Sony Buys Jackson Stake in Music Catalog

Sony is buying the estate of Michael Jackson’s stake in their joint music venture for $750 million, both entities announced Monday. Jackson’s estate agreed to sell its half of the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog, which includes ownership of nearly 4 million songs by artists such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Sting, and Alicia Keys. The late pop star’s estate benefits his mother and three children, Prince, Paris, and Michael Jr. The sale doesn’t include rights to Jackson's master recordings or songs that he wrote. Jackson purchased the ATV portion of the catalog in 1985 for $41.5 million and later merged it with Sony.