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Sony Comments on the Passing of Michael Jackson

NEW YORK, NY - June 25, 2009 - Michael Jackson, one of the most widely beloved entertainers and profoundly influential artists of all-time, leaves an indelible imprint on popular music and culture.

Commenting on his passing, Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation, said:

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Michael Jackson's music had impact around the globe

Reuters July 4, 2009, 7:49 am

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Michael Jackson went from being Gary, Ind.'s most talented kid to one of the most recognizable human beings on the planet. While his worldwide album sales were astounding, that wasn't the sole reason for his fame. His ascendancy went far beyond the cash register -- he inspired dance moves, dictated fashion trends and raised awareness for social causes around the globe.

Following is a roundup of international reaction to the pop star's death and recollections of him.

BRAZIL

Less than a day after Michael Jackson's death, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, announced that the city would erect a statue of the singer in Dona Marta, a favela that was once notorious for drug dealing and is now a model for social development. The change was spurred partly by Jackson's 1996 visit to film the video for "They Don't Care About Us."

Jackson shot two videos for "They Don't Care About Us," the fourth single from "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I": one in a prison and another in Dona Marta and Salvador da Bahia, a colonial Brazilian city known for its Afro-Brazilian culture and music.

When Jackson came to Brazil to shoot the video, directed by Spike Lee, Rio's local government became concerned that the singer would show the world an unflattering picture of poverty. At the time, Brazilians, like people the world over, saw Jackson as an idol. He'd been to the country twice before, once with the Jackson 5 in the '70s and again in 1993, when he played two concerts in Sao Paulo to 100,000 people each night.

At the time, the concert promoter Dodi Sirena recalls a "sensitive" artist who asked for an amusement park to be reserved for his use, then invited children from the poorest public schools. "He displayed great concern for everything in the country, with poverty, with street children," Sirena says.

In that context, Jackson's choice of locale for his video made sense. "The video is about the people no one cares about," says Claudia Silva, press liaison for Rio's office of tourism.

When Jackson shot the video in Rio, Silva was a journalist for the daily newspaper O Globo. Lee and his staff had banned journalists from the shoot because Dona Marta drug dealers didn't want the attention, but Silva found a family that let her spend the night at their home and saw the favela residents washing the streets to prepare for Jackson's arrival. "The people were so proud," Silva says. "That was the best thing for me. People got up early to clean the area, they prepared for him, they took out the trash."

Jackson arrived by helicopter but walked the streets of Dona Marta shaking hands and distributing candy. "People were very surprised in the end, because they were expecting an extraterrestrial guy," Silva says. "And he was -- it sounds strange to say this -- a normal guy."

Jackson shot scenes in Salvador, alongside throngs of people, accompanied by the Afro-Brazilian cultural group Olodum. In the video, he can be seen dancing to the beat of hundreds of Olodum's drummers and with cheering fans who reach out to touch him -- and at one point burst through security and push him to the floor.

"This process to make Dona Marta better started with Michael Jackson," Silva says. "Now it's a safe favela. There are no drug dealers anymore, and there's a massive social project. But all the attention started with Michael Jackson."

-- Leila Cobo

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SOUTH AFRICA

"Growing up as a young black kid in a township, you either dreamed of being a freedom fighter or being Michael Jackson. It was as simple as that."

So recalls leading South African R&B artist Loyiso Bala, whose five South African Music Awards are a testament to the fact that he chose to follow the King of Pop.

The 29-year-old likens Jackson's impact on his family -- which includes his high-profile musician brothers Zwai and Phelo -- to that of former President Nelson Mandela.

"The whole family would drop what they were doing and watch, mesmerized whenever Michael or (Mandela) came on," he says of life in his Kwa-Nobuhle township home, located outside the Eastern Cape town of Uitenhage.

Lupi Ngcayisa, a DJ on Metro FM, South Africa's biggest national urban commercial station, says Jackson's "rich lyrics changed the complexion of black radio."

"He forced black families to debate issues surrounding individualism and race, so his cultural impact here extended beyond simply the music," he says.

