Sony Music Entertainment has just signed one of the biggest recording contracts in history with Michael Jackson’s estate. Sony signed a 10-year deal for up to 10 new projects including previously unreleased songs, DVDs and video games. Sony also has the right to sell his back catalog.
Up to 10 albums will be released over the next seven years.
The deal between Sony and the Jackson family is one of the most lucrative music deals ever signed. The star’s heirs can expect to rake in up to $250 million in advances and other payments. The deal also offers an especially high royalty rate for sales both inside and outside the United States.
According to MTV.com, Rob Stringer, chairman of Columbia Epic Records, the Sony division that will likely handle the releases, said the recordings will "span across different projects. There may be theater. There may be films and movies. There may be computer games — or multimedia platforms that I don’t know about today that will happen in 2015."
Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009. Sony has sold 31 million copies of his music since he passed away.