Michael Jackson's estate is working to sell half of their interests in Jackson’s discography for around $800 million to $900 million, Variety reports. Sony and a possible financial partner are negotiating to acquire 50% of the Jackson estate’s interests in a number of the artist’s sources of income, including his musical catalog, publishing, the MJ: The Musical Broadway show, and the upcoming biopic Michael.

Singer and songwriter Jaafar Jackson is to portray his uncle Michael Jackson in the upcoming biopic 'Michael,' directed by Antoine Fuqua, Deadline reports. Lionsgate movie is expected to depict the complicated legacy of King of Pop, “including his most iconic performances that led him to become the greatest entertainer of all time.” The film is being made with the cooperation of the Michael Jackson estate. 'Michael' will be the first major film role for the 26-year-old Jaafar Jackson, the second-youngest son to songwriter, producer, and Jackson 5 member Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson's brother. John Logan, who wrote 'Gladiator,' 'Skyfall' and 'Spectre,' is penning the screenplay.

Teodoro “Teodorin” Nguema Obiang Mangue was born with power: since the late 1970s, his father had run the small central African country of Equatorial Guinea as a despot overseeing a murderous regime buoyed and financed by unending flows of crude oil. As a result, Teodorin enjoyed flaunting his wealth however he could. Some of his wealth Mangue spent building the world’s largest Michael Jackson memorabilia collection. Rolling Stone brings an excerpt from Casey Michel’s book, 'American Kleptocracy: How the U.S. Created the World’s Greatest Money Laundering Scheme in History' which describes how, among other themes, federal agents used Mangue's MJ fetish to track down millions in ill-gotten gains. The book is out November.

The Neverland ranch of the late Michael Jackson has been sold to billionaire Ron Burkle, a former friend of Jackson, for $22m, a quarter of its initial asking price of $100m. The 2,700-acre (1,100 hectare) compound in Los Olivos, California has been rebranded as Sycamore Valley Ranch and has undergone extensive redevelopment since Jackson's death. The businessman saw the investment as a land banking opportunity, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Listeners to BBC Radio 2's Sounds of the 80s have chosen U2's 'The Joshua Tree' as the best album of the 1980s. Released in 1987, it made U2 one of the world's biggest bands, thanks to anthems like 'With Or Without You' and 'Where The Streets Have No Name', BBC reflects. Dire Straits' 'Brothers In Arms' came second in BBC's survey, followed by The Stone Roses' eponymous debut, Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' on fourth and Guns N' Roses' 'Appetite for Destruction' on the fifth spot.

The best selling vinyl album in the 2010s in the USA was 'Abbey Road' by the Beatles, selling in 558,000 copies. In fact, all the biggest vinyl albums of the past 10 years are older performers like Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Bob Marley, Miles Davis... Only two albums actually released in the 2010s appear on the list: the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' soundtrack - which is entirely comprised of songs released in the ’60s and ’70s, and Lana Del Rey’s 'Born to Die'. The only album from the noughties on the list is Amy Winehouse's 'Back to Black'. No album from the 1990s on the list.

Will it end up being a travesty remains to be seen, but the Guardian reports about the new Michael Jackson musical as something quite usual. Playwright Julien Nitzberg wrote it, it's called 'For the Love of a Glove: An Unauthorised Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson, As Told By His Glove', and it […]

Disney+ has removed 'The Simpsons' episode 'Stark Raving Dad', which appeared in the show's third season. The now-notorious episode does not appear on the service as part of its removal, which also extends to Blu-ray DVD box sets and syndication. In the wake of pulling the episode, executive producer James L. Brooks told the Wall Street Journal, "It […]

Michael Jackson has topped Forbes’ 2019 list of highest earning dead celebrities after his estate made over £46 million in the last 12 months. Jackson’s streaming numbers “surged” to “2.1 billion US spins, up from 1.8 billion a year ago”. It's his seventh year in a row on top of this list. Elvis Presley came in […]

The Michael Jackson estate has grown by $1.7 billion since the superstar’s death in 2009. Jackson has left behind $500 million in debt at the time of his passing, and "as of December 31, 2018, the Estate generated gross earnings exceeding 1.7 billion dollars,” Jackson’s estate attorneys informed the courts. The Blast...