AEG トライアル セッション 50: グローバル ツアーの計画 + パリ ジャクソンの証言ビデオのダウンロード

今日の裁判の開始時、陪審員の不在中、裁判官は前日からの双方の弁護士間の激しいやりとりに言及した。彼らは裁判所の廊下でメディア関係者やファンの間で激しい発言を交わしていた。今日裁判官は彼らに規則を尊重しなければならないと言いました。同氏はまた、事前にジャーナリストらに対し、法廷内の指定されたエリアまたは建物の外でのみ弁護人へのインタビューが可能であることを念押しする電子メールが送られていたことにも言及した。

裁判官はまた、この事件の手続きは9月中旬に完了する予定であると発表した。その後、会計士アーサー・エルクがスタンドに戻った。同社の弁護人であるサブリナ・ストロング氏は再びマイケル氏を尋問し、マイケル氏の潜在的な収入に関するエルク氏の見積もりに異議を唱え続けた。

ストロング氏は、エルクの広告収入（2億6,700万ドル＋衣料品広告5,000万ドル）の見込みに疑問を呈した。彼女は、総額は3億1,700万ドルと見積もられていると述べた。エルク氏は、マイケルが宣伝した服は若者の間で人気があると述べた。

ストロングはエルクに、50歳のマイケル・ジャクソンのファッションが若者にとって興味を引くと本当に信じているのかと尋ねた? エルク：「そうだ」。

次にストロング氏は、5000万ドルという数字は単なる憶測なのかと尋ねた。エルクはそれを拒否し、論理的にそのような結論に達したと述べた。エルクさんは、マイケルの服は好評だったと語った。彼は、This Is Itツアーのチケットの売れ行きはマイケルがいかに人気があるかを示していると付け加えた。エルク氏は、この数字は2012年に推定した広告契約に基づいていると述べた。ストロング氏は、マイケルと2005年の裁判をめぐる否定的な論争が、マイケルと広告契約を結ぶ企業の意欲にマイナスの影響を与えていることを示そうとした。彼女はビヨンセが否定的な論争をしたことは一度もなかったと語った。それから彼女はエルクに、刑事事件の後、数億ドル相当の広告契約を結んだアーティストを知っているかどうか尋ねた。エルクは知らないと言った。

エルク: 「私が知っているのは、需要があったということです。それについては疑問の余地はありません。AEG は世界中の人々よりもアメリカの観客のことをもっと心配していたと思います。」 ストロング: 「MJ のイメージは広告契約を結ぶことができるほど再構築されましたか?」 エルク: 「彼は短期間でたくさんのチケットを売ったので、それについて考えることに多くの時間は費やしませんでした。」 ストロング: 「私の疑問は、MJ のイメージが広告契約を結ぶのに十分なほど再構築されたかどうかということでした」エルク：「イエスかノーで答える必要があるなら、あなたの答えはイエスです。」

エルク氏も自分の数字を保守的だと言って擁護した。同氏は、各コンサートの視聴者は全員、マイケル・ジャクソン関連の記念品や品物に少なくとも19ドルを費やすだろうと語った。

ストロング氏はエルク氏に、AEGの試算によれば、50回のコンサートを行うことでマイケルの純利益がどれくらいになるのか知っているかどうか尋ねた。エルク氏は「はい、2000万ドル以上です」と答えた。ストロング氏は2,200万ドルから3,000万ドルの間の数字を挙げ、エルク氏に彼の数字とAEGの数字の大きな相違について説明するよう求めた。エルク氏は、AEGは75万枚のチケットを販売したが、広告収入や商品販売は考慮されていなかったと述べた。

Erk said that at age 56, Michael would begin four other tours and, by age 66 and retirement, would have held a total of 455 concerts: including 260 concerts in TII, as well as 40 concerts at age 60, 50 concerts at age 63, and 45 concerts at age 66. Erk said that achieving 260 concerts on the This Is It tour was, from a rational standpoint, certain. He accounted for an additional 195 concerts based on his professional judgment.

Strong: “Do you know of any other artist who, from age 50 to 66, had five tours?”Erk: “I didn’t factor that in.”

