The Wall, Jackson's fifth studio album, which first came out in 1979, accompanied by some unreleased material.

Before his sudden death in June at the age of 50, the pop star had wanted to re-issue the album, people familiar with the deal said.

One of the projects already counted in the contract was the two-disc album that accompanied This Is It, the film based on footage of concert rehearsals for what was to have been Jackson's comeback at London's O2 arena.

Including the more than five million copies of that special release, Jackson has sold some 31 million albums since his death in June, about two-thirds of them outside the United States.

Rob Stringer, chairman of Sony Music's Columbia Epic Label Group, said in remarks prepared for relase later today (March 16): "We're dedicated to protecting this icon's legacy and we're thrilled that we can continue to bring his music to the world for the foreseeable future."