Just three months shy of the 1st anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death, his estate has entered into a renewed partnership with Sony Music: a $200 million guaranteed contract with the record label calling for 10 projects to be released during the next seven years.

What’s more, the unheard-of contract, which gives Sony exclusive rights to new releases through 2017, could be worth up to $250 million if all aspects of the deal are kept. According to initial reports, the contract calls for at least one project to contain never-before-released Jackson recordings from his legendary vault of recorded, but unused material that could come out as early as November 2010.

With the exact wording of the contract unknown, speculation is the proposed 10 projects could include everything from a proposed Thriller-inspired video game, a music video compilation DVD or even a rerelease of his acclaimed Off The Wall cd, which was originally released back in 1979.

It seems Sony, in a show of good faith has generously included last year’s two-disc cd that coincided with the release of MJ’s final concert film, This Is It as part of the 10 projects.  That audio release alone sold more than 5 million units. (Examiner)

If only Michael Jackson could have seen his work praised in such a way.

If you’re not sure which tune it is in the old Sonic game, don’t lose hope. Jackson reused most of the chord progressions from the video game tune in his hit “Strangers In Moscow”.

NEW YORK (Yahoo! News) – The shimmering, white glove Michael Jackson wore when he premiered his trademark moonwalk dance in 1983 was auctioned off for $350,000 — plus tax — on Saturday.

Winning bidder Hoffman Ma of Hong Kong will pay $420,000, including taxes and fees, for the rhinestone-studded, modified golf glove Jackson wore on his left hand for his moonwalk on Motown’s 25th anniversary TV special.

The glove was the top item in a collection of Jackson memorabilia on the block at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. Its pre-auction estimate was $40,000 to $60,000.

“It was a fairly good discount,” said Ma, a 36-year-old Jackson fan who bought the pop-music treasure on behalf of the Ponte 16 Resort Hotel in Macau.

As the price of the glove soared, fans roared and squealed — echoing the kind of frenzy that accompanied the late pop star when he toured the world.

“That’s what death brings upon celebrity,” said Brendan Doyle, a college student munching chicken fingers from a plate in his lap. “Jackson’s death was such a tragedy at such a young age that it pushed up prices.”

The pop icon, who died June 25 at 50, had given the glove to Walter “Clyde” Orange, of the singing group the Commodores. Read on…

The glove wasn’t the only item up for sale. M.J.’s 1989 “Bad” tour jacket and his moonwalking fedora were also available for purchase.

The article didn’t mention where all the money gained from selling Jackson’s performance items was intended to go. I certainly hope the money is given right to his children. They deserve it.

Now we’re hearing that Joe Jackson plans to file for a court hearing. Why? Apparently he feels entitled to a monthly allowance of over $20,000 to cover “living expenses”. Riiight. 20 grand? It sounds like ol’ papa here has been living high on the hog. What exactly does that cover?

Thank you LA Times for this little layout of Joe’s monthly expenses.

The filing does not specify the amount Joe Jackson seeks, but a monthly budget included in the court papers lists more than $15,000 in expenses, including $1,500 for rent, $2,500 for eating out and $5,000 for hotels and air travel.

OK, I’ll give him the rent. Housing isn’t cheap. But what is this $2,500 for eating out? Or $5,000 for traveling? Where is he going that he needs to spend 5 grand a month on hotels?

Really, the point here is that Joe didn’t treat Michael right when M.J. was a boy, and now he’s getting his comeuppance.  Michael made a will for a reason. He wanted to use his money to take care of the people who cared about him. His children are taken care of, along with his mother who is reportedly getting $26,000 a month.

That’s what he wanted.

Notice that Joe was not included. So why does he think that he is automatically entitled to his son’s money?

The judge in charge of this case denied a hearing at this time.

If I was part of the Jackson family, I would most certainly not be happy when I heard this headline.

Gustav Turner with the LA Weekly covered this outlandish breaking story. Apparently the psychic asked to do the interview wasn’t too creative when it came to putting words in the dead singer’s mouth. Apparently:

* Michael Jackson loved his children

* he really loved to sing “We Are The World”

* he did not want to die tragically

* he’s tormented about the tabloid pictures of his corpse (which the helpful folks at KTLA will repeatedly rebroadcast so that you know what MJ is so tormented about)

* he feels “emotional pain” and is “absolutely mortified” about the molestation allegations

* he absolutely does not want his children to be raised by their biological mother, who, according to the spectral singer, has “a lot of addictive personality problems.” (Ed’s note: neither West Coast Sound nor world-renowned psychic Vox wish to defame any person living or astral.)

