TeamMichaelJackson.com received the following from an anonymous user:-
ok here is a cut and copied version of email sent to branca and his “assistant’s” response. i tried to just forward the whole thing as one and my computer froze so i had to cut copy and paste-
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ZIFFREN BRITTENHAM LLP
1801 Century Park West
Los Angeles, CA 90067-6406
Tel 310-552-3388
Fax 310-553-7068
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this portion is about something i sent to him in 2010 about a fake album that Sprint was selling on their website- i hated to email him but figured he wouldn’t respond anyway, but he did, and Sprint was pissing me off with selling something that had Michael’s name on it but it wasn’t his voice….
From: John Branca
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 10:20 AM
To: ??????
Cc: Howard L. Weitzman ; ‘Zia F. Modabber’
Subject: (dictated, but not read)
Dear ?????:
I am not familiar with the Michael Jackson Mania album you refer to. We will investigate it. We do not want anyone misled with regard to Michael Jackson product. We thank you for bringing it to our attention.
The Estate has nothing to do with this product, and we will contact the seller to make sure they take step to make sure that they are not misleading consumers.
Best regards,
John G. Branca
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From: ?????@hotmail.com
To: johnb@ziffrenlaw.com
Subject: ***ERRORS on the Michael Jackson IMMORTAL Deluxe Edition CD Album Covers
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 10:45:11 -0800
Hello,
… There are errors on what I guess you could call the outer “cardboard” encasing cover. The song/track list on the outer cover does NOT match the song/track list on the “insert” CD cover that is inside the actual plastic CD case itself. The outer cardboard encasing cover lists only “22” remixed songs (11 on disc one & 11 on disc two), but the inner CD cover lists “27” remixed songs (15 on disc one & 12 on disc two). You can’t see this error until you open the ENTIRE deluxe CD package because, of course, it’s completely sealed in plastic wrapping. (and taaj, i didn’t exactly explain to him HOW I got into one of the album packages because it’s a LONG story how I did it, but it was legal! 🙂 ) ok so here is the rest of what i said to him:
(Please see the **attached photos** of the inner AND outer CD covers of the album. The first photo shows the “inner/insert” CD cover. The second photo shows the “outer” cardboard encasing cover- which is the only VISIBLE cover you can see when purchasing the deluxe edition album in a store). I don’t know if this error is visible when purchasing the album on the internet.
I am not sure if the Michael Jackson Estate is aware of this error on the deluxe edition covers. I posted my concerns about it on the www.michaeljackson.com website, but I believe the Estate should also be made aware of this serious error. I hope the problem will somehow be remedied… But most importantly, Michael’s work and his name deserve better… Thank you for taking the time to read my concern. Maybe (hopefully) Sony will address this issue– Below is a copy of a comment I posted on their website:
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**Epic/Sony** PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS A MISTAKE ON SOME (IF NOT ALL) of the black (dark purple?) cardboard covers that encase the 2-disc DELUXE EDITION!!! 🙁 The list of songs on the BACK of the black/purple cardboard cover does NOT match the list of songs on the actual cd cover that is inserted INSIDE of the plastic cd case. (But you don’t notice this until you open the ENTIRE package because the “correct” cover is inside of the black/purple cardboard cover, which is completely sealed in plastic wrapping). On the black/purple cardboard cover, it lists 11 songs on disc 1 and 11 songs on disc 2, for a total of only 22 songs. BUT THERE ARE 27 SONGS listed on the inside cd jacket cover and THERE ARE ACTUALLY 27 songs: 15 ON DISC 1 and 12 ON DISC 2. But since the actual deluxe cd pack is completely sealed inside of the black/purple cardboard covering, people can only see 22 songs on the outside instead of the COMPLETE LIST OF 27 SONGS. This will confuse many customers if they KNOW there should be 27 songs but only SEE 22. Some people might not even notice or care, but this needs to be fixed. And what about the people who DON’T know to look for 27 songs… Some people might opt for the single-cd version over the deluxe 2-disc version because they can’t see the overall comparison between the two versions with FIVE SONGS missing from the deluxe set’s cover list…. they are being “cheated” in a sense because they are being misinformed… 🙁
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:51:11 -0800
Subject: FW: ***ERRORS on the Michael Jackson IMMORTAL Deluxe Edition CD Album Covers
From: gayle@mjonlineteam.com
To: ???????@hotmail.com
CC: ashley@mjonlineteam.com; Gayle@mjonlineteam.com
??????,
Gayle Boulware here, of the MJ Online Team.
We are working for the Michael Jackson Estate, reporting to Co-Executor John Branca directly, and we have been brought on to help the Estate communicate with the fans more effectively – please feel free to reach out to me, or Ashley on our team (copied above), if you have any questions for the Estate in the future!
Mr. Branca received your email, and the Estate has asked us to respond on their behalf. Your support of Michael’s legacy is very much appreciated!
Although the track listing on the inner jewel case is more accurate, the outer card does include all of the correct individual songs in the correct order they appear. The ONLY difference is that some of the songs are grouped together on the outer card instead of being listed individually. For example, on the outer sleeve you see This Place Hotel/Smooth Criminal/Dangerous listed as one track when, in fact, on the record each song is a separate track. The actual track breaks were made on the master after the outer sleeve was manufactured and will be corrected on future runs. We apologize for any confusion this has caused anyone.
We would kindly ask that you do not email John Branca directly. Please communicate only through us (the MJ Online Team) from this point forward. As you can imagine, the Executors and the other folks who work on Estate affairs are deluged with business matters, and they have specifically asked us to handle online communications with the fans for the Estate. They have also specifically requested that any email and other similar communications for them come to us directly, so that the Estate may keep email and other channels open for their heavy overflow. Any questions you have can be sent to us, and you can be assured that we relay everything on to them. You can always reach out to me or Ashley directly.
