Well, it’s been a real Celebrity Death Match lately, huh? People will not shut up about Michael Jackson. I’ve waited until today throw my rant at you; I’ve been too angry to write clearly. In all the smoke of hero-worship we easily lose sight of the real legacy of MJ.  Of course MJ is both person and superstar. Frankly, I can’t stomach the personal discussion of him. Let that be argued by people more calm and rational than me. I know my limitations. Superstardom however, is just as important for us to understand. After all, we who read these pages are the folks who buy music, obsess over music, and in the end, who are directly influenced by how the industry changes. And in that respect, MJ was certainly a “titan” (a phrase used over at Matthew’s blog, here).

In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine reported that MJ and his sister Janet had landed the best, most lucrative record deals in history: deals that redefined superstar contracts in the entertainment industry. “Both Jacksons will receive perks that other recording artists, from Madonna to U2, can only dream about.” MJ became a 50/50 financial partner with Sony, with a deal that would “split the profits of his future albums — in addition to receiving artist, publishing and songwriting royalties.” How was this possible in an industry that was basically (and still is) dying due to the availability of online music? Why reward an artist with even more of your profits when your company is struggling to compete? We can see Michael Jackson as the last rope thrown out to a sinking boatload of music industry insiders. Product, meet market.

Superstars pretty much get what they want. They do this by using their identities and future appearances (physical as well as virtual) to leverage for their income. Michael Jackson was not just an entertainer, or a “humanitarian,” or a recording artist. He was a package deal.  Time magazine reported in 1984 that “A good friend is right when he suggests that, ultimately, “Michael’s appeal is universal less because of his music than because of who he is.” He set out to make himself into the most expensive commodity that could be bought and sold and traded of his time.  After Off The Wall was not as lucrative or recognized as he hoped, he told his lawyer, John Branca, that he wanted to be “the biggest star in show business, and the wealthiest.” To do this he needed to carefully construct an image, one that was fused with his recordings, the Pop Star. This image was what we all paid for when we bought his albums; when we paid for cable TV to see his video on MTV; when we purchased all those supermarket tabloids.

His contract with Sony allowed him to be:

paid on every album sold; most artists are paid on only eighty-five percent of the records sold. … If his next album sells 10 million copies, Jackson could earn — from profit sharing and artist, songwriting and publishing royalties — a record $2.80 per unit sold, or $28 million. And if sales reach 20 million to 25 million, he would receive more than $3 a unit, or between $60 million and $75 million. By contrast, it’s estimated that Madonna receives less than $2 a unit. … As several industry insiders note, what Jackson has done is bet on himself – bet that he will have many more multiplatinum albums and thus earn hundreds of millions of dollars based on his share of the revenue. Rolling Stone (May 2 1991) p. 15-16.

He knew he could take this gamble by 1991 because of his past ability to be exactly what we wanted. Is that wrong of him? Perhaps not, if he had proved to us that he had unparalleled musical talent.

But remember, he’s a superstar. “So now it’s not just about music or even the number of records or concert tickets you can sell, but fame, and who has the highest profile to offer and an international media giant struggling  to put a human face on its operations.” (Dancing in the Distraction Factory by Andrew Goodwin, 1992) Talent is only a small part of the package. Superstars base their success on their image, not on their ability to write music (which he had little to none – his songs were written by others, or, at best, melodies were sung into a tape by him to be made into a song by others), to play an instrument (he did not), to sing like no other (Smokey Robinson was a mentor for a reason, no?). One thing Michael could do was dance. Well, he also dressed pretty snappy, had a habit of doing something morally shocking just after an album was released, and generally provide enough antics to keep the press talking about him. That is the role of superstar, is it not?

Every time we laid eyes or ears on MJ we had to pay for it. Don’t fool yourself that it was only the big labels who doled out the money. That was our money. We bought the concert tickets:

On his worldwide Dangerous tour, megastar Michael Jackson performed before 70,000 fans at National Stadium in Bucharest, Romania. Jackson’s historic concert, which nearly overshadowed the country’s general election, was mounted with a security force of some 20,000 police officers. The $16 ticket price, which was lower than the price charged in other countries, amounted to a quarter of the average monthly salary for city residents. Jet v. 82 (October 19 1992) p. 62

We bought the clothing (gloves, jackets, jeans, t-shirts, you name it – it existed), and the Pepsi endorsed by the King of Pop. MJ was labeled as “A one-man rescue team for the music business.”  (Time, March 19,1984). Don King said of the Jackson’s tour of 1985, “if the boys decide to exploit every avenue of merchandising and marketing available to them—T shirts, pay-per-view TV concerts, clothing lines, perfume lines, product identification—the tour could gross $100 million.”