* he does not like This Is It (too rehearsey) and does not wish you to go see it

Once again, if I was family I’d be pretty upset hearing this garbage. And when it comes to psychically speaking with the deceased, this woman is on the same level as pet psychics.

Actually, now that I think about it, pet psychics B.S. better than her. Any fan could have thrown that “information” on the table.

Overall, this “interview” is disgusting and insulting to Michael Jackson and his family, and shame on KTLA for even contemplating (even more for actually) airing it.

Here is the news segment in full. Get out your raincoat, because there’s a downpour of B.S.

The intention was to use the new videos as transitions into the performed versions of the songs, transitions that are a long way from the original. Payne promises that the new “Thriller” is nothing like the boy on the date with the girl, while at the same time, “We didn’t touch what we considered the sacred inside of it.” And while the new version of “Thriller” and the other songs will be screened with This Is It in plain old 2D next week, that’s not how they were intended to be seen, and that might not be the last we see of them either. Read on…

This should most certainly be interesting! The article goes on to say that even This Is It could end up in 3-D, along with music videos that were originally intended to play during the concert. Very interesting indeed.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Advance sales for “This Is It” look set to make the concert movie starring the late Michael Jackson into one of the hottest tickets of the year.

Two weeks ahead of its opening, the singer’s concert movie “This Is It” has generated more than 1,600 sold out U.S. show times and is the top seller this week at two major online ticket outlets.

That puts “This Is It” in the same territory as next month’s highly anticipated “Twilight” sequel “New Moon” and other films that have generated high pre-release sales.

“The pre-sales activity all over the world has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Steve Elzer, a spokesman for Sony Corp-owned Columbia Pictures, the studio behind the film, told Reuters.

“But exhibitors have really met the demand by adding screens, and tickets are available for anyone who would want to see it, anytime,” Elzer said.

“This Is It” is composed of footage of the “Thriller” singer rehearsing for a series of London comeback concerts just before his unexpected June 25 death, at age 50, from an overdose of powerful medication.

The studio has said the 112-minute movie will have a limited two-week engagement around the world, starting October 28. Read on…

As it’s currently preparing for the big release of the “This Is It” docu-film and the accompanying 2-CD album, the Michael Jackson Estate is also working on the release of two new albums. Written and recorded sometime in the time interval 2004-2009, the never-before-heard tracks are all said to be “class A,” as TMZ informs.

Speculation about the unreleased tracks that Michael left behind after his tragic and sudden death in June this year first started shortly afterwards, when the Estate began inquiries into his affairs. First reports had it that he had over 100 complete songs in his possession at the time of death, which would have been more than enough for two whole albums.
Later on, rumors said sister LaToya Jackson had removed the finished tracks from Michael’s home, but nothing was heard of that later.

Now, the rumors emerge again, and they say all tracks currently in the possession of the Estate are much better than the recently released “This Is It” single. “Sources who have heard the unreleased recordings of Michael Jackson say there are at least 2 albums worth of class A songs that will be released over time, and some of them are even better than ‘This Is It.’ We’re told many of the songs that will make the cut were written and recorded by Jackson after he left Sony in 2004.” TMZ writes of the recent rumors.

According to the same unnamed but reliable sources, the celebrity gossip website / paparazzi agency can also report that, while there are countless other MJ songs better than “This Is It,” releasing it as the first posthumous single was a business decision, given its tone and lyrics. “As for ‘This Is It’ – we’re told everyone involved liked the tune but it wasn’t the best. As one source said, given the title and the tone, ‘It was the most appropriate song for the end of the movie.’” TMZ further explains.

As fans must already know, “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” docu-film, comprised of footage shot during rehearsals at Staples Center for his London comeback, arrives in theaters for a limited run on October 28. The 2-CD boxset “Michael Jackson’s This Is It The Music That Inspired the Movie” will be released a day earlier, on the 27th. (source)