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Source: MJFFC & MJWN, with thanks to Steven

It’s been almost four years since Michael Jackson died, but he continues to make headlines. Some of them coming out of a Los Angeles courtroom right now where his mother is suing for damages over his death from a powerful anesthetic in June 2009. But the headline of this story is that Michael Jackson is making more money after his death than he ever did when he was alive.

Tonight you’ll hear about the most remarkable financial and image resurrection in pop culture history. And get a rare look at what Michael Jackson left behind. The Michael Jackson brand is alive and well. Well-paid that is. Extremely well-paid.

Barcelona, Spain. The 297th performance of the Michael Jackson ‘IMMORTAL’ World Tour. Cirque du Soleil produces the show featuring their acrobats and contortionists, but Michael Jackson — or at least his music — is the star.

Backstage at Cirque du Soleil show ‘Immortal’

John Branca: We sold 230,000 tickets in two days in Japan. We did 90,000 people in Moscow. 190,000 people in Mexico City alone.

John Branca is an executor of Michael’s estate — an architect, if you will — of how to make money off his legacy, most of which will eventually be turned over to Michael’s three children. Branca was Michael’s lawyer and advisor off and on for over 25 years and negotiated many of the singer’s biggest deals during his lifetime.

Lara Logan: It’s just unbelievable. Michael Jackson sells more tickets dead than most artists do alive.

John Branca: That is absolutely true. Worldwide box office now is over $300 million. And Michael has almost 60 million Facebook friends. He’s the biggest selling artist on iTunes and he’s sold approximately 50 million albums since he passed away.

Lara Logan: It feels like you can’t talk about all those great things about Michael without talking about the fact that his image was so battered and tarnished by the time of his death. Have his fans just forgotten about all of that? About all the weirdness?

John Branca: As managers of the estate, we don’t really pay attention to the tabloids. We look at the Michael that we knew, the real Michael, the artistic genius, the visionary.

John Branca chooses his words carefully. Another subject he doesn’t like to discuss is Michael Jackson’s family. Michael’s father and some of his siblings challenged Branca as executor and the validity of Jackson’s will. But the California courts upheld the will and Branca’s ability to carry out Michael Jackson’s wishes.

John Branca: There was a series of wills and they were substantively almost identical.

Lara Logan: In that 20 percent went to charity, 40 percent went to his children, and 40 percent went to his mother as long as she was alive, and on her death would go to the children. The basic principle never changed.

John Branca: Never changed. The whole objective of Michael’s estate plan is to take care of his mother during her lifetime and to accumulate the principle and assets for the benefit of Michael’s children.

The will named Branca and John McClain, a longtime friend of Michael’s, as co-executors. Michael’s crippled image was not the only thing they had to contend with. At first glance, Michael Jackson left more debt than anything.7

Zack O’Malley Greenburg is a senior editor for Forbes Magazine and he’s been covering the estate since Michael’s death.

Zack O’Malley Greenburg: The day he died, Michael Jackson had about half a billion dollars in debt.

Karen Langford was friends with Michael Jackson and worked with him from 1981 until his death. She’s now the archivist for the Jackson estate. There are rows and rows, floor to ceiling, of Jackson’s possessions, most of it never seen publicly since he died. This warehouse is 20,000 square feet. Every inch of it is full. There are antiques and video games from Neverland ranch, his Grammys…

Lara Logan: This is one of how many warehouses that you have?

Karen Langford: Five.

You can see how he spent his money and some of what made up his extravagant lifestyle in this California warehouse.

Lara Logan: Wow that’s the actual sign from Neverland?

Karen Langford: That is the actual sign from Neverland that was over the gates.

Lara Logan: Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male 1983. Billie Jean.

And 30 years of cars he never wanted to get rid of.

Lara Logan: Are these all Michael’s cars?

Karen Langford: Uh, these are some of them.

Lara Logan: Some of them?

Karen Langford: Some of them.

Lara Logan: More cars.

Karen Langford: More cars.

Lara Logan: It’s another Rolls Royce.

Karen Langford: Yeah, well, there’s a few.

Lara Logan: Did he drive any of these cars?

Karen Langford: He did drive on occasion.

Late in his life Michael Jackson financed much of his lifestyle by routinely borrowing against his assets, but it wasn’t these personal belongings that he used as collateral.

Although the copyright value of his own songs was worth well in excess of a hundred million dollars, the crown jewel of his investment strategy was his portfolio of other people’s songs – especially those of the Beatles.

Lara Logan: Tell me about the music catalog, the publishing catalog that you advised Michael to buy.

John Branca: We started with the Sly & the Family Stone catalog, we bought some rock classics, People Get Ready by Curtis Mayfield. Dion & The Belmonts, Runaround Sue, The Wanderer. When a Man Loves a Woman. Great Balls of Fire. Shake, Rattle, and Roll. But then one day I got the call that the Beatles catalog was for sale. It was called ATV Music. And it was as if we had hit the mother lode.

Lara Logan: And you paid?

John Branca: The price was $47.5 million. And we later merged it with Sony’s music publishing company to create one of the biggest publishers in the world, Sony ATV Music, that the estate, to this day, owns 50 percent of.

Lara Logan: And so how much is that worth today?

John Branca: I — I wouldn’t want to speculate about what it’s worth, but it –

Lara Logan: Come on, John. You didn’t –

John Branca: It’s –

Lara Logan: You didn’t make all this money in this town without knowing what your investments are worth.