Again, thank you for all of your support. It’s critical to Michael’s continuing legacy that he have people like you in his corner, supporting the Estate as they work to continue to share Michael’s art with future generations.
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and here is what i wrote BACK TO HER because she seemed to think that the inaccuracies were sort of small, but if a whole song seems to be “missing,” and the way the cd tracks are numbered don’t even match, that is NOT small so i wrote back to her about the song “WILL YOU BE THERE,” and how the numbering system for the songs was off!!! this is my second email back to her:
From: ??????@hotmail.com
To: gayle@mjonlineteam.com
Subject: RE: ***ERRORS on the Michael Jackson IMMORTAL Deluxe Edition CD Album Covers
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:52:35 -0800
Hello Ms. Boulware,
Thank you very much for your prompt response! I wasn’t actually expecting a reply, but I was sincerely hoping that someone would at least pass along the concern. I’m sorry if I troubled Mr. Branca, but quite honestly I assumed that someone else would actually be receiving/reviewing his emails on his behalf since he IS such a busy person.
I understand the information you provided. BUT, there are actually other differences/discrepancies on the album covers.
—Specifically, on the outer cover for example, the song “Will You Be There” is NOT even listed under EITHER DISC 1 or 2, but it IS listed on the inner cd jacket under DISC 2.
AND
—The numbering sequences on the outer cd cover do not match the numbering sequences on the inner cd cover in terms of the songs/medleys on DISC 1 versus DISC 2. For example,
the “Is It Scary/Threatened/Thriller” medley is listed as “song” number 1 ON DISC 2 on the OUTER cover, BUT this medley is actually “split” into two DIFFERENT medleys ON DISC 1 as “song” numbers 14 and 15- as indicated on the INNER cd cover. I do understand the “break down” explanation you provided for the medley “This Place Hotel/Smooth Criminal/Dangerous,” but overall the “appearance” of inaccuracies and confusion still remain and that is very unfortunate, for many obvious reasons. My email was not intended to be a harsh criticism of anyone, but I was very disappointed to see this, particularly because it represents Michael.
Thank you again for taking the time to respond to my concern. I had actually tried reaching someone over at the Sony Music Entertainment office in Beverly Hills but the receptionist REFUSED to transfer me to anyone because I didn’t have a specific “contact name.” I eventually asked to speak with her supervisor. I spoke with “Debbie,” and I explained these issues about the album. Initially, Debbie seemed reluctant to hear me out because I had no “contact name.” She was not rude at all, but she almost dismissed my call too, but I persisted in trying to explain, so she did listen for a few minutes and it sounded like she might have been trying to write it down. She stated that she would try to pass along the information to the appropriate department but she could not assure me that anything would result from it. Debbie did allow me to explain the album cover issue more specifically because initially she didn’t seem to understand the discrepancies.
I then called the Sony Music Entertainment office on Madison Avenue in New York, and encountered the same roadblock. Eventually their operator/receptionist was willing to transfer me to the “Epic Records” voicemail simply because I had referenced the word “Epic” as being on the back of the album cover… The New York SME operator/receptionist had also initially refused to transfer me to anyone unless I provided a “contact name,” but he stated that since I had actually said the word “Epic,” that was sufficient as a “contact name.” Wow… Well, I left two voicemail messages. I am including this information in my email to you because I want to convey how extremely disappointed I am in the responses I initially received from Sony’s frontline staff. I basically had to beg for someone at Sony to listen to what I believe is a valid concern regarding an INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT PRODUCT. I had assumed that Sony would WANT to know about this product issue, if they weren’t already aware it… This album not only bears Michael’s name, it bears theirs. I value Michael’s name above all, but it’s Sony who is putting this product out there on Michael’s behalf, so THEY are the ones who should be accessible (somehow), AND they should be willing to listen to and act on customer feedback, starting with their frontline staff- especially since a customer can’t seem to access the appropriate “higher-ups” from the outset of a simple phone call. Maybe someone at Sony will care enough to respond, maybe not.
Thank you for understanding why I have reached out about this issue: It really IS important to the world of fans who TRULY TRULY love and value Michael, the person, not just his music or the “product” his gifts have birthed. And we are not “just fans,” we are people…
…..
GOD bless you for your time. 🙂
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(**later, after original branca email sent, I went back on website to add to website comment, I modified the last sentence about FIVE SONGS missing to: FIVE SONGS/MEDLEYS not listed correctly and/or missing from the deluxe set’s “outer” cover list… such as Will You Be There)
**This visible error applies to the albums I saw in stores. I do NOT know how the back of the covers or the song/track lists appear when viewing/purchasing the albums on the internet**
SO CAN YOU GUYS PLEASE FIX THIS!!??
Epic/Sony, this “misprint” might not seem like a big deal, but it actually IS because the product represents Michael. It bears HIS name, so there should be no room for such a careless and sloppy mistake. Yes, human and computer errors occur in life, but it should NOT have happened on a product of this magnitude and importance- a release in the name of MICHAEL JACKSON.
I am going to call the Sony Studios office in my local area tomorrow because the stores where these albums are being sold cannot fix the problem, of course…. IT’S IMPORTANT for ANY PRODUCT that bears Michael’s name to be THE BEST and to BE ACCURATE. (Oh, and the picture on the (front) album cover really doesn’t look exactly like Michael, but Epic/Sony probably won’t fix that- they probably thought it could be overlooked, but it’s so darn obvious… But the songs/track list mistake SHOULD NOT be overlooked) 🙁
Epic/Sony, if you are going to do business in Michael’s name (in his absence), then PLEASE DO IT RIGHT. Michael was a (beautiful) perfectionist. This would not have happened on his watch.
Maybe this “error” suggests a hidden message to Sony…
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