Michael Jackson’s Estate And Sony Music Reach Settlement Over Alleged Fake Songs

Michael Jackson’s estate and Sony Music have reached a settlement with the MJ fan who sued them in 2014 claiming that they had posthumously put out songs that were sung by a Michael Jackson impersonator.

In a joint statement to Billboard, Jackson’s estate and Sony said that “Regardless of how the Supreme Court may rule, the parties to the lawsuit mutually decided to end the litigation, which would have potentially included additional appeals and a lengthy trial court process.”

This decision comes 8 years after a Michael Jackson fan filed a lawsuit against the late entertainers estate and Sony Music for allegedly using fake vocals sung by an impersonator on three songs from the posthumous 2010 album Michael. In 2018, a judge ruled that neither side really knew whether or not Michael actually sang on the three songs. However, they were not liable for the charges filed against them.

Last month, Sony Music pulled the three songs from streaming services. A spokesperson for Jackson’s website said that the decision to pull the songs “had nothing to do with their authenticity.”

“The Estate and Sony Music believe the continuing conversation about the tracks is distracting the fan community and casual Michael Jackson listeners from focusing their attention where it should be – on Michael’s legendary and deep music catalog.”