The following is taken directly from Seven’s website with her approval – click the bold title to be taken directly to her page.
Evading the obvious. Perpetuating the ignorance
In regards to efforts to ‘boycott’ or thwart $ony’s profiteering off of Michael Jackson’s death, I’ve seen some pretty ignorant statements against it. For instance:
Oh noo! If we boycott $ony we can’t buy all this other music from these other artists and it will hurt these other artists too!
Wrong.
Boycotting $ony’s sales of Michael Jackson merchandise and music means simply not buying anything they’re selling with Michael Jackson’s name, likeness, images, music, videos in or on it. It does not mean boycotting the work of other artists from them.
If you choose to boycott $ony due to the suspicious nature of Michael’s death and $ony’s treatment of Michael through the years – then just don’t buy anything they’re selling that is Michael Jackson-related. That doesn’t hurt ‘other artists‘.
$ony has manipulated Michael Jackson in life and to death to get and keep control of $ony/ATV and the MiJac catalogues. These items are what are worth most in his estate. The dollar figure is in the billions (with a ‘B’). It is my firm belief (and it seems it was also Michael’s suspicion before he died, see quotes below) that he may have been murdered for this ie: for money, profit, control/ownership of his estate and particularly those catalogues.
Here’s another pretty ignorant statement:
Oh but it’ll hurt his legacy if we don’t buy any more MJ stuff!
Wrong.
Where have the people claiming this been for the past 50 years?
Michael’s artistic legacy is already written. If no one ever bought another MJ-related item, it would not hurt his legacy. It’s already HIStory. And nothing will change that now. Something that could damage his legacy however, is $ony putting MJ’s name, likeness and music in every venue and on every piece of merchandise possible for profit, no matter how cheesy. That cheapens his legacy. You know Michael was selective about where his name, likeness and music were used. For him, it was about the L.O.V.E. For $ony, it’s all about the money, honey. So if you’re concerned with preserving Michael’s primo golden legacy, don’t buy MJ-related stuff from $ony. They’re slutty. They’ll put it anywhere for the money. Michael would not.
And – yet another one:
But – Boycotting $ony will hurt Katherine and the kids! That money is theirs!
Wrong.
Profits go to $ony, John Branca, and John McClain
Katherine and the kids get a monthly allowance from the estate. That amount is the same each month. That won’t change no matter how much $ony sells of Michael’s unreleased music or other things with his name and likeness on it. Katherine has to go to court to get an allowance increase as long as the will is in probate.
Speaking of what’s theirs though, what is theirs is Michael’s legacy: all of that released and unreleased music and in particular and most importantly, those catalogs (Sony/ATV and MiJac).
Those catalogues are the part of the estate that is worth the most. If we want to balk about what’s theirs that’s what we ought to be balking about. These catalogs of Michael’s own recording masters and the $ony/ATV rightfully ought to belong to Michael’s children at some point when they’re old enough. But lo and behold those are – as planned by Branca + $ony – slated to go to $ony at first chance that it can be arranged without looking too suspicious. Click on the link and you can read it at the $onyATV site itself.
$ony is the one entity that has profited most from Michael’s murder.
$ony is the one entity that didn’t bother to show up at his memorial – even the public one – even after all the money they’ve made from his work through the years – Millions if not Billions of dollars. They showed him zero support during the trial in 2005 and they were nowhere to be seen when he died – until there was money to be made from his fans via sales due to their grief over his death, and then they were right there with their hands out. The hearts of MJ’s fans are a direct line to their wallets and $ony knows it.
$ony made it obvious through the years that it in no way intended to let ownership or control of $ony/ATV or Michael’s own MiJac catalogue to remain with Michael. They have manipulated him incessantly to keep those catalogues in their sites and under their control. Having him conveniently ‘out of the way‘ now clears the path for them to carry out their well-known long-term plan to get complete ownership and control of both of those catalogues, with the added convenience of help from John Branca and John McClain.
I guess we should just ignore all that though, in favor of ignorance and for drooling over what we’ll get out of Michael’s demise – new releases, new music, some new concert footage, or whatever. Is that what it’s all about? What we get for ourselves? Michael wrote a song called ‘What More Can I Give?’. I guess for some MJ fans, it’s ‘What More Can I Get?’ Nevermind the incredibly odd circumstances surrounding his death, the ethical issues with the execution of his estate, $ony’s past and present moneymaking machinations, and the theft of the biggest part of his legacy from his children. Just gimme. That certainly is $ony’s mantra when it comes to Michael Jackson too: ‘What More Can We Get?’
That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? But it’s the very antithesis of all Michael was and was and what he was about. He died because of this. In a word: greed.
What will change if enough of Michael’s fans wield their power of refusing to buy MJ merchandise from $ony is not the amount of money Katherine and the kids will get — but rather the amount of profit $ony and John Branca/John McClain will make off of Michael’s death.
And that profit going to Branca$ony is what I would like to see minimized. Why?