That impact was most visible in 1997 when the HIStory tour came to the country for a five-date run that ended Oct. 15 at Durban's King's Park Stadium, the performer's final full-scale concert in support of a studio album. The shows are still the largest the country has ever seen, attracting 230,000 people, according to Attie Van Wyk, CEO of the presenting promoter, Cape Town-based Big Concerts.

Equally notable for a country just three years into post-apartheid democracy was the audience mix. "Black and white, young and old, Michael drew a huge crossover audience that we still don't see often at shows," tour publicist Penny Stein says.

Duncan Gibbon, now strategic marketing director at Sony Music Entertainment South Africa, who worked Jackson's catalog as far back as the apartheid era, says Jackson sold more than 2 million albums in South Africa. More important, he says, Jackson's music was a unifying point for a deeply divided society.

"South African radio was very racially segmented in the years before 1994," he says. "But Michael proved to be the one artist whose music was played on white pop stations and black R&B stations. It doesn't sound like much now, but it was a very potent thing when you think back to how apartheid attempted to keep everything about black and white society separate."

-- Diane Coetzer

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CHINA

After 30 years of vilifying everything American, Beijing re-established diplomatic relations with Washington, D.C., at the beginning of 1979, the same year Jackson released "Off the Wall." At the time, most of China was still clad in drab blue Mao suits, state-controlled radio was almost devoid of Western pop music, and record companies had little distribution. But Jackson's music soon took root -- with a vengeance.

Beijing-based musician Kaiser Kuo says that the only time he felt physically threatened during the volatile spring of 1989 was an indirect result of Jackson's popularity.

On June 3, 1989 -- just as pro-democracy students reached what would prove a fatal deadlock with the government in Tiananmen Square -- Kuo's heavy rock band, Tang Dynasty, was playing a show in Jilin Province, unaware it had been billed as "Michael Jackson's backup band." Realizing they'd been scammed, the audience "went nuts and burned down the ticket booth," Kuo says. "Jackson was just that popular."

For many in China, reflecting on Jackson means dredging up memories of that era of dashed hopes. Blogger Hong Huang lived much of her childhood in the '70s and '80s in the United States, where her father was a Chinese diplomat. "Back then, I thought nobody in China could be listening to Michael Jackson," she says. Yet Hong hosted three evenings of her late-night TV talk show "Straight Talk" about Jackson's death while the Chinese Internet lit up with discussion of his life and music. The top video-sharing Web site Youku.com has dozens of posts of Chinese youths moonwalking to his songs in black loafers, white socks and high-water pants.

Jackson's sales in Asia have been strong despite rampant piracy, according to Adam Tsuei, president of Sony Music Entertainment Greater China. Sony says that since 1994 it has sold about 1.2 million Jackson albums in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Jackson never visited mainland China, but Sony says it has sold about 300,000 albums there since 2002, although censorship has prevented the release of his entire catalog.

There had been unconfirmed reports that AEG Live planned to bring Jackson to China after his sold-out London dates. Instead, Shanghai warehouse manager Jin Hailiang says the 150 regular members of the local Jackson fan club he helps manage will host a party Aug. 29, Jackson's birthday.

"His music is so important because it's about love," he says, "and it makes us feel free to dance."

-- Jonathan Landreth

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INDIA

For many people in India -- a market where international repertoire accounts for just 5 percent of physical music sales -- Michael Jackson is Western pop.

Alone among Western artists, his popularity isn't confined to English-speaking urban Indians. Among the country's rural youth his celebrity competes with Bollywood stars for one reason: his trademark dance moves.

"Anybody who dances well is compared with Michael Jackson," says Nikhil Gangavane, who founded India's official, 13,000-member Jackson fan club. "The moonwalk made Michael reach from the classes to the masses in India."

The way Bollywood appropriated Jackson's moves and style connected with Indian fans. "Actors, established choreographers, aspiring composers, kids in dance shows -- everybody borrowed ideas," says British-born hip-hop star Hard Kaur, now a Bollywood star.

Indian actors, from Javed Jaffrey to Hrithik Roshan, say they were inspired by Jackson's dancing. And the southern Indian movie industry still uses Jackson-esque routines, thanks to the influence of dancers and choreographers like Prabhu Deva, known as "India's Michael Jackson" for his lightning-fast moves.

