The jury has made a decision and Quincy Jones is $9.4 million richer after he winning his royalties suit against Michael Jackson’s estate. Deets inside…
*cues up “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough*
Quincy Jones had a victorious day in court when a jury sided with him in his royalty lawsuit against Michael Jackson’s estate. A jury awarded the legendary music producer -- who produced MJ's top selling albums, Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad -- $9.4 million in the trial against the estate. A ten-person jury had been deliberating since Monday over the case, which was filed over four years ago.
Quincy also felt like he was cheated out of royalties for the This Is It documentary that grossed over $500 million. The estate took $90 million, but Quincy was only paid $455,000.
It’s a far cry from the $30 million he was originally gunning for, but a win is a win. And it’s more than what the King of Pop’s estate said he was owed.
In the suit, Quincy claimed he was cheated out of royalties after MJ passed away in summer 2009. Once MJ passed away, there was a surge of interest in the projects, which increased sales of the albums and an increase in royalties. Quincy said MJ’s estate had been reaping the benefits from the royalties while he was left out of the loop.
In a statement, Quincy said:
“As an artist, maintaining the vision and integrity of one’s creation is of paramount importance. I, along with the team I assembled with Michael, took great care and purpose in creating these albums, and it has always given me a great sense of pride and comfort that three decades after they were originally recorded, these songs are still being played in every corner of the world.”
"This lawsuit was never about Michael, it was about protecting the integrity of the work we all did in the recording studio and the legacy of what we created. Although this judgment is not the full amount that I was seeking, I am very grateful that the jury decided in our favor in this matter. I view it not only as a victory for myself personally, but for artists’ rights overall.”
Attorneys for MJ’s estate, Howard Weitzman and Zia Modabber, said Mr. Jones should NOT have been awarded the multi-million dollar sum. They told Billboard:
"While the jury denied Quincy Jones $21 million – or more than two-thirds of what he demanded -- from The Estate of Michael Jackson, we still believe that giving him millions of dollars that he has no right to receive under his contracts is wrong.”
Billboard breaks down the two contracts that were at the center of the trial:
Two contracts from 1978 and 1985 were at the center of the dispute between Jones and Jackson, with specific wording that at times seemed to have a variety of interpretations. The deals indicate that Jones is entitled to a share of record royalties from Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. However, the dispute intensified because Jones believes that he should have always received shares from the profits of Jackson's 1991 joint venture with Sony. Additionally, Jones said he was also entitled to net profits from movies instead of licensing fees from the songs used in those projects.
Jones argued that the This Is It documentary concert film, which opened in theaters four months after Jackson's death, counted as a "video show" under his contract, which would have entitled him to a share of the net receipts. The Jackson legal team argued that the term is standard for music and irrelevant in Jones' appeal.
So, Quincy didn’t get all that he felt he was owed, but he definitely received a come up.
Photo: Getty