John Branca: Well, it would be speculation at this point.

Lara Logan: It’s estimated to be worth, like, a billion dollars.

John Branca: Michael’s half?

Lara Logan: Yes.

John Branca: Well, you know, you never really know what something’s worth until you go to sell it. And we are not sellers. We are not gonna sell any assets.

At the time of his death Michael Jackson had borrowed $380 million against the value of the songs he owned. So the estate had to move quickly to avoid losing the songs to creditors.

John Branca sold future music rights to Sony for a reported $250 million. It was the biggest record deal in history.

Branca’s team also combed through personal video shot during rehearsals for a comeback tour Michael was preparing for right before his death. The footage showed the talent Michael still possessed as a singer, dancer and entertainer, then 50 years old.

It was made into a movie, called ‘This Is It’ and was released within months of Michael Michael’s death. So far it’s made over $500 million.

Zack O’Malley Greenburg: A lot of companies got on board with Michael Jackson once they saw the success of ‘This Is It’ and once they saw, you know, Sony investing a quarter of billion dollars for that record deal. You know, then you see Pepsi coming back and doing an endorsement with him. You see Cirque du Soleil coming in and doing a show.

Zack O’Malley Greenburg: I think his death caused people to remember him as he was in the Thriller years. You started to hear ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Beat It’ and ‘Thriller’ on the radio all the time, I think that that transported people back to the mid-’80s when Michael was at the peak of his career.

That’s what Michael’s estate and Cirque du Soleil gambled on. Michael’s 1983 ‘Thriller’ video helped the ‘Thriller’ album become largest selling ever. It had seven hit songs on it.

His music drives the touring Cirque du Soleil production. Michael’s estate and Cirque du Soleil are 50/50 partners. And while this show is expected to continue touring for years, a new production opens this week in Las Vegas. It’s called ‘Michael Jackson: One.’ And we were allowed in to watch one the final rehearsals.

This show features more of classic Michael Jackson choreography, and more of Cirque du Soleil’s signature acrobatic production created by founder Guy Laliberte.

Lara Logan: Do people come here to see Michael Jackson? Or are they coming to see something else?

Guy Laliberte: I think people are coming here — yes, because they’re passionate about Michael. So it’s very tricky because you’re touching an iconic figure. And we have to be careful. Because the base fans they are very, very difficult and demanding.

Making money on Michael’s legacy is one thing. Keeping it is another. John Branca needed a team of lawyers to navigate a litany of claims against the estate

John Branca: There were so many claims that were filed. And I can honestly tell you that most of them were ridiculous. Most of them were absurd. People making paternity claims and claims to have written all the songs that he ever wrote. And, you know, when you have an estate and you’re in front of a court, you have to take these things seriously

Lara Logan: Every single one?

John Branca: Every single one.

Lara Logan: Settling some– throwing some out?

John Branca: Throwing many out, settling the ones that we thought were valid. There’s a couple that are still pending.

Also still a work in progress is the sorting of Michael Jackson’s effects.

Lara Logan: Michael Jackson’s personal clothing?

Karen Langford: Uh-huh (affirm).

Lara Logan: This is what he wore.

Lara Logan: There’s that famous jacket.

Karen Langford: Here it is.

Lara Logan: Wow. That’s amazing.

Karen Langford: This is one of the safes that we have and…

Karen Langford showed us some of the more valuable items, which are kept in this safe. Like this sequined glove he wore while on tour. It’s estimated to be worth over $80,000 at auction.

Lara Logan: Can I touch it?

Karen Langford: Sure.

Lara Logan: Gently.

Karen Langford: Gently.

Lara Logan: Wow, it’s kind of heavy.

Karen Langford: Uh-huh (affirm).

Lara Logan: Look at that. Sh — I mean, you can’t look at that without — look at how it sparkles.

Karen Langford: Yup.

All of his belongings will be preserved until Michael Jackson’s children come of age.

Karen Langford: This is his shoes.

When they can decide what’s to be done with all of it. The more time passes, the more its value. And the more money his legacy generates. Executors Branca and McClain get 10 percent of what they make for the estate, but their results speak volumes: they’ve already erased the half billion dollars of debt Michael had at his death.

Zack O’Malley Greenburg: Since Michael Jackson died, the estate has taken over $600 million.

Lara Logan: But he died in 2009.

Zack O’Malley Greenburg: He died in 2009. And he made –

Lara Logan: It’s — it’s in four years, roughly four years –

Zack O’Malley Greenburg: $600 –

Lara Logan: $600 –

Zack O’Malley Greenburg: –over $600 million. And that’s more than any single living artist has made over that period of time.

You can read the full transcript here

Source: CBS News

Joe Balaam, from Stowmarket, created the website for charity MJ-RTT Foundation, a group of Michael Jackson fans keen to raise money in Michael’s name.

The charity, whose initials stand for Michael Jackson Remembering The Times, now raise money for the Destiny Kids Orphanage in Hohoe, Ghana.

Joe said he started designing websites as a hobby and was pleased to help the foundation. He said, “They have been trying to raise a lot of money to help an orphanage in Ghana. “They have sent £920 in the last month and are currently helping to build a clean water system.

“I have been doing website design for the last two years – I designed a website for a driving instructor before this.”