Jackson's recorded-music sales are also significant. Arjun Sankalia, associate director of Sony Music Entertainment India, says the 25th-anniversary edition of "Thriller" sold 15,000 copies. The album's initial release sold more than 100,000, according to Suresh Thomas, former branch manager of the southern region for CBS India -- a joint venture between India's Tata Group and CBS America. "Bad," which had an inlay card translated into regional languages, sold 200,000. None of the totals include the millions of pirated versions that have been sold.

Jackson proved his popularity on the subcontinent with the one show he performed in India -- Nov. 1, 1996, at Mumbai's Andheri Sports Complex. A 70,000-seat sellout, it was organized by Shiv Sena political party leader Raj Thackeray to raise funds to provide jobs for young people in the state of Maharashtra -- and boost the party's popularity among young urban voters.

Jackson arrived at Mumbai airport Oct. 30 and was greeted by actress Sonali Bendre, who put the traditional Hindu "tilak" mark on his forehead. A motorcade escorted him to the concert, and he stepped out of the car several times during the journey to wave at the thousands of fans lining the streets between the airport and his hotel lobby.

Fans still remember. "Go to any village, any corner in India and you'll find everyone is familiar with the name Michael Jackson," Kaur says. "There is no musician who can replace MJ."

-- Ahir Bhairab Borthakur

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JAPAN

The news of Michael Jackson's death caused such a stir in Japanese society that three Cabinet ministers took the unusual step of commenting on his passing.

Fans ranging from teenagers to 50-somethings -- many dressed in Jackson's trademark outfits -- staged an impromptu candlelit memorial June 27 in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park. While some showed off dance moves and sang songs, others wept openly and prayed at makeshift altars.

"It's funny," one attendee said. "The gathering at (Harlem's) Apollo Theater was like a celebration of his life, but Japanese people go straight into mourning."

Jackson won over Japan like few Western stars before or since. Famous in the country since the release of "Off the Wall," he became even bigger in 1987, when he started his "Bad" world tour at the Tokyo Dome. He sold out 14 shows, drawing about 450,000 fans and taking in an estimated 5 billion yen ($52 million). Hundreds of screaming girls greeted his arrival at Tokyo's Narita Airport, which was covered by 1,000 journalists; another 300 covered the arrival of Bubbles, Jackson's chimp, who came on a separate flight.

"No other performer had Michael Jackson's star power in Japan," says Archie Meguro, senior VP of Sony Music Japan International. "He was so loved for his talent, his music, his dance and his gentle soul."

Sony reports career album sales of at least 4.9 million for Jackson in Japan, making him one of the top-selling international artists. "Thriller" alone sold 2.5 million copies. But his impact went beyond sales. His 1987 tour helped reshape J-pop's choreography, as performers tried to appropriate his moves.

Sales of Jackson's catalog have spiked, and six of his albums made SoundScan Japan's Top 200 Albums chart. By the morning of June 27, Tower Records' seven-story flagship store in Shibuya had three displays of his albums and DVDs. Jackson had attended an event there in 1996, presided over by then-Tower Records Japan president Keith Cahoon. "The fan club members who attended were mostly young girls who shrieked 'Michael!' in incredibly loud and high-pitched voices," he recalls, "and Michael replied in a soft voice that was nearly as high."

"Michael is the biggest entertainment influence on the Japanese people after the Beatles," says Ken Ohtake, president of Sony Music Publishing Japan. "He will always remain in the hearts of the Japanese people as an extraordinary and unparalleled artist."

-- Rob Schwartz

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Michael Jackson�s Massive Impact (On Google, Facebook, and Yahoo)

June 26th, 2009 | by Adam Ostrow

As we reported yesterday, in the hours during and after the news of Michael Jackson�s cardiac arrest and ensuing death, tweets about the pop icon comprised 30 percent of total volume on Twitter (Twitter), and that might be a conservative estimate.

Since then, we�ve learned a lot more about the story�s impact on the Web, and we now have some fascinating numbers and charts from Google (Google), Yahoo, and others about how the Michael Jackson news impacted their services.

