Eminem mocked Michael Jackson in a music videos a few years ago, but it might be the Moonwalker who’s getting the last laugh.
The erstwhile King of Pop has purchased a stake in Famous Music, the publishing firm that controls rights to songs by the rap superstar, including “Without Me” and “The Real Slim Shady,” as well as tracks by such artists as Beck, Björk and Shakira.
Launched in 1928, Famous oversees a diverse roster of songs, from classic film and TV music to modern-day hits by the likes of Christina Aguilera, Pink and P.O.D.
According to Jackson’s rep, Raymone Bain, Viacom has sold Famous to Jackson and his partners at Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which jointly control the Lennon-McCartney Beatles oeuvre.
“This is a milestone event for Sony/ATV Music Publishing,” Jackson said in a statement. “The diverse collection of songs in this catalogue range from timeless classics to contemporary hits, and I am pleased to add the acquisition of Famous Music to Sony/ATV.”
Eminem famously skewered the Gloved One in the 2004 video for “Just Lose It.” The clip featured the rap trickster dressed like Jackson and on a bed with young boys, a nod to the highly publicized child-molestation charges against Jackson that ended with his 2005 acquittal.
The video also made fun of Jackson’s plastic surgery, showing his nose falling off and his hair catching fire, à la Jackson’s 1984 mishap while shooting a Pepsi commercial.
An irate Jackson successfully lobbied BET to stop broadcasting the video, calling it “insensitive” and “disrespectful.”
A year earlier, Slim Shady skewered Jackson’s baby-dangling fiasco when, during a tour stop in Glasgow, Scotland, the rapper walked out onto a hotel balcony wearing a surgical mask and threw a baby doll at fans gathered below.
While his agreement to buy Famous Music guarantees him a share in the company’s revenue, Jackson can’t license any of Eminem’s songs. The rapper’s company, 8 Mile, must sign off on any commercial use. The same applies to other artists in the Famous fold. (Before Nike could use the Beatles’ “Revolution” in a 1987 Nike TV ad, the shoemaker needed permission from both Jackson and the band’s record company, EMI, which controls the master recording.)
In related news, a two-day auction in Las Vegas of Jackson’s personal possessions and some Jackson family mementos, has raked in a lackluster $1 million, according to auctioneer Guernsey’s.
Jackson had gone to court to block the auction, held on behalf of the Florida-based Universal Express, but ultimately dropped the suit after the luggage transportation company agreed to remove a few controversial items.
Universal Express chief executive Richard Altomare disputed Guernsey’s tally and said the auction made between $1.5 million and $2 million. Altomare insisted his company was “happy with the results of this first one,” and said a second auction would be held for additional Jackson family memorabilia but no date was announced.
The company had touted the 1,000-plus items up for bid Wednesday and Thursday at Las Vegas’ Hard Rock Hotel as the largest-ever sale of Jackson souvenirs. But whichever figure turns out to be accurate, the auction failed to match the hype.
An autographed photograph fetched just $750; a platinum record for “Billie Jean” only went for $100, and a copy of the contract for Jackson’s 1987 purchase of his now shuttered Neverland Ranch also brought in $100.
Other items did somewhat better: A black military jacket with an “M” crest was the priciest sale at $20,400; one of Jackson’s favorite sequined jackets sold for $19,000; a black silk jacket went for $17,000; his MTV Music Award for his “We Are The World” fetched $16,000; and gold records for his 1979 album Off the Wall and the Jackson 5 single “I Want You Back” nabbed $11,000 each.
Universal Express acquired more than 20,000 Jackson family items from Henry Vacaro, a New Jersey construction owner and former Jackson partner as part of a bankruptcy case last year. Vacaro won the memorabilia as part of a legal action against Michael’s parents, Katherine and Joe Jackson, and brothers Tito and Jermaine.
Before this week’s auction, Altomare suggested the entire trove was worth upwards of $50 million.
“We still have tens of thousands of additional smaller items that we think will be exciting,” Altomare declared, including Michael Jackson gloves and other clothing, and recordings of never-released Jackson family songs.
Credit: E! Online