The MJ-RTT Foundation intially raised £1,000 for a project in Ghana by auctioning MJ memorabilia after being approached through Facebook by a Ghanaian NGO. The charity then discovered the Destiny Kids Orphanage.

A spokeswoman said: “Besides trying to get sponsors for the children so that they have a regular income, we have recently completed a second auction of MJ memorabilia which raised over £300.

“This amount was sufficient to kick-start the installation of pipework to bring safe drinking water to the children.”

For more information about the MJ-RTT charity.

Visit Joe’s website.

Source: buryfreepress.co.uk & MJWN

A Pennsylvania attorney for the widow of manager Frank DiLeo said Thursday that he would turn over emails that could be relevant to the case, which accuses entertainment behemoth AEG of responsibility for the pop singer’s death in 2009.

The attorney, David Regoli, who spoke via telephone in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, said he had made a copy of DiLeo’s email inbox while he was doing work for the manager’s estate. DiLeo died in 2011.

Attorneys for Michael’s mother and three children said they have a court order for those emails and believe they could include exchanges between DiLeo and AEG executives. Their wrongful death suit alleges that AEG hired and controlled Dr. Conrad Murray, who administered a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to the singer as he was preparing for a series of comeback concerts.

Regoli estimated that the digital file was about two gigabytes in size and he said he would make a log of the emails that would be pertinent to the trial. He is expected to give both the plaintiffs and the defense an update of his progress next week.

DiLeo, who died in 2011, was brought up last week in dramatic testimony given by Karen Faye, Michael’s hair and makeup artist.

Karen Faye said that during Michael’s final days she tried to warn DiLeo about the singer’s health.

“Frank was saying pretty much, ‘I got it under control, don’t worry about it,’ ” Faye testified Friday.

“I said, ‘But he’s losing weight rapidly.’ … I said, ‘Why don’t you ask [costume designer] Michael Bush to verify taking in his pants and how much weight he’s actually losing?’”

Faye said DiLeo went to speak to Bush and she overheard the manager say, “Get him a bucket of chicken.” “It was such a cold response,” she said. “I mean, it broke my heart.”

Michael died soon afterward. Murray is now serving jail time for involuntary manslaughter.

Source: LA Times & MJWN

Hom, who testified as an expert witness, also said he would never tell a director he had checked out a doctor if he hadn’t, a reference to claims by the Jackson family about an AEG executive.

A portion of Hom’s March 25 video deposition was played to the jury in the lawsuit brought by Katherine Jackson, who contends that entertainment giant AEG negligently hired and supervised Murray. He administered a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to Michael to combat his insomnia. AEG says that Michael hired Murray and that any payments the company was supposed to make to the doctor were advances to the singer.

Anschutz Entertainment Group had deposed Hom as an expert witness, paying him $500 a hour. In an unusual move, Mrs Jackson’s attorneys played about 45 minutes of the deposition, taken under oath. Brian Panish, one of the family’s lawyers, said he played the testimony to ensure the jury heard it, even if AEG did not call Hom during the trial.

Hom also testified he had never been on a tour where the artist brought a doctor along, although he later said doctors toured with the Rolling Stones and Blink 182, but Hom did not work with them.

Much of Hom’s testimony centered on the relationship between a tour manager, performer and doctor. A key question in the lawsuit is whether Murray, who was in desperate financial straits, was more concerned with Michael’s interests or AEG’s.

Hom said it was not appropriate for the tour manager or promoter to inject themselves into the doctor-patient relationship.

Asked if it would be OK for someone to speak to the performer’s doctor without the artist present, he answered, “I thought it was the doctor’s responsibility to say no.”

He said he knew of no instance where a promoter or producer had a private conversation with the artist’s doctor.

He testified that when performers were ill, “my natural instinct is to go to that doctor and ask him, ‘Is that dancer going or musician going to be able to make that show in a week?”

Hom also testified that he knew of no instance where a promoter or tour manager paid the performer’s manager.

Mr Panish said outside court that he will later introduce evidence that AEG was paying Michael’s managers, which could be a conflict of interest.

Source: latimes.com & MJWN

It is entitled “2 Kings: When Biggie Smalls Crossed Michael Jackson’s Path”.

Rob speaks first of his early work, saying,

I was fortunate enough to work with MJ early in my career. He was an incredible artist. Talented beyond your wildest dreams. Extremely generous, and a hard worker.

He began his career at the Hit Factory in New York, and worked with Bruce Swedien and Michael, who had moved to New York as there had been an earthquake in Los Angeles. After a couple of months they moved back to Los Angeles, where they had two rooms at Record One and two at Larrabee Studios. It was a huge learning curve for Rob, who relished the experience.

He speaks of Michael’s attention to every little detail, and how he knew every note in every chord.

“He would sing us an entire string arrangement, every part. Steve Porcaro once told me he witnessed MJ doing that with the string section in the room. Had it all in his head, harmony and everything. Not just little eight bar loop ideas, he would actually sing the entire arrangement into a micro-cassette recorder complete with stops and fills.

“We called in a guitar player, and Michael sang every note of every chord to him. “Here’s the first chord first note, second note, third note. Here’s the second chord first note, second note, third note”, etc., etc. We then witnessed him giving the most heartfelt and profound vocal performance, live in the control room through an SM57.”

“At one point Michael was angry at one of the producers on the project because he was treating everyone terribly. Rather than create a scene or fire the guy, Michael called him to his office/lounge and one of the security guys threw a pie in his face. No further action was needed . . . . .”