Because it seems to me that Michael was very likely murdered for it. He had said himself for years that people were trying to kill him for his catalogs. He was worth more dead than alive and various vultures that had surrounded him all his life knew that. This flock of ‘regulars‘ whom has previously been expelled from his life suspiciously constellated in his life once again in the weeks before his murder and that 2002 will is highly suspect.
Those catalogs are worth billions (with a ‘B’) and $ony has been manipulating Michael to get at them for years. Incessantly. They rightfully belong to his children, not $ony. But with things as they stand now, his children will likely never have any ownership or control of them.
Just personally, I am not going to pay what could be his abusers (or possibly his murderers) for what they’ve done to him – in life, or death. And I’m not going to help them steal their father’s legacy from his children.
Are we trying to bring $ony down? Heck no. That’s impossible! It would be ludicrous to even try. But I conscientiously am not going to help them profit off of Michael’s murder – whether they are involved themselves or not. And I have no interest in whether they survive as an entity or not.
All Michael Jackson fans have the power to prevent $ony from profiting off of Michael’s death by simply not buying any MJ merchandise from them. And just in my own opinion, if they truly love Michael Jackson (the human being, not the commodity) they have not only the power, but the obligation to see that $ony does not profit off of his murder.
WHEN YOU BUY MICHAEL JACKSON MERCHANDISE FROM $ONY JUST BE AWARE . . .
You are being manipulated for profit! $ony and Branca/McClain are manipulating Michael’s fans – getting to their wallets and credit cards though their hearts – capitalizing on their grief about Michael’s death/murder to make profit for themselves. (themselves – not for the estate or the children, mind you).
I don’t know about you but I don’t like being manipulated. Especially by $ony – a sneaky, silent entity that abused and manipulated Michael for years behind the scenes. No matter WHAT John Branca says.
Let’s clarify something right now: John Branca speaks for John Branca and $ony, NOT Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson is dead. And when he was alive, we saw and heard what Michael had to say about $ony. And it was a VERY different story.
I don’t care if we’ll get CDs of his new unreleased music and some unreleased video footage and a game — or 7 CDs of new music or whatever. What we get is irrelevant. If it’s dripping in Michael Jackson’s blood, I don’t want it. I don’t care WHAT it is.
Distractions from ‘anonymous’ commenters on this site into discussion of such petty details is irrelevant and does not change the fact that Michael was very likely murdered for money and control of his catalogues. It does not change the fact that $ony corporation is the one entity profiting most from his death. It does not change the fact that his will and executors of the estate and the conflicts of interest inherent in them are very suspect. Nor does it change the fact that in the years before his death, he knew this might happen. It is evident in many quotes from him and events going on around him. These things can not and should not be ignored – if we indeed care about Michael Jackson the human being at all.
And NO it’s not going to hurt ‘other artists‘ to boycott $ony’s Michael Jackson merchandise. That makes no sense.
And NO it’s not going to hurt Katherine and the kids to boycott $ony’s Michael Jackson merchandise. They’ll get the same amount of $ each month regardless.
And NO it’s not going to hurt Michael’s legacy if we don’t buy blood-soaked Michael Jackson merchandise from $ony. His artistic legacy is written in HIStory and nothing will change it now. Nothing.
In fact it might hurt his legacy more if we do buy from $ony. Why? Because one thing that could easily cheapen Michael’s golden image is to have $ony slapping his image on every item and his music in every venue possible for profit, no matter how cheesy or watered-down – just to say it’s Michael Jackson so they can sell it.
In monetary and legal terms, Michael’s legacy is his back catalogue of master recordings. And John Branca is set to give $ony first dibs on that. Did it ever occur to anyone that this belongs to Michael’s children and it’s being stolen from them? Did it ever occur to anyone that by buying MJ-related merchandise from $ony that you are helping the entities who have stolen Michael’s legacy from his children for their own profit?
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You know sometimes, it’s got to be about more than what we’ll get for ourselves. A beautiful man who gave much to this World has been murdered for profit and control of his estate. His death was no ‘accident’. His will is extremely suspect. His children are orphans and all they have of their father is his legacy (music catalogues, personal items and profits therefrom) and that is being stolen from beneath them by $ony and their lawyers who are now executors of his estate. Where is the respect? Where is the care for him and his family and what rightfully belongs to his family, namely his children?
Sometimes, people need to think about something beyond themselves and getting their next new CD or TV or fancy new outfit or whatever. We hesitate or refuse to buy stuff made in sweatshops or by slave labor. But many are clamoring to buy merchandise containing the music and likeness of a man who was murdered for money and profit, and to buy it from what may have been his murderers who are also apparently in the process of stealing his legacy from his children. Wow • Just • Wow . . . That music could be released years from now by his children when they’re of age. But apparently many MJ fans would rather give blood money to the entity that possibly murdered him and are stealing his children’s legacy, so they don’t have to wait that long. And as I’ve pointed out here, the justifications and excuses they use for doing this just don’t hold water.