Erk said that in his estimates he relied on emails exchanged since December 2008. Those emails discussed a global tour and the making of a film. Erk said the company had doubts about demand, but once 750,000 tickets sold within a few hours, they were confident they could take the tour anywhere they wanted. The company, in an email with Colony Capital, had discussed a tour with 186 concerts—before the This Is It tour contract was signed.

Erk: “It’s clear they intended to take Michael around the world.”

Those emails mentioned a net profit of 132 million dollars for Michael, but even that figure was far less than Erk’s estimate.

Erk’s estimates were displayed on the court monitor:

Net tour income (with 260 concerts): 460 million dollarsAdvertising income: 317 million dollarsMerchandise sales income: 121 million dollars

Strong: “Has any tour ever had income like that?”Erk: “No. This tour would have been record-breaking.”

Strong: “In your deposition, you said you weren’t sure MJ’s filmmaking career would be successful, right?”Erk: “That’s right.”

Strong: “Do you remember that Katherine Jackson said MJ didn’t want to dance at age 50?”Erk: “Yes.”

Strong showed the Paris Jackson deposition video.

In the video, Paris—yawning from exhaustion—says her father had been working on many songs and that after the This Is It tour he needed rest and wanted to step away from work. She says he didn’t want to do another tour after that.

At Katherine Jackson’s attorney’s request, the second part of the clip was also shown. In this video, Marvin Putnam, the company’s attorney, asks Paris how long This Is It would take. Paris says she doesn’t know how long the This Is It tour would last, but she thinks it would be very long because it was a “global” tour, and global tours take a lot of time. Paris emphasized that her father had told her it was a “global” tour.

Putnam: “What did he tell you?”Paris: “He said that we’re going around the world for the tour.”

After Strong, Brian Panish took the floor to question Erk.

Panish: “Were Mr. Jackson found guilty of the charges that AEG mentioned?”Erk: “No.”Panish: “Did the charges cause the company not to sign a contract with Michael?”Erk: “Actually, they entered into a three-year contract with him and a commitment to make a film.”Panish: “Was it ever mentioned in any email that they didn’t want to make money from MJ because of the charges?”Erk: “I didn’t see anything like that.”

Panish asked whether Tiger Woods, the golf champion, had faced negative controversies. Erk answered yes, but said that in 2012 Woods’ advertising contract brought in 70 million dollars. Panish referred to Alex Rodriguez, a baseball player in the United States, and asked about the impact of doping allegations on his income. Erk said that while allegations against Rodriguez come up from time to time, his advertising income is very high.

Panish asked whether Michael’s allegations would affect his future income. Erk stated that he calculated Michael’s future income based on AEG’s estimates and said:

“If that number was acceptable to them, then it’s acceptable to me as well.”

Panish pointed out that Randy Phillips, the company’s CEO, had estimated Michael’s income in London at 50 to 100 million dollars, which could rise to as much as 500 million dollars if a global tour took place. He asked whether that estimate matched Erk’s calculations. The answer was yes.

Panish asked whether Kenny Ortega and Michael would also collaborate on future projects. Erk said Ortega had spoken with Michael about a tour in India and Japan, and they were supposed to work on making a film.

Erk said AEG could easily access Michael’s financial information, and there was no reason to think the company didn’t know about Michael’s problems. However, Erk said he hadn’t conducted research into Michael’s health, because when the company signed the contract and allocated a budget for it, it was determined that the tour would happen.

Panish asked why the testimony of Phillips and Paul Gongwer was important in his calculations. Erk explained that they were company executives and responsible for ticket sales, so they were aware of the issues. Gongwer, in his testimony, had referenced high demand for tour tickets.

Panish: “Was MJ popular and could he sell tickets?”Erk: “Absolutely.”

Panish read part of Randy Phillips’ testimony, in which he said that all of them were surprised by the high demand for tour tickets. Strong objected and said they had no doubt about the high demand for London concerts.

Panish: “Do you have any doubts about this—that AEG wasn’t just confident about London, but also about sales in other places?”Erk: “No, I don’t have any doubts.”Panish: “Do you think they were only hoping for ticket sales?”Erk: “No.”