Rob also recalls,

During the recording of ‘Smile’ on ‘HIStory,’ Bruce thought it would be great if Michael would sing live with the orchestra. But of course, we didn’t tell the players that. We set him up in a vocal booth off to the side. They rehearsed a bit without vocals in, then during the first take Michael sang, just about knocked them out of their chairs.

His beat-boxing was without parallel, and his time was ridiculous. His sense of harmony was incredible. Never a bad note, no tuning, even his breathing was perfectly in time.

Once, while we were taking a break, I think we were actually watching the OJ chase on TV, there was a news program talking about him being in Europe with some little boy. I was sitting next to the guy while the news is making this crap up. He just looked at me and said, this is what I have to deal with.

I spent close to 3 years working with him, and not once did I question his morals, or ever believe any of the allegations. I wasn’t even a fan then. I saw him interact with his brothers’ kids, other people’s children, and at one point my own girlfriend’s kids. I got to spend a day at Neverland with them. A completely incredible human being, always looking for a way to make all children’s lives better. Every weekend at Neverland was donated to a different children’s group – children with AIDS, children cancer, etc., and most of the time he wasn’t there.

He was simply living the childhood he never had. In many ways he never grew up.

While they were recoding ‘History,’ Rob recalls.

“I got to spend a couple quiet moments with him during that time. We talked about John Lennon one night as he was gearing up to sing the last vocal of the record – the huge ad libs at the end of ‘Earth Song,’ I told him the story of John singing ‘Twist And Shout,’ while being sick, and though most people think he was screaming for effect, it was actually his voice giving out. He loved it, and then went in to sing his heart out.

Rob has lots of similar anecdotes to tell about Michael, but the story of Biggie Smalls and Michael is heart-warming to say the least, and his meeting with Biggy Smalls is no exception,

“By the way, to elaborate a bit on the Notorious B.I.G. session, it was kinda like this. Michael used to call people to ask them to participate on albums. It was interesting knowing that nearly anyone on the planet would come to the phone if it were Michael calling. Anyway, I heard rumours that B.I.G. was going to come, and I was excited about that! I knew that I would be the one to record that, as I had recorded nearly all of that tune, ‘This Time Around.’

So, Dallas and I were expecting him any minute, and pretty much on time, Notorious strolls in. He was quite an imposing figure when he walked in, as he was quite popular at the time. I had no idea what to expect from him in terms of attitude, but he seemed nice when he walked in. No problem. But almost immediately, he blurted out, “Yo, Dallas, can I meet Mike?” To which, Dallas replied that he thought so. Biggie went on to talk about how much this opportunity meant to him, as Michael was his hero. Anyway, Dallas tells him that we’re going to lay down the rap first, so Biggie heads in the booth, we get some headphone levels and get ready to start recording.

So, we hit the big red button (on a Sony 3348 machine), and away we go. During his first take, Dallas and I looked at each other, because it was spot on. wow. I was impressed, and so was Dallas. We listened back, and Dallas was like, “Wow, I think we got it”. As I recall, we took another take for good measure, but I’m fairly certain that we ended up using the first take. So, Notorious comes in, and asks if he can meet Michael now. We sent word to the back room where Michael was working that Biggie was finished and wanted to meet him.

Simply for security, Michael’s security would enter and make sure that no one was in the room that shouldn’t be, and once that was confirmed (it was just me, Biggie and Dallas), Michael came in. Biggie nearly broke out in tears…I could tell how much this meant to him. Well, Michael could have this effect on anyone, even the most hardcore rappers! Biggie was tripping up on his words, bowing down and telling Michael how much his music had meant to him in his life. Michael was, as always, very humble and kept smiling while Biggie just went on and on how much he loved Michael. I watched Biggie just become this big butterball of a man, and it was really very sweet to witness. After all, we are all just people.

Michael finally asked to hear what we had done, and we popped it up on the big speakers and let her go. Michael LOVED it and was excited to tell Biggie that! “Oh, let’s hear it again,” I recall Michael saying, and we listened again. Michael just loved it…and thanked Biggie for coming all the way from Philadelphia. Biggie asked rather sheepishly whether he could get a photo, and Michael agreed. A shot was taken, we listened again, and Michael thanked Biggie. Michael said goodbye and stepped out, leaving Biggie standing there looking completely stunned. It will always remain a great, great memory.”

To read this entire article, please click here.

Source: madandcrazy blogspot.co.uk & MJWN, with thanks to Matt

He testified that production wanted MJ to be more in attendance with all the cast, rather than just MJ rehearsing by himself at his house. “He seemed very tired, we all were,” Travis said.

‘Drill,’ was the last thing they worked together, Travis said. Michael had a great love for military precision. He said MJ’s dancing seemed fine to him. He said they were working on things created decades before to make them age appropriate, dynamic.

Travis said he had meals with MJ. He said MJ’s appetite depended on the day. “Customarily, we would see each other every day,” he said. Rehearsal with MJ was scheduled five days a week.

MJ told Travis he expected him to be in every show. He wanted him to take notes to make sure show was as perfect as possible.

Travis said they started rehearsing after the press conference, and stopped the day before MJ died. He spoke with MJ everyday. Bina showed an email Travis wrote. It said MJ was very persistent about having a torch, a concept that meant a lot to Michael.

