Thomas MesereauThomas Mesereau (born 1950; JD Hastings College of the Law 1979) is a California-based criminal trial lawyer at Mesereau & Yu. He rose to national and international fame for successfully defending Michael Jackson in his 2005 child molestation trial.
Branca is currently the chairman of The Michael Jackson Company, and serves as Co-Executor of the Michael Jackson Estate. Billboard named Branca its 2016 "Lawyer of the Year".
Joseph Walter âJoeâ Jackson (born July 26, 1928) is an American talent manager and the patriarch of the Jackson family of entertainers which includes Michael Jackson, The Jacksons 5, Rebbie Jackson, Latoya Jackson and Janet Jackson.
Then, two years later, Branca was gone â fired by Jackson in the first crack of a relationship that would continually crumble for the next two decades, until just days before the ill-fated entertainer's death. His jettisoning by Jackson, in 1990, was one of the more absorbing show business separations.
After Morrison's death, Siddons continued to manage the remaining members of the Doors as they released two albums and toured.
Dileo drove a black Rolls-Royce, a gift from his employer, with the license plate âTHANXMJJ.â But in early 1989 Jackson fired Mr. Dileo, dissatisfied with the sales of his album âBad.â (Jackson had wanted to sell 100 million copies of the album, but after a year and a half it had sold only 20 million.)Aug 25, 2011
In September 2016, Sony acquired the Jackson estate's stake in Sony/ATV in a deal valued at around $750 million. The Jackson estate retained a 10% stake in EMI Music Publishing, and its ownership of Mijac Music, which holds the rights to Michael Jackson's songs and master recordings.
SonySony Buys Michael Jackson's Stake In Lucrative Music Catalog : The Two-Way : NPR. Sony Buys Michael Jackson's Stake In Lucrative Music Catalog : The Two-Way The $750 million deal means Sony now fully owns or administers the rights to 3 million songs, including hits by the Beatles, Sting, Lady Gaga and Alicia Keyes.Mar 15, 2016
A decade after the initial deal, Jackson sold 50 percent of ATV to Sony for $95 million, creating the music publishing company Sony/ATV that today owns rights of not only Beatles songs but others from artists such as Bob Dylan, Marvin Gaye, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Hank Williams and Roy Orbison.Jan 28, 2019
US$111 millionSince his untimely death in 2009, MJ's estate has continued to rake in profits. At the time of his death, he was worth around US$500 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, and in 2018, his earnings reportedly reached US$825 million. In May 2021, a judge ruled that Michael's estate was worth US$111 million.Oct 9, 2021
His mother, Barbara May Theresa Werle (October 6, 1928 - January 1, 2013) was an entertainer and Harvest Moon Ball winner who danced on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Branca was hired by Jackson after he fired his father Joseph Jackson as his manager of his career. He was also an instrumental in the production and release of Michael Jackson's Thriller short film. Before Thriller, music videos typically had budgets of $50,000âhowever, Jackson spent over $1 million on the music video of Thriller.
At Branca's first wedding, Michael Jackson was Best Man and Little Richard Penniman served as minister.
Branca helped Buddy Arnold form the Musicians Assistance Program, which later merged with MusiCares, which provides help to members of the music industry who need treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, as well as assistance for other financial, medical and personal crises. He currently serves as Chair Emeritus of Musicares.
Branca is an ardent baseball card collector, and has many rare cards. He also has a noted collection of Italian antiques, and is an ardent basketball and music fan.
This time, we speak to John Branca, who as well as managing the legacy of Michael Jackson, is also a top music attorney working on/with some of the biggest artists and deals in existence. Worldâs Greatest Managers is supported by Centtrip, a specialist in intelligent treasury, payments and foreign exchange â created with ...
John Branca. Branca also orchestrated The Bee Geesâ acquisition of their entire master recording catalog (which in 2016 the band sold/licensed to Capitol Music Group ), and, most famously, he aided Michael Jacksonâs fight to regain the rights to his recordings.
In addition to his work representing artists, Brancaâs impact in the âdollars and centsâ column of the modern music business is hardly inconsequential. It began in 1985, when he helped Michael Jackson buy ATV Music Publishing for just $47.5m â a deal which netted Jackson the rights to The Beatlesâ song catalog.
Jacksonâs music attracted over 7.3 billion streams last year alone, says Branca, making him the No.1 streaming catalog artist in the world. And in late 2020, Forbes once again placed Michael Jackson at No.1 on its delightfully-named Highest Paid Dead Celebrities list.
Branca also co-produced two Spike Lee documentaries: Bad 25 and Michael Jackson: from Motown to Off the Wall. Branca is, professionally and personally, a fierce protector of the Jackson legacy â and is currently waging a legal war against the Emmy-winning HBO documentary, Leaving Neverland.
But, to a degree, itâs Brancaâs relationship with Michael Jackson that continues to define his career. New York-born Branca began representing Jackson in 1980 â a professional relationship that, aside from one break (which we get into below), lasted until the starâs death in 2009 and beyond.
We did this primarily because of Rob Stringer who is one of the industryâs great record executives and who has had a long relationship with Michaelâs music, including overseeing the marketing and promotion of Michaelâs History album. Also Sonyâs done a very good job with Michael, and they paid us a lot of money!
Branca has also been involved in MusiCares because it is a source of help and hope for musicians struggling with substance abuse.
In 1981 , Branca joined Ziffren Brittenham, where he continued his association with the King of Pop and maintained relationships with record labels, publishing companies and music executives. He made headlines when he sold Berry Gordyâs Jobete music publishing company (the âMotown catalogâ) for a record breaking valuation multiple.
Branca raised the funds by selling rights to MTV, Showtime and a home video company. The result was the 60-minute documentary âMaking Michael Jacksonâs Thriller.â. âMichael Jacksonâs Thrillerâ is the official title of the âThrillerâ video.
In addition, he guided Carlos Santana to reunite with Clive Davis leading to the âSupernaturalâ album which sold in excess of 25 million copies worldwide, and is the only album along with âThrillerâ to garner eight Grammy awards.
At the time of his passing, Jackson was roughly $500 million in debt; in just under seven years, Brancaâs shrewd supervision of his assets put the Michael Jackson Estate $500 million in the black. It was the billion-dollar turnaround heard round the world.
This scheme has since become the model for major concert tours. In 1980, Branca found himself working on the Michael Jackson account.
Club 42 teammates Dylan Branca and Jaedeyn Edwards with USC Coach Gabe Alvarez at USC Baseball Prospect Camp. of Mt. Vernon, NY, where the city has created a tribute to John's father John Branca and his uncle Ralph Branca. with his Club 42 teammates Jaedeyn Edwards, Cameron Washington, and Amaree Burnett.