We paid to watch the Superbowl and bought VCRs just for him:

Michael Jackson’s legacy will forever include this title: King of Pigskin. His three-song medley at halftime of Dallas’s 52-17 trouncing of Buffalo in 1993 signified a tectonic shift for the N.F.L. For years, the league had packed its halftimes with a roster of the unhip…  New York Times 6/30/2009, p10

Public fascination with his videos was so great that people rushed out to buy VCRs to play the tightly choreographed, 13-minute video and hour-long documentary, “The Making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.” USA Today 06/30/2009

When the smart negotiator made a deal with Sony, in 1995 to merge the Beatles’ catalog and hundreds of other songs he had bought copyright to with Sony’s catalog he stood to make a net profit of $95 million. But it had far more dire consequences for the music industry. Jackson said in a press statement: “The merging of ATV with Sony establishes our commitment to create one of the largest music publishing ventures in the world. We have been working on this for over a year and, now, with the two of us together, the sky is our only limit.”" Jet. Chicago: Nov 27, 1995. Vol. 89, Iss. 3; pg. 36

That is the music industry conglomerate that indie labels and artists have fought against in order to have a say in their careers and to be able to produce a wider variety of musical genres; to include queers and women, and people of all races in who to makes our music. That is the monster that looks out for its copyright to such an extent that the RIAA is willing to take individual fans to court and attempt to extract from them hundreds of thousands of dollars, in order to prove their point; the point being, this is MINE. Note that these individuals report no profit made on their illegal downloads in most cases. “Michael P. Schulhof, president and CEO, Sony Corporation of America, said: “Michael Jackson is not only the most successful entertainer in history; he is also an astute businessman. Michael understands the importance of copyrights and the role they play in the introduction of new technologies. In joining us for this new venture, Michael recognizes Sony’s leadership in developing and realizing new technologies that serve to expand the creative horizons of artists such as himself.”" Jet. Chicago: Nov 27, 1995. Vol. 89, Iss. 3; pg. 36

It’s just unfortunate that the copyright laws also protected the rights of other musicians against MJ. But superstars don’t really have to play by the rules do they?

Superstar Michael Jackson’s lawyer, Bertram Fields, has denied copyright infringement charges brought against Jackson by the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra alleges that Jackson used a choral snippet from its recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the beginning of the song “Will You Be There” on his Dangerous album and that it received no credit or compensation. The orchestra, which is seeking at least $7 million from Jackson, Epic Records, and Epic’s parent company, Sony Music Entertainment, recorded the symphony for Columbia Records, which is now also owned by Sony.

The lawyer’s explanation included him saying that he believed the use of the recording was “permitted” and that Sony had known “what Jackson was doing and didn’t object” Jet v. 82 (May 11 1992) p. 60

What are we left with at the end of the day to explain the impact of Michael Jackson on the music industry? We’re left with stronger concentration of power in the major labels; raised stakes for artists who are negotiating contracts; a fine example of how to market yourself as a total package; and a very strong idea that he with the most money gets to make the rules. That is his legacy folks, get over it. Spoiled Brats of the Ruling Class.

Michael Jackson was no musician to emulate. He rarely paid homage to those who had gone before him in the struggle to integrate Blacks into the White majority cultural stronghold. What about Aretha Franklin, Louis Armstrong, Sam Cooke, Dianna Ross?, “Jackson was not the first” as Paul Kahn, Newtonville, Mass., wrote in his letter to the editor, USA Today 06/30/2009. MJ did not even begin to approach the musical genius of Prince (as I and others will school you on, if you’re so inclined… maybe even if you’re not), not even close to Sly And The Family Stone, Everybody is a Star, or James Brown. But MJ did make himself a superstar. Do we need more of those? I think not.

Anne Feeney
Cat Stevens
Peeping Tom
Sly & The Family Stone
(weird playlist isn’t it? well that’s me )