They auditioned 5,000 dancers, MJ chose the final ones. Travis said MJ chose the band director also. He said “Everything started with Mr. Jackson, always. As his support team, we would contribute with ideas. MJ had the final word.”

‘This Is It’ was a partnership with AEG. Travis said this new way of doing business would revolutionize the way tours were done. He said he found out that his role would not include dancing, he would choreograph and would be the associate director in ‘This Is It.’

“He looked fine to me health wise, I thought he was thinner from what I have seen him in the past, but nothing alarming,” he recalled.

He said he knew MJ was excited about the tour and his children, to share this experience with them. He met with MJ in late March/2009. Payne didn’t personally meet with MJ until after the press conference announcement. He said he was excited to work with him again.

He said he worked with Kenny Ortega for many years. He and Ortega were in Vegas when MJ called Ortega asking him to work on a new project.

He said he never saw MJ take drugs, medication or alcohol. “Nothing.” Travis said he knew there were physicians tending to MJ, only ones he personally met were Dr. Klein and Debbie Rowe. Travis said: Michael had an incident, appeared to faint, we were asked to leave the theater and were told later the show was not going to happen.

He worked with MJ in the ‘One Night Only’ show, one time performance by MJ and dancers in New York. The show never happened. He said MJ rehearsed with the dancers and separately. Dancers would get up to speed in the beginning, MJ was good at giving space to learn.

Rehearsals for ‘HIStory’ tour were very extensive, Travis said. He was involved with selecting dancers, ideas for costumes and whatever needed.

He worked with MJ in ‘Ghost’ in 1995/96, then ‘HIStory’ tour, other TV shows and commercials and culminated with ‘This Is It.’

“In the ‘Dangerous’ tour I was ecstatic! I was working with my idol,” Travis described. During ‘Dangerous’ the relationship with MJ grew. Travis said all he knew pain was an on going issue for MJ since the Pepsi commercial accident.

The next time he worked with MJ was in the ‘Dangerous’ tour as dancer and choreographer. He worked with MJ first time in 1992 as a dancer in the short film ‘Remember The Time.’

He also worked with Paula Abdul, Brandy, Diana Ross, Mick Jagger, Marilyn Manson, MJ, among others.

Source: Associated Press & MJWN

Travis said AEG didn’t want to pay what he regarded as his standard operating cost. Michael told AEG to pay him what he and his agent requested.

He went on to say that he was concerned that Michael had missed some rehearsals. He didn’t know why he wasn’t showing up, but MJ was also working on an album and book.

Travis said Michael explained to him he had trouble sleeping. He was not sure how much weight MJ had lost. He told the jury he advised MJ he was looking thin and MJ said he was getting down to his fighting weight. “I had no reason to doubt him,” he said.

Travis remembered that there was one day when MJ was cold. He thought the frustration had MJ on edge, but he took it that he was fighting a cold. “There were times he was tired and had to be not convinced but supported,” Travis recalled. He said that in April, May, June MJ missed 5 rehearsals with the whole group. He said one time Ortega sent MJ home.

Jessica Stebbins Bina (for AEG) showed an email from Kenny Ortega to Paul Gongaware on Jun 14, “We’re you aware that MJ’s doctor didn’t permit him to attend rehearsal yesterday?”

Email continues: “Are Randy and Frank aware of this? Please have them stay on top of his health situation.”  Email continues: “Without invading MJ’s privacy, it might be good idea to talk to his doctor to make sure everything MJ requires is in place. Email continues, “Who is responsible for MJ getting proper nourishment/vitamins/therapy everyday?” Email continues: “Personally, I feel he should have a top Nutritionist and Physical Therapist working with him on a regular basis.” Email continues: “The demand on this guy are mentally and physically extraordinary! The show requirements exhaust our 20 year olds.” Email continues: “Please don’t underestimate the need to stay on top of this.”

Another part of the same email chain, from Gongaware: “Frank and I have discussed it already and have requested … a face-to-face meeting with the doctor… We want to remind him that it’s AEG not MJ who’s paying his salary.” Gongaware email: “We want him to understand what is expected of him. He has been dodging Frank so far.”

Travis said his understanding was that AEG was paying Dr. Murray’s salary not Michael. The doctor was there to oversee many things, he said, and went on to explain he didn’t have much of reason to question Dr. Murray, since he thought that a doctor selected to work with MJ, would be top notch.

Travis said he met Murray at the Carolwood house. “I was going up the steps, Dr. Murray going downstairs, Michael introduced us.”

Later after jurors had left, Judge Palazuelos said she sustained an objection by the plaintiffs and will not allow the defense to use Dr. Murray’s interview with by June 25, Travis said MJ had not developed the goal of singing and dancing at the same time. He resumes testimony tomorrow morning.

Source: Associated Press & MJWN

He was asked about Michael’s weight at the time of his death. He replied that Michael weighed 136 pounds , with a body mass index of 20.1 which was well within normal range. A BMI figure of 18.5 would be underweight.

Dr. Rogers testified that he looked thin in comparison to most people, but did not look emaciated. Dr. Rogers said Michael’s body didn’t have characteristics of someone who starved to death, and his health appeared excellent. Dr. Rogers did say that Michael’s body had some fat, but that most of his weight appeared to be in his muscles.

Dr. Rogers testified that Michael’s organs didn’t show any sign of lasting damage.

Source: Associated Press & MJWN

Travis, who rehearsed one-on-one with Michael and helped craft the creative vision for the show, said he never saw signs that Michael was ill or impaired in early preparations.

