We understand that loyal MJ fans are reacting to the article that appeared in the New Yorker questioning the sales of Michael’s “Thriller” album. Let’s state this for the record: “Thriller” has sold MORE THAN 100,000,000 ALBUMS WORLDWIDE. In addition, the number of singles sold cannot even be tallied. It is far and away the largest selling album in record industry history which, ironically, the same reporter noted in the December issue of the same magazine. Quite frankly, we are unaware of the credentials of the blogger in the New Yorker, and point out that it is his opinion only, and not based on the facts of the extraordinary 30-year sales history of Michael’s masterpiece.

- John Branca and John McClain, Co-Executors, The Estate Of Michael Jackson

We thank you for all the feedback and especially the positive comments about Bad25! We understand, however, that many of the packages that were shipped of the deluxe “suitcase” version of the release arrived at their destinations damaged. We have also been informed that response to the concerns and replacement of the packages has been slower than what is acceptable to the fans.

We want to assure you that Sony and its manufacturing and shipping partners have received your complaints and are working diligently to address each instance of a damaged package and replace it. We apologize for the delay. Sony is currently working to implement a system to fix the problems more efficiently, and thanks your for your patience.

Thank you to Alicia from MJOnline (The Official Online Team of the Michael Jackson Estate™) for sending this our way.

Recently, a letter was posted online from some of Michael Jackson’s siblings, whom Michael chose not to name in his will, questioning the document’s validity and the naming of John Branca and John McClain as his Executors. Here is a statement from attorneys for the Estate in response to the online posting:

Any doubts about the validity of Michael’s will and his selection of Executors were thoroughly and completely debunked two years ago when a challenge was rejected by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the California Court of Appeals and, finally, the California Supreme Court.

Under the supervision of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff, Co-Executors John Branca and John McClain have diligently carried out their fiduciary duties as well as their obligation to Michael to make sure that his Estate benefits the only family members he named in his will – his mother and his three children.

We are saddened that false and defamatory accusations grounded in stale Internet conspiracy theories are now being made by certain members of Michael’s family, whom he chose to leave out of his will. We are especially disheartened that they come at a time when remarkable progress has been made to secure the financial future of his children by turning around the Estate’s finances as well as during a time when so many of Michael’s fans, old and new, are enjoying his artistry through exciting new projects.

Thanks to Alicia from MJOnline (The Official Online Team of the Michael Jackson Estate™) for sending this our way.

Recently, there was an item on an international Pepsi affiliate’s social media page regarding a “Michael Jackson Hologram Concert.” This item is not accurate and there are no such plans in place by Pepsi, the Estate of Michael Jackson or anyone else.

We regret any confusion that may have been caused in the MJ fan community by this incorrect post, which has been removed.

Thanks to Alicia from MJOnline (The Official Online Team of the Michael Jackson Estate™) for sending this our way.

Below is a note from from John Branca and John McClain, Co-Executors of the Estate of Michael Jackson.

Thanks for your update last week. It is great to see the overwhelming support and excitement in the fan community for the upcoming BAD 25 release. A few questions have arisen regarding the Wembley concert DVD. Although the press release wasn’t the place for background details, here is more information:

