Today, 93-7 MIKE-FM remembers Michael Jackson on the 1 Year Anniversary of his death by playing his hit songs from ABC-Z for 3 hours starting at noon.
Here are a few stories I have placed in my blog that are Michael related. Don’t forget to check out our Michael Jackson page complete with video tributes, music video’s and more by clicking here. I will update this page during the day if new stories come out that I think you may want to check out.
Forest Lawn Cemetery Is Putting Tight Restrictions on Michael Jackson Fans Who Show Up To Mark The Anniversary Of His Death
A lot of Michael Jackson fans want to gather today at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California to mark the one-year anniversary of his death and they’ll be able to do so with restrictions.
- Forest Lawn will not allow fans into the Great Mausoleum, which is Michael’s final resting place.
- Street vendors won’t be allowed to sell merchandise inside or near the cemetery and people will be prohibited from camping out or parking in the vicinity the night before.
- Requests by fans to release balloons and doves and to hold song and / or dance performances have also been denied.
Forest Lawn Cemetery Reserves The Right To Kick Out Unruly Michael Jackson Fans Today
As everyone knows, today is the first anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. There’s no estimate on numbers, but Forest Lawn Cemetery is expecting a lot of fans to show up to mark the occasion. Only family and close friends will be allowed inside the actual mausoleum where Michael’s body has been laid to rest. But Forest Lawn won’t limit the number of people who can come to the cemetery itself.
However, they are reserving the right to boot anyone who’s being too loud or acting out of line and fans will not be allowed to release balloons or doves. Other banned items include video cameras and web broadcasting devices, candles, statues, posters, incense and radios.
Meanwhile, Michael’s mother Katherine and his three kids will spend the day in the Jacksons’ hometown of Gary, Indiana. It turns out Katherine will be marking Michael’s death publicly. She’s going to unveil a monument to Michael in front of the house he grew up in. Then there will be a memorial, a candlelight vigil and a performance of “We Are the World”.
Has Michael Jackson Made More Money Dead Than Alive?
Over the last decade or so of Michael Jackson’s life, there was all sorts of speculation about his finances or the alleged lack thereof. But since his death, Michael has become a cash cow! According to “Billboard” magazine, Michael has made at least $1,000,000,000 (yes, that is $1 billion dollars!) since he passed away on June 25th of last year.
A lot of that is from that huge new record deal between Michael’s estate and Sony as well as “This Is it”, which has become the most successful concert film of all time and of course, album sales. The record deal is worth between $200 million and $250 million.
As for the movie, Sony Pictures paid Michael’s estate $60 million for all that rehearsal footage and the resulting movie has pulled in well over $300 million when you consider worldwide box office, DVD sales and rentals and deals for TV airings. Michael’s estate gets a nice chunk of that, in addition to Sony’s upfront payment.
Since his death, Michael has sold 9 million albums in the U.S. alone, and 24 million worldwide. Titles by the Jackson 5 and The Jackson’s have sold about 800,000 copies in the U.S. All told, that accounts for about $383 million. Fans worldwide have also downloaded 26.5 million of Michael’s songs adding another $34 million to the mix. Michael also earned about $5 million from ringtones.
John Branca who is one of the administrators of Michael’s estate, doesn’t think the money will stop rolling in any time soon. He says, “To this day, there’s interest in Elvis. And I think there will be enduring interest in Michael. It’s our job to continue to expose Michael to new generations.”
If you want to get a more detailed picture of all the money Michael has earned and where it came from, click here to read the Billboard article.
Are Michael Jackson’s Kids Going Door To Door As Jehovah’s Witnesses?
We all know that Michael Jackson’s kids were a little “overprotected” while Michael was alive. But it sounds like his mother, Katherine Jackson, is allowing them to get out a little more.
As you probably know, The Jackson’s are Jehovah’s Witnesses. And Jehovah’s Witnesses do that thing where they go door-to-door preaching their faith. Well, a so-called “source” says that 13-year-old Prince, 12-year-old Paris and 8-year-old Blanket have been drafted into service and that ”Growing up, Michael did it, too. It’s an important part of their faith. Nobody seems to know it’s them.”
The kids will also go to an actual school for the first time this fall. They’re being enrolled in a private school in Los Angeles.
There Are 273 Unreleased Michael Jackson Songs That Might Come Out Unless His Estate Can Stop It
A guy named Howard Mann says he has the masters to 273 songs by Michael Jackson both solo and with his brothers and he plans to release them to the public. The tapes were in a warehouse full of Michael Jackson’s belongings that went up for auction after Joe Jackson failed to pay a storage bill.
Mann says most of them were performances from a variety series the Jacksons did for CBS in 1975 and that the Jacksons were between record contracts at the time, which means they’re his and he can do whatever he wants with them. But an attorney for Michael’s estate says those songs are Michael’s intellectual property, and thus they belong to the estate. He plans to sue Mann if he releases them.
Howard Mann is apparently on good terms with Katherine Jackson and helped her put together a new picture book called “Never Can Say Goodbye: The Katherine Jackson Story”. Some people think he’s kind of sleazy and he’s trying to play Katherine against the executors of Michael’s estate. To check out the book, click here.
Michael Jackson’s Estate And AEG Will Pay $1.3 Million To Help Cover The Cost Of His Memorial
Remember the big memorial service last year for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles that cost the city a lot of money? Well, Michael’s estate and AEG, the company that was promoting Michael’s “This Is It” concerts in London, have agreed to reimburse the city $1.3 million. That’s a million bucks to L.A.’s general fund which pays for basic services like public safety and parks and a $300,000 contribution to the Los Angeles Police Foundation.
According to some estimates, the memorial cost the city as much as $3.2 million.
Links:
CLICK HERE to watch a video of musicians paying tribute to Michael Jackson.
CLICK HERE to check out MIKE-FM’s Michael Jackson page featuring The Jacksonator 3000 Soundboard, a video tribute, a few music video’s and more.