“I thought he was thinner than he was in the past, but I didn’t have any reason to be alarmed,” Payne said.

He briefly discussed Michael missing rehearsals, but has not yet addressed his appearance in his final days.

His testimony resumed Tuesday. He stated that, he worked with Michael individually almost every day, for the last three months of his life.

He ate lunches with him, saying Michael’s appetite varied daily. Michael was able to perform many of his familiar dance moves, although they had to be modified because the singer was 50 years old and not as limber as he had been decades earlier. He said Michael was tired for some of the sessions and that, “some days would be better than others.”

Travis went on to state that Michael appeared “a little loopy” after visits with his long-time dermatologist. Travis Payne said he witnessed Michael’s unusual behaviour after the singer visited Dr. Arnold Klein, who Payne believed was performing cosmetic treatments on the singer, so that he would be comfortable performing onstage again.

“Sometimes in rehearsal, Michael would appear just a little loopy,” Payne said, adding that the singer appeared to be, “assisted or under the influence of something.”

Under cross examination, Travis acknowledged that much of Michael’s behaviour, including grogginess, lethargy, insomnia and occasional paranoia, were possible symptoms of prescription drug abuse. He also had to admit that he could not recall all the times he and Michael rehearsed one-on-one, despite telling jurors Monday that he and the singer worked out daily.

Travis was working for AEG Live LLC, the company promoting Michael’s ‘This Is It’ tour, which was cancelled after his June 2009 death.

He said he relayed his concerns about Michael’s possible prescription drug use to tour director Kenny Ortega.

AEG denies it hired Murray and claims Michael was private about medical treatments and hid the depths of his prescription drug addiction. Michael died from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol, which Murray was giving him as a sleep aid.

AEG did not hire the dermatologist, Arnold Klein. Klein is listed as a potential witness in the case, but it’s unknown whether he will testify. His treatment of Michael which included Demerol shots, have been scrutinized both during Murray’s 2011 criminal trial and the current civil case.

Payne said, he witnessed Michael’s unusual behaviour several times in the weeks before his death. The singer also appeared groggy during some morning sessions, Travis said, and Michael occasionally complained he was having trouble sleeping.

Travis initially said under questioning by AEG attorney Jessica Stebbins Bina that he did not think Michael had a problem with prescription medications. However, under questioning by Katherine Jackson’s attorney Brian Panish, he said he was concerned about Michael’s medication use.

“At the moment, I had no inkling of what was ultimately revealed after Mr. Jackson’s passing,” he said.

He told the jury he thought Michael was thin but he wasn’t aware of an email that AEG executives sent seeking to remove footage of him rehearsing in the ‘This Is It’ film, in which he was described as looking like “skeletal.” The email was not displayed for the jury.

Payne and Panish engaged in several testy exchanges during cross-examination, including about whether Michael was always present at his one-on-one rehearsal sessions at the singer’s home. Travis acknowledged Michael sometimes skipped sessions.

“I don’t have a dog in this race,” Travis said at one point. “I’m just trying to have a conversation with you and tell the truth.”

He told jurors he met Murray twice, but both encounters were brief.

He worked with Michael beginning in the 1990s and testified that he never saw him drink alcohol or take any medications. Michael also never discussed his medical treatments, Travis said.

Source: Associated Press & MJWN

“I just never in a million years thought he would leave us, or pass away,” Stacy Walker told jurors hearing a lawsuit filed by Katherine Jackson against concert promoter AEG Live LLC. “It just never crossed my mind.”

Ms Walker, who is testifying for AEG, said Michael appeared thinner than he had been in previous years and wore multiple layers of clothes while rehearing for his ‘This Is It’ shows, planned for London’s O2 arena. She said despite Michael missing multiple rehearsals, she was convinced based on his performances the last two days of his life, that he was ready for the series of shows.

Previous witnesses have testified that he was shivering and appeared unprepared. Ms Walker said she never saw any of that behavior, although she acknowledged that her job was to work with other dancers and not Michael directly.

“I wasn’t looking for things at the time,” she said. “I wish I was.”

Ms Walker also stated that she was frustrated by the fact that Michael had missed some rehearsals, but said, that her concerns were swept away during the last two preparation sessions for his anticipated ‘This Is It’ comeback concerts, in London.

“I finally saw what I was looking to see,” said Stacy Walker.

Walker said she was so encouraged she told her mother to buy a ticket for opening night in London. “I was very excited and relieved and hopeful,” she testified.

Stacy Walker toured with Michael on the second leg of his ‘HIStory’ tour in 1997, and was well aware of Michael’s performance levels.

AEG is expected to call choreographer Travis Payne, who worked with Michael directly in preparation for the ‘This Is It’ shows, and tour director Kenny Ortega is also expected to testify.

Source: AP, KTLA & MJWN

Conrad Murray is now challenging that decision. His lawyer Valerie Wass claims that Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, made a series of legal errors by failing to sequester the jury, and ban TV coverage court proceedings. She also contends that jurors should have heard details of Michael’s poor financial state, and his contract with AEG.

Supervising Deputy Attorney General Victoria B. Wilson calls for the guilty verdict to be upheld. She blamed Murray’s own lawyers for forfeiting a number of opportunities to object to Judge Pastors’ rulings during the trial.

