Yes—but the 2024 transaction was reported as Sony Music Group buying a 50% stake in Michael Jackson’s publishing and recorded-masters catalog, not the entire catalog. Variety reported that the rights were valued at more than $1.2 billion and that the stake cost at least $600 million, citing sources. Those figures were not confirmed as official terms in the Sony releases reviewed.
What Sony reportedly bought in 2024
In February 2024, Variety reported that Sony Music Group had agreed to acquire half of Jackson’s publishing and recorded-masters catalog. Its report put the catalog rights’ valuation above $1.2 billion and the price of the 50% stake at a minimum of $600 million, citing sources rather than publicly disclosed Sony deal terms. Variety’s 2024 report
A catalog-deal tracker describes the reported scope as half of Jackson’s publishing, including Mijac Music, plus recorded masters. It also says royalties from the MJ Broadway musical were excluded and that a California appeals court cleared the deal in August 2024. Those details come from secondary aggregation, not an official Sony transaction announcement. Music Business Worldwide’s deal-tracker entry
How much did Sony pay?
The reported answer is at least $600 million for the 50% stake, according to Variety’s source-based account. The often-cited figure of more than $1.2 billion is the reported valuation of the relevant rights, not a confirmed payment by Sony for all of them. Sony’s reviewed public releases do not establish the final 2024 price or contract terms.
#1 Best Overall
How the 2024 transaction differs from Sony’s 2016 deal
The 2024 report is easy to confuse with Sony’s 2016 purchase of the Estate’s remaining 50% of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. They were separate transactions, with different scope and reported financial terms.
| Transaction | Rights and stake | Financial terms | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 reported deal | Reported 50% stake in Jackson’s publishing and recorded masters; a deal tracker says publishing included Mijac Music. | More than $1.2 billion reported valuation; at least $600 million reported stake price. Variety attributed the figures to sources; official terms were not disclosed in the Sony releases reviewed. | Variety; Music Business Worldwide |
| 2016 Sony/ATV deal | Sony acquired the Estate’s remaining 50% of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Sony said the transaction did not affect Jackson’s master recordings, Mijac Music, or the Estate’s interest in EMI Music Publishing. | Sony reported total payments of $750 million, including about $733 million in a lump-sum payment plus distributions. | Sony Music Group closing announcement; Sony Group’s 2016 release |
The $750 million figure belongs to the 2016 Sony/ATV transaction, not the reported 2024 catalog-stake purchase. Sony’s 2016 announcement is particularly useful for distinguishing the assets: it said Jackson’s masters and Mijac Music were outside that earlier deal.
Rank #2
Why Sony’s relationship with Jackson’s music predates both deals
Sony and the Estate announced a separate long-term recording agreement in 2017, effective January 1, 2018, extending Sony’s administration of Jackson’s record catalog. That arrangement is background to the relationship, but it does not confirm the terms of the reported 2024 stake sale. Sony Music’s 2017 announcement
In that 2017 announcement, Rob Stringer, then CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, said: “The music—and videos—he made as an artist as part of the Sony Music family are essential to pop culture history.” The comment described Sony’s longstanding connection to Jackson’s work; it was not a statement about the later transaction.
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What is confirmed—and what remains unclear
- Reported: In February 2024, Sony Music Group agreed to buy a 50% stake in publishing and recorded masters, according to Variety.
- Reported estimates: Variety attributed the more-than-$1.2-billion valuation and minimum $600-million stake price to sources.
- Not established by the reviewed Sony releases: the final consideration, full operative rights, or an authoritative closing date for the 2024 deal.
- Separate and documented: Sony’s 2016 Sony/ATV transaction and its 2017 long-term recording agreement are covered by Sony announcements, but neither supplies the 2024 deal’s terms.
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