They then reviewed several emails.

In an email dated September 2008, Phillips wrote that if the London tour went well, they would go to the new O2 World stadium in Berlin.

They then discussed Michael’s ability to perform tours at older ages. Erk said Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones singer who is 69, had recently finished a tour that AEG supported. Keith Richards is also 69; he has a long history of heroin addiction and still tours—and has been successful. Barbra Streisand is 71, and she had recently finished her shows for AEG.

Panish then addressed Michael’s debts and the loan he had taken from the bank. He asked Erk whether, generally, loans are given to people who can’t repay. The answer was clearly no. Erk said Michael had assets that served as collateral for the loan—most importantly, the Sony/ATV catalog.

Erk said that over the past ten years of Michael’s life, he had not had work income and had been living off royalties. Erk also said that over the last few years of Michael’s life, his living expenses had exceeded his income.

Panish: “If you don’t have work income, is it likely that your spending will exceed your income?”Erk: “Most likely, yes.”

Panish: “Is the idea of a global tour something you came up with?”Erk: “No.”

In an email, Gongwer provided a draft of Michael’s global tour plan as follows: from January 2009 to April 2011—186 concerts. Michael’s profit: 132 million dollars. “That’s a big number, but not the kind of thing MJ wants to hear. He thinks he’s bigger than that.”

In earlier sessions, Gongwer had testified that he called Michael “Mikey” out of friendship and closeness. Brian Panish objected, saying that name was meant to mock Michael.

In the email, Gongwer predicted a 27-month global tour with 186 concerts. Erk reached the figure of 260 concerts over 37 months based on that. Panish asked why the number 37. Erk said MJ’s contract was three years, meaning 36 months, and he personally added one more month. Erk said the average number of shows calculated by AEG was 1.59 per week, and that number was 1.6 in his calculations.

Gongwer attached a list of tour venues around the world to his estimates: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Paris, Zurich, Milan, Johannesburg, Dubai, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and the United States starting with Florida, Texas, New Orleans, California, Denver, Utah, and Chicago.

In Gongwer’s calculations, several private shows with income of 3 to 10 million dollars were also included.

Erk said he included larger venues than O2 in his calculations because demand for the tour was unprecedented.

Panish: “Did you see many documents from AEG about a global tour?”Erk: “Yes.”

Email from Phillips to the Loewic team, April 15, 2009: “He’s happy. They selected all the male and female dancers. I want to have a three-year tour.”

Email from Thomas Ursin: “I have a client who is seriously eager to hold MJ’s tour in India.”Phillips’ reply: “Thank you, Thomas. MJ will definitely come to you.”

Before questioning Erk, Panish asked whether, after reading these emails, he concluded that holding the India tour was a plan—not just a wish. Erk confirmed.

Erk said Phillips was in the process of contracting with the company Brawado to supply マイケル・ジャクソン products in Oxford Circle, Philadelphia. Under that contract, the stores in that area would sell only マイケル・ジャクソン items.

As part of the defense, Strong pointed out that Gongwer had predicted three concerts and one private show in India, and eight concerts and one private show in Japan, while Erk’s estimate did not match those numbers. Erk said Michael would perform 60 concerts in India.

Strong also referred to an email from Phillips to Loewic stating that they were skeptical about Michael agreeing to the tour.

Email: “Colony (Capital) is receptive, but they’re also like us—they doubt MJ will actually do it.”

Then Panish asked Erk again: “What had MJ told his children?”Erk: “He said, ‘We’re going on a global tour.’ He took his children with him wherever he went.”

Panish referenced the rapid sale of 750,000 tickets for the London tour within 5 hours, and Erk described it as excellent. Panish asked him whether, after this success, it was likely that Gongwer would pursue the sale of more tickets. Erk said that in such circumstances they would try to sell as many tickets as possible.

At the end of the session, the judge asked the company whether they wanted to subpoena Dr. Murray as a witness. Putnam’s answer was no.

Source: eMJey.com / LA Times & AP & CNN