Aired in two parts on HBO on March 3rd and 4th, 2019, Dan Reed's documentary,
Leaving Neverland put a spotlight on Wade Robson and James Save.
Chuck, who share devastating allegations
of sexual abuse at the hands of Michael Jackson,
shocked audiences worldwide and became 2019 Most in Demand documentary.
As a result, public backlash against
the artist ensued and the musical, based on the life and career of Jackson
titled MJ, was canceled ahead of its much anticipated Chicago run,
the star's 2700 acre Neverland Ranch, now renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch.
And the setting for much of the reported
abuse was put on the market at a new asking price of 31 million dollars nearly
70 million dollars less than its original listing from 2015.
Also, a 1991 episode of The Simpsons,
which features the voice of Jackson, was pulled from the show's archives
and multiple streaming outlets and Loevy Tons Fall Winter 2019 menswear
collection that drew direct inspiration from Jackson was also scrapped.
The backlash also affected his music sales
as the demand for Jackson's albums and songs as a whole,
including both his solo work and his time with the Jackson five and the Jacksons
dropped four percent in the wake of the documentary's premiere.
Michael Jackson songs were subsequently
banned on numerous radio stations around the world, including two radio stations
in New Zealand and three major Canadian radio stations in Montreal.
Billboard reported that compared
to the year previous radio airplay of Jackson's songs decreased 32 percent
in the same period and that Jackson's estate tallied
an estimated 60 million dollar pre-tax in 2019.
Which sounds pretty good, right?
Well, not when you compare it to 2008 profit, which totaled 400 million dollars.
A dramatic 85 percent year on year decrease.
So what does this mean for Michael Jackson's enduring legacy?
Will the artist ever be able to make a comeback?
Has canceled culture, indeed.
Dethrone the king of Pop.
We've got the detail.
Though it would be easy to attribute
the dip in profits to the well publicized abuse allegations raised in leaving
Neverland, however, the documentary isn't the real reason behind the dramatic drop.
Last year's figure included a one time
windfall of nearly 300 million dollars for the sale of Jackson's stake
in EMI Music Publishing, as well as a new record deal with Sony 2019.
Total was always bound to be a fraction
of twenty eighteens with profits of 60 million dollars.
Michael Jackson is still number one
on the list of top earning dead celebrities for the seventh year in a row.
Even after his early 2019 reckoning,
Jackson's U.S. streaming totals actually edged up from one point eight billion
to two point one billion, an increase of 17 percent.
His music sales are likely to continue
to gain popularity as streaming is continuing to grow worldwide.
That said, the days of Jackson's sent a million dollar annual earnings
from beyond the grave may have come to an end,
not so much because of a public backlash, but because megadeals and asset sales
that fueled his afterlife bonanza have been completed.
Among them packs for This Is It
and the Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour, as well as Jackson's 750 million
dollar haul for his half of the Sony ATV catalog in 2016.
Jackson still can count on further payouts
from Sony Cash from the Las Vegas show Michael Jackson won and millions from his
own magicJack music catalog, which his estate still controls.
And then there's his sprawling Neverland
compound, which at 31 million dollars may finally be priced to sell.
Although there are new avenues to be
explored, the Jackson themed musical whose Chicago run was canceled earlier
this year, is set to open on Broadway in August 2012.
That sort of production could help Jackson find fresh audiences while connecting
with old ones, boosting his reach just as the likes of Spotify and Apple Music have.
The legendary musicians 1983 hit Thriller seems to have survived largely unscathed
during 2019, spooky season, holding top position for the most popular
Halloween inspired song in the United States.
Thriller walks and parades were held in Georgia, Lexington, Kentucky,
LA Crescent, Wisconsin and New Hampshire as an homage to the song's music video.
And just recently, the Sox Michael Jackson wore during his legendary Motown 25
performance where he debuted his iconic moonwalk to the world,
are going on auction for a whopping estimate of one to two million dollars,
indicating that just mere months after the backlash caused by leaving Neverland,
Michael Jackson's popularity and cultural significance shows no sign of waning.
A career spanning 40 years that reached
the far corners of the earth, proving that Michael Jackson's appeal
and legacy is set to live on for generations to come.
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