She contends that Murray was playing “Russian Roulette” with Michael’s life over several months. The arguments in Murray’s appeal is nothing more than a reflection of a criminal defendant who harbours no sense of responsibility or remorse for taking the life of a human being.”

She also defended the judge against the mistakes he is accused of making, insisting that presenting evidence of Michael’s money struggles, “would result in a salacious sideshow of his finances and lawsuits, and run the risk of distracting the jury from it’s task of deciding Murray’s guilt.

Murray was denied bail pending his appeal – he is eligible for release on October 28th 2013.

Source: Contact Music & MJWN.

We have received this plea from the organizers of ‘Michael’s Dream Foundation.’ Please give generously if you can.

Destination Georgia!

Michael’s Dream Foundation Inc. is preparing to make our next Michael’s Dream Box delivery, this time in Georgia! Following the success of our first delivery to Gary, Indiana in Februrary, we have decided that Michael’s Dream Box should start on the next leg of its journey.

We need your donations!

Michael’s Dream Boxes contain a selection of toys, games, books and learning materials designed to bring some love and happiness into a sick child’s life.

A Dream Box costs $20 to assemble and ship to the children who need them, and we need to ship many more! So please, send your donation today , for ways to donate, please do visit our projects page.

You can even include a little note with your donation, for the children to read! More details of this next delivery will be issued soon, but for now, please donate whatever you can, and help to bring a smile to a sick child’s face!

Source: Michael’s Dream Foundation & MJWN, with thanks to Kerry Ward

The 100 students in Creation Audio’s Studio A listened intently, as the five-time Grammy winner told stories about working with Michael, Barbra Streisand and Miles Davis. Bruce also reflected on his homecoming to the studio he opened in 1953, which has recorded songs by the Trashmen (‘Surfin’ Bird,’) Dave Dudley (‘Six Days on the Road,’) Hüsker Dü, Steve Miller Band, the Jets, Paula Abdul, Lorie Line, Connie Evingson and countless others.

“My wife helped glue up the egg cartons,” he said, referring to the dozens of empty containers still visible in Studio B. “They were a superb and very cheap acoustical treatment.”

On a recent trip to visit his sister-in-law in Minnesota, Swedien returned to Creation for the first time since he left for Chicago 55 years ago.

“I built those doors; if you look carefully at them, you’ll see they’re very solid, very thick,” he said proudly, peering at the dark-pink 4-inch-thick doors to Studio A. “This place is unbelievable. My whole life started here.”

Bruce (he’s part Swedish, part French Canadian,) realized while taking piano lessons as a youngster in south Minneapolis, that he wasn’t going to be a classical pianist — he preferred boogie woogie. At 10, he received a disc-recording machine from his father and became fascinated with the recording process.

After majoring in electrical engineering (and minoring in music) at the University of Minnesota, he opened ‘Bruce Swedien Recording,’ in an old movie theatre, at 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue S. Self-taught, he recorded such local acts as Six Fat Dutchmen and the Herb Pilhofer Octet and national jazz stars Herbie Mann and Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers.

When a CBS Radio broadcaster travelled through the Dakotas on assignment, Swedien got hired as a sound engineer. That led him to Chicago, where he joined RCA Victor studios and recorded the Chicago Symphony and many jazz artists, including Duke Ellington and Stan Kenton.

His break came as engineer for Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons’ smash single ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ in 1962. But his best move in Chicago was getting to know jazz trumpeter-turned-producer, Quincy Jones.

“Quincy was the first man to pay me big-time royalties,” Swedien said.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1975, Swedien was summoned by Jones to New York in ’77 to engineer sessions for the movie ‘The Wiz.’ He met the film’s star, Michael Jackson, and went on to engineer Michael’s biggest albums.

“Michael was phenomenal,” Swedien said. “He had such musical integrity. He’d love to go to Hit Factory [studio] in New York, and we’d go through the upper floor of that facility and look through pieces of plywood, all sorts of things, to make unusual percussion sounds. In one case, Michael sang through a mailing tube.

“He was one of only two artists in my entire career that I never used pitch correction on, because they didn’t need it.” (The other was Siedah Garrett, who dueted with Michael on ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,’ and co-wrote his No. 1 hit ‘Man in the Mirror’ with Glen Ballard.)

Bruce spent 19 years in Chicago, 17 in Los Angeles, then seven in Connecticut and the past seven in Ocala, Fla. Well, that’s according to Bea, his ever-present wife of 60 years, who keeps track of the details and bakes the peanut-butter cookies Jones so liked, in the studio.

Bruce still records (he produced a single for Garrett in 2012,) and conducts master classes at his studio in Florida. He imparted some master-class wisdom for Twin Cities’ students: “Take care of your ears.” His secret for success as a producer and engineer? “A little bit of kindness and a little bit of psychology — and a little bit of pitch correction.”

If you would like to read and enjoy the entire article on Bruce Swedien and his work, please visit here.

Source: startribune.com & MJWN

She said she was alarmed by Michael’s frail figure during his last days. Michael Bush, Michael’s costume designer for nearly 25 years, appeared upset after he finished up a June 2009 fitting inside Michael’s bathroom at Staples Center, Karen Faye said.

“He said, ‘Oh my god, Turkle. I could see Michael’s heartbeat through the skin in his chest,’” Faye recounted.

Turkle was Michael’s nickname for Karen. She was emotional as she described the moment. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos then asked her about Bush’s tone of voice at the time.

