Michael Jackson is the highest-earning artist in the music industry

According to Forbes, Michael Jackson is the highest-earning among living and deceased music artists. Although his new album sold fewer copies in its first week than This Is It, which was released last year, and it debuted at number three on the Billboard chart after Taylor Swift and Susan Boyle, its performance was better than everyone expected. In one week, Michael’s album sold 228,000 copies, while Sony’s estimate was 225,000 copies. This Is It sold 373,000 copies in its first week. With this introduction, Forbes writes that over the past year, Michael’s legacy generated $275 million in revenue, which is more than the earnings of all other artists combined. His one-year income is even higher than the combined earnings of money-makers like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Madonna, and Jay-Z. Two months ago, Forbes announced Michael as the richest deceased star (News text). This promises even more income in the future. “Michael” is the first album from a long-term 7-year project, described as the biggest contract in music history—worth between $200 and $250 million—between Sony and the Michael Jackson Foundation. In addition to this amount, the foundation also received $60 million from Sony for the film rights to This Is It. And you should also consider the income from producing the video game “Experience,” producing merchandise with the King of Pop’s logo and emblem, and reprinting Michael’s biography book “Moonwalk.” Michael holds the rights to release all of his songs, and Sony also paid his foundation an additional $50 million for using Michael Jackson’s songs and releasing a new album by him. The radio play of the new album’s songs and album sales add to this income. To all of this, you must add Michael’s income from the works of other artists. 50% of Sony/ATV’s catalog belongs to Michael. Sony/ATV was formed as a joint venture between Michael Jackson and Sony in 1995, and today it is one of the most powerful music publishing companies in the world. 750,000 songs from artists such as Elvis Presley, Leonard Cohen, Neil Diamond, Little Richard, Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Eminem, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira, Wyclef Jean, Akon, Fall Out Boy, Katy Tunstall, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé are in this catalog. And of course, you shouldn’t forget the valuable catalog of The Beatles. Michael’s annual income from the songs of these artists is between $50 and $100 million. Another $25 to $50 million is Michael’s annual income from his own works. With all this, Michael’s total wealth comes close to $1.5 billion. Even though he’s at number three on Billboard, Michael is still ruling! Source: eMJey / Forbes