First, leading widget network Clearspring (Clearspring), which also owns content sharing service AddThis, reports that the Jackson story was actually most shared on Facebook (Facebook) and not Twitter. That�s not altogether surprising considering that Facebook�s userbase is still much larger, but the more real-time Twitter grabbed the early headlines. Clearspring�s chart shows the social media sites where users were sharing the news the most.

Meanwhile, Yahoo writes on its blog that its Yahoo News property set an all-time record for traffic yesterday, registering 16.4 million unique visitors. That beats out election day, where site saw 15.1 million visitors (what this says about our society, we�ll leave to the comments).

Google didn�t provide any specific numbers regarding search volume, but notes the huge impact it has had on search trends over the past 24 hours. They also provided the following chart [at link - bac], showing the huge volume spike.

Finally, New Media Strategies notes that Jackson�s Wikipedia page logged 1.8 million visitors yesterday, compared to its daily average of just 20,000. It also saw a whopping 650 edits as users updated the entry furiously as news broke.

What to make of all these numbers? Simply that Jackson�s sudden and shocking death is one of the biggest news stories in recent memory, and will likely continue to dominate online chatter over the next few days.

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Michael Jackson�s Memorial: The Biggest Web Event in History?

July 3rd, 2009 | by Ben Parr

The web�s response to the passing of music legend Michael Jackson has been staggering. Social media was pounded with tributes last Thursday after the news broke, but next Tuesday could be a huge test for the entire infrastructure of the web, when the memorial for Michael Jackson will take place.

The tribute and remembrance of the late King of Pop occurs next Tuesday (July 7th) at 10:00 AM PT at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Beyond the 17,500 tickets that will be given away to fans and the millions more that will converge on downtown L.A., the memorial will be live streamed free via the web and media outlets across the world.

This event will almost certainly shatter records for the biggest single live stream ever, and could be one of the biggest worldwide media events in history. Will the web be able to handle it?

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Madonna pays tribute to Michael Jackson in concert

By NARDINE SAAD, Associated Press Writer Nardine Saad, Associated Press Writer � 2 hrs 47 mins ago

LONDON � Madonna paid tribute to Michael Jackson on Saturday night in the same arena where he was to stage his comeback, dancing along with an impersonator doing Jackson's distinctive moves.

Jackson, who died last week, was to begin a series of 50 concerts at the 23,000-seat O2 starting July 13.

A picture of a young Michael Jackson appeared on stage while Madonna was performing "Holiday," then the impersonator came on, wearing a sequined jacket, white T-shirt, white glove and white socks in the Jackson manner.

The music then switched to Jackson's song, "Wanna Be Starting Something," and the impersonator worked through Jackson's moves, including the famous moonwalk. The impersonator didn't sing.

After the number, Madonna told the crowd, "Let's give it up for one of the greatest artists the world has ever known," and the crowd roared its approval.

The impersonator's appearance would not have surprised anyone paying close attention to Madonna's Web site, which had a picture of him dancing in rehearsal.

An estimated crowd of 17,000, including the fashion designer Valentino, turned out for Madonna's concert, the first of two this weekend in London on her "Sticky & Sweet" tour.

In the last dance, Madonna and her dancers all donned jeweled gloves on their right hands in a simple tribute. Behind the stage some words from Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" were flashed up briefly: "If you want to make the world a better place look inside yourself and make a change."

Yu Yin, a 29-year-old student from Beijing, rated the Jackson tribute as the high point of the concert "because she chose a picture of a young Michael which shows me she has an understanding of his lack of childhood life."

"I expected a bit more, but it was tastefully done," said Jane Gadhia, 47, who said she thought Madonna would choose to sing a Jackson song.

In an interview with The Sun newspaper, Madonna had said she was "terribly sad" about Jackson's death.

"To be able to do what he did at such an early age was unearthly, everybody grew up in awe of him," The Sun quoted her as saying.

"To work with him and become friends, and hang out with him, was exciting for me. I used to love picking his brains about musical stuff."