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The estate and particularly Michael’s catalogues and all his unreleased music and concert footage should be placed in trust and control given to his children when they are adults. They are Michael’s family and that is who it rightfully belongs to, along with any subsequent profits. Not $ony and not John Branca et al. But interestingly, there is no provision for this in the will — in which Branca is named executor of MJ’s estate and which he just happened to have a copy of after Michael died and which was allegedly signed by Michael in LA while Michael was in NYC that day – and in which Michael’s children’s names are badly misspelled.
Considering all this, I personally can’t buy the stuff.
I’m not telling anyone else what to do. Make up your own minds. To each his/her own. But personally, I am having no part of this. I do not want a CD of Michael’s unreleased music if it’s dripping in his blood. And I highly suspect that it would be.
Even Michael’s dad, Joe, won’t go see Cirque de Soleil’s Michael Jackson shows – because once again, $ony will make a killing (pun intended) on royalties, since Cirque is allowed to use anything they chose out of the entire catalogue including unreleased material. $ony gets handsome royalties from that – for years. Even Joe knows. And on this, I agree with him.
Here’s a link to a website that might be helpful:
http://mjfansboycottsony.weebly.com/
ALSO, consider these quotes from Michael himself and ask yourself why he’d have said these things:
My level of trust will change. And there’s a lot of conspiracy going on. I’ll say that much. A lot of it. All around me -Michael Jackson
Don’t leave me, they are trying to kill me -Michael Jackson
I am afraid of my life and for my children. I am so scared -Michael Jackson
I’m very concerned about my life -Michael Jackson
As concerns Michael’s releasing other albums and songs via $ony after Invincible and Number Ones (when his contract with them was supposedly ended):
Sony didn’t want him leaving, owning a part of Sony. He was so excited when his contract was over..then he discovered his contract was manipulated so he couldn’t leave when he believed he could. Branca was his lawyer @ the time. (This person was a close friend of MJ for many years and knew how he felt about $ony)
Be aware too, that even after 2002 $ony could still release any of Michael’s previously-released music without his involvement. They had distribution rights. His attorney at the time, Peter Lopez, now (interestingly) dead, also asserted in 2007 that Michael had no new contracts with $ony or any record label nor did he intend to have. So there was little possibility that ‘MJ and $ony kissed and made up‘. But there was – as per usual with $ony – some manipulation going on in regards to Michael’s contract with them.
And John Branca just expanded and extended $ony’s distribution rights in his (not Michael’s) recent $250 million deal with them. And, he increased the percentage of royalties $ony receives. But not before ensuring that 10% of any profits ‘the estate‘ made would go to him and McClain, first. Some say this is standard procedure for executors of a will. Even if it is, keep in mind that these two men do in fact get a sizable amount of profit from the sale of these items. Only a complete Pollyanna would believe that this isn’t at least partly their motive – enriching themselves off of Michael’s name and legacy. Most people do not have an estate containing the assets and monetary potential that Michael Jackson does. Thus, in this case, that 10% can be a very large sum of money.
Do I/we know all the facts surrounding Michael’s murder? No. And we may never know.
We do know that many, many things certainly don’t add up. And we do know who many of the vultures were who surrounded Michael over the years and how they were trying to manipulate and control him for money, and how some of them once again suspiciously constellated around him just before his death – seemingly ready to take control. Many, many questions are unanswered and those likely involved are tight-lipped about their bloody ruse. $ony in particular has often been the quiet manipulator behind the scenes in Michael’s life, their tentacles reaching into the smallest and most unsuspected corners of his affairs, particularly his financial affairs.
Just remember, the cruelest lies are told in silence.
Those legal ‘powers that be‘ – the same ones who dealt such barbaric injustice to Michael in 1993 – 2005 are the now in charge of meting out justice in his murder. It’s pretty obvious therefore, that there will be no justice done in his murder.
Here are some more links, below. See if you can make sense of Michael’s murder if you care enough to bother.
One thing is certain: the official ‘party line‘ we’re being fed by the ‘powers that be‘, AEG, $ony, Branca and the estate, and certainly the garbage we’re daily fed by the medialoids – is not the truth.
What seems obvious is that Michael Jackson was murdered for money and control of his estate and particularly his music catalogues. Just as he always feared he’d be.
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UPDATE 2010-05-01
And now, a second suspicious death in his circle. Mr. Peter Lopez, who was MJ’s lawyer until February, 2009 (apparently replaced with John Branca) has been found shot. Authorities are terming it a suicide but this is the second death in the group of people who surrounded Michael Jackson in the weeks and months before he died himself. What are they trying to hide? Did Lopez have or know something (such as Michael’s latest will) that those involved don’t want out there? What did Peter Lopez know about Michael Jackson’s last days and about this death and when did he know it? Was he slated to testify in Conrad Murray’s trial? Read the information at the first link I’ve provided in this paragraph. It corroborates what I’ve written above re: $ony. It confirms that Michael Jackson had no new contracts with $ony after 2002 nor did he have any intention of signing any new contracts with them. It also confirms that Michael never intended to tour again, as has been asserted before, and adds to the suspicion that Michael was somehow manipulated into the AEG/O2 deal.