“It was like, ‘Oh my god,’” Karen said. “He was pretty much in shock.”

Around the same time, she said she tried to warn Michael’s manager, Frank DiLeo, about his health.

“[Frank] was saying pretty much, ‘I got it under control, don’t worry about it,’” Karen said. “I said, ‘But he’s losing weight rapidly.’ … I said, ‘Why don’t you ask Michael Bush to verify taking in his pants and how much weight he’s actually losing?’” Karen said DiLeo went to speak to Bush and she overheard the manager say, “Get him a bucket of chicken.” “It was such a cold response,” she said. “I mean, it broke my heart.”

The plaintiffs have a court order for emails DiLeo wrote during preparation for the comeback concerts but were told by AEG’s attorneys that the manager’s computer had disappeared, the Jacksons’ lawyer Kevin Boyle said. He said the emails could include exchanges between DiLeo and AEG executives and that they may be able to recover copies from an attorney who worked with DiLeo before the manager’s 2011 death.

Karen, who began working with Michael in the early 1980s, said she felt the singer, “did not have enough muscle mass to do a concert” as he was prepping for his ‘This Is It’ concerts.

She said Michael realized he didn’t look good in a video that was filmed to be used on giant screens during the concert series. At his request, she said, she assisted technicians retouching the singer’s image on the footage. But the makeup artist said that although she was asked, she did not help retouch the posthumous ‘This Is It’ documentary.

“Everybody was lying after he died, sir, that Michael was well,” Karen said to the Jacksons’ attorney, Brian Panish. “And everybody knew he wasn’t. I felt retouching Michael was just a part of that lie.”

During cross-examination by an AEG attorney, Karen clarified and said she had been torn about working on the documentary.

“My initial feeling was that I didn’t want to lie, and the second, my other thing that was tugging at my heart, was that if this movie was going out, I wanted him to look good.”

Karen said she helped prepare Michael’s body for his casket.

She also testified that she told a drug therapist after the ‘Dangerous’ tour that she worried that his use of pain killers could be fatal. She said under cross-examination by defense attorney Marvin Putnam that Michael went into a rehab program in England that was recommended by Elizabeth Taylor.

“I said I was afraid Michael could die,” Karen said in recalling different stages of the ‘Dangerous’ tour. “Personally, there were times when he was OK and times when I was worried.”

She had also testified on Thursday that Debbie Rowe, the nurse for Michael’s dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein at the time, was present during the ‘Dangerous’ tour with a bag of medications.

The makeup artist said she parted ways with Michael during 1996-97′s HIStory World Tour, due to problems with the tour manager, as well as jealousy from Debbie Rowe, the performer’s wife at the time. After a few years, Karen said, she returned to working with Michael, and Rowe apologized.

In other testimony on Friday, Karen said she expressed her drug abuse concerns about Michael’s health with his oldest sister, Rebbie, after the woman reached out to her requesting information about the singer. Karen said she could not recall the time period when the conversation occurred. She said she also had more abbreviated discussions about the same topic with another two of the singer’s other siblings, LaToya Jackson and Randy Jackson. She said that in later years Jackson’s family members unsuccessfully tried to get him to return to rehab.

“I never knew them to be successful, sir,” Karen told Putnam. “I’m sure they were trying to help him in any way they could.”

She said she did not discuss Michael’s drug problem with him personally.

“I just avoided that issue like the plague, sir, the molestation and the drug areas,” she told Putnam today.

Asked by Putnam if Michael ever sought drugs from her, she replied affirmatively.

“He asked me one time if I had pain killers,” Faye said. “I said no, I didn’t.”

She also testified that she never saw Michael use drugs.

Karen said she did request prescriptions for Latisse, which is used to lengthen eyelashes, and the hair growth drug Propecia in her name, so that she could give them to Michael. She also inquired about but never received Botox as a possible remedy to Michael’s onstage sweating that often caused problems with his hair extensions.

She said she became concerned during Michael’s 2005 trial and acquittal on molestation charges that he was using drugs again, saying she based her assumptions on his appearance and his demeanor. She said she got up early every morning to get him ready for court. She said he told her he had extreme back pain, in large part because of a 1999 concert accident in Munich, when a bridge prop on which he was standing unexpectedly descended into the orchestra pit. She said he was hospitalized for part of the molestation trial, because of the back pain that likely dated from the Munich accident. She said she decided again to avoid confronting Michael about possible drug abuse.

“It was my job and my duty as a friend to make that time … calm and peaceful,” Faye said. “I didn’t want to confront him with anything. No matter what he was doing, I could never blame him for that because of the pain.”

Despite emotional testimony from Karen, who at times clenched a tissue and wiped her eyes, the overall mood in the courtroom was kept light by her frequent quips. During cross-examination, she sighed at questions and told AEG attorney Marvin Putnam:

“I’m 60 years old, sir, and you’re talking about a 30-year span. I’m going to do the best I can. … How old are you, sir?”

After jurors and observers laughed, Faye asked slyly, “Is that hearsay?” …. referring to multiple hearsay objections from AEG.

“You go, girl,” said one fan in the courtroom who gave the thumbs up sign.

When Putnam brought up Karen’s blog and Twitter account — on which she has insisted that she was paid by AEG and once wrote, “AEG owned Michael” — she stood firm.

“I’ve stated the truth as far as my experience,” she said.

Source: LA Times & MJWN