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Jackson adviser Tohme breaks silence

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch, Ap Special Correspondent � Sat Jul 4, 4:45 pm ET

LOS ANGELES � Dr. Tohme Tohme vividly remembers the first time he met with Michael Jackson to discuss the pop star's finances. It's not the money talk that stays with him now, but his enchantment at entering Jackson's world of love.

"I saw how kind he was and what a wonderful human being," Tohme said in an interview. "I saw him with his children and I had never seen a better father. ... I decided to do what I could to help him."

They bonded instantly. "For the last year and a half I was the closest person to Michael Jackson," Tohme said. He contacted Tom Barrack, the chairman of Colony Capital and a close personal friend. "He was hesitant to get involved, but I said, 'Let's go see Michael,'" Tohme recalled.

After the meeting he said Barrack, who was impressed with Jackson's "intelligence and focus," bought the note for Neverland. But that was just the beginning of a business relationship that culminated in the London concerts that were to have begun next week.

"I have nothing against anybody," he said, "But I don't know anyone from the Nation of Islam. When I took over Michael Jackson's affairs, I fired some people from the Nation of Islam."

"I don't want to talk about me," he said. "I'm a nobody. I'm not important. I want to talk about Michael Jackson."

At times he appeared on the verge of tears as he discussed Jackson's death, saying, "It's unbelievable ... I'm devastated ... God bless his soul."

He said that by talking about Jackson, he was fulfilling one of the star's wishes.

"He always said to me, 'I want people to really know who I am after I'm gone.'"

He would only briefly discuss Jackson's finances. During his time with the superstar, Tohme said, he was paid nothing but was able to negotiate lucrative business deals that would secure the future of Jackson's children. He followed a long line of business managers and spokespeople who had come and gone from Jackson over the years. In the final year, he said he played a pivotal role in turning things around.

His negotiations for Jackson included a Broadway show with the Nederlander organization, an animated TV show based on "Thriller," a line of clothing including "moonwalk shoes," and more. He said he was working with others to renegotiate the terms of Jackson's main assets, his share of the Sony-ATV Music Publishing Catalog � which includes music by the Beatles � and the catalog of Mijac, the company that controls Michael Jackson's own music.

"I built a fence around Michael to keep people out," he said, acknowledging that he cut costs by firing many members of the Jackson staff, including security guards. And he twice fired the children's nanny, Grace Rawaramba, on Jackson's orders.

"We had an agreement," Tohme continued. "I would never interfere with his creative decisions and he wouldn't interfere with my business decisions."

Tohme said he abandoned everything he was doing in his own life to concentrate his time and effort on Jackson's affairs. He points with pride to the crown jewel of his and the new Jackson team's efforts: the contract with AEG for concerts at the 02 arena in London.

He said Jackson was looking forward to the concerts because he wanted his children to see him perform.

Like others before him, Tohme was caught up in the excitement of Jackson's world. He traveled with him to London, where they saw the play "Oliver" and were mobbed by fans. "I had never seen fans who loved anyone so much and he loved them just as much," Tohme said.

Tohme uses the title "Dr." and apparently has a medical degree, though there is no record that he has practiced in the United States. He said he was convinced that Jackson was in perfect health the last time he saw him, two days before he died. He said the star kept himself and his children on a healthy diet, never ate red meat, didn't drink and, as far as he knew, never took drugs.

He said he is disappointed that Jackson won't be buried at Neverland but hopes that may change: "He deserves to be buried in the wonderful world he created."

In Jackson's final months, Tohme said they talked about his wish to create "a special place ten times bigger than Graceland" where fans could come to see Jackson's memorabilia and awards. Jackson even talked about creating a veritable city for children.

"He wanted to be remembered as a great human being and he wanted to create as many happy places for the children of the world as he could," said Tohme.

The day Jackson died, as Tohme rushed to the hospital unsure if his friend was alive or dead, he said he remembered precious moments: Jackson bringing his children to Tohme's house for Thanksgiving dinner; Jackson and his children singing "Happy Birthday" to Tohme on the phone; the last time he saw Jackson at Staples Center, rehearsing for his big comeback.

And he remembered Jackson's last words to him that day: "I love you."

[Tobias]

Michael Jackson died? No way.

[Morning_Star]