• We know that Nocturne captured on Umatic tapes the footage projected onto the JumboTrons at the various concerts including Wembley. These tapes were turned over to Michael’s crew and we have confirmed with Patrick Kelly (who headed Michael’s film crew for the European tour) that everything from Europe was sent to LA to be put in Michael’s storage facilities. The same procedures were followed for the US shows.
• Unfortunately, record-keeping in the storage facilities was sporadic, at best, so we do not know what happened to a tape once it was sent for storage. In most cases, once a tape was pulled from the box it arrived in, it was not put back in the original box and where it wound up doesn’t always make sense. As a result, 25 years later not all of the Umatic tapes from the various shows can be located, notwithstanding that we have conducted an extensive survey of all of the storage facilities. So while we believe that the Umatic tape for Wembley was initially sent for storage, we have not been able to locate it. And with regard to the Umatic footage of other concerts, the audio is extremely problematic and therefore these concerts are unusable.
• We know that VHS copies of the Umatics were made when Michael wanted to view a particular concert, but because of the lack of record-keeping, we also didn’t know which concerts existed on VHS. We ultimately did find Michael’s personal VHS viewing copy of the Wembley show attended by Princess Diana and Prince Charles, but not the Umatic. Even finding this VHS felt like a miracle to us!
• So while we continued the search for the Wembley Umatic master, we also researched the audio recordings that existed from all of the concerts including Wembley. Fortunately, the Wembley audio recordings were made using a sound truck, and appear to be the only multi-track recordings from the tour. The other audio/visual recordings that exist, whether Umatic or VHS, are “front of house” mixes, and therefore there are no separate audio recordings that can be used to create a high quality listening experience. It is for this reason that the Wembley audio is the only one suitable to create a live album.
• If we were going to include a live concert DVD in the BAD 25 release package, we had only one choice, Wembley. And there were only two options for visual – the Umatics for a different show or the VHS for Wembley. It would certainly be less expensive for the Estate to be able to create a DVD from a Umatic tape than to spend the time and money to painstakingly restore/enhance the VHS footage, but then we would not be delivering a truly authentic experience and we truly believe that watching this concert with the high quality audio will create a magical experience for all the fans as it has for us. We ultimately chose a lab that has developed its own proprietary technology for doing this kind of work (including restoration for NASA of VHS footage) in order to make the visual experience the best it can be under the circumstances.

We also could have chosen to release the Japanese concert from the first leg of the tour as there is a master of that show; but that concert was essentially a reincarnation of the Victory Tour with only two songs – “Bad” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” – added at the end. It isn’t what we believe the fans would want. We could have elected not to release a DVD as part of the BAD 25 celebration (and hold out hope that someday we might find the Umatic of the Wembley concert) or we could share with the fans the chance to relive that magical night with pristine audio. We made the decision to go with the latter and provide the fans with the most authentic viewing experience. We believe that the fans will agree it was the right choice when the package is released in September.

Thank you to Lisa from MJOnline (The Official Online Team of The Michael Jackson Estate™)

We want to thank fans for all their positive feedback on this morning’s announcement about the Pepsi deal. Michael did three successive deals with Pepsi, on the Victory Tour, the Bad Tour and the Dangerous Tour, so this extends a long and very successful relationship with the brand. Michael would have loved that we are making the record books with his image on a billion cans around the world. And the campaign will be a great kickoff to the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of BAD.

Thanks to Gayle from MJ Online Team (The Official Online Team of the Michael Jackson Estate™) for sending all of this our way.

The following is a Statement from attorney Howard Weitzman, on behalf of The Estate of Michael Jackson:

The Estate of Michael Jackson filed claims against Tohme Tohme for misconduct that it determined occurred during the brief time he was associated with Michael as his personal manager as well as actions that took place after Michael passed away. We expect Mr. Tohme to file a lawsuit against the Estate. We believe the facts will show that Mr. Tohme’s claims are meritless and that Mr. Tohme engaged in wrongdoing with respect to Michael Jackson starting early in their relationship. The Petition filed summarizes our position and we will let this matter be litigated in the courts.

Sent to us by Gayle from MJOnline: The Official Online Team of the Michael Jackson Estate™

In regards to the press conference held today, the following is the statement from the Estate:
“The Estate has not been contacted and is not involved with Global Live Events in the UK tribute concert announced today.”

CNN story:

Los Angeles (CNN) — Michael Jackson’s mother and four of his siblings announced Monday a tribute concert for the late pop singer to be held in Wales in October, but the lineup for talent is still a secret.

Brothers Marlon, Tito and Jackie, sister La Toya and family matriarch Katherine Jackson attended the “Michael Forever The Tribute Concert” announcement at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Monday morning. – READ THE FULL CNN STORY HERE

Thank you to Gayle from MJOnline (The Official Online Team of the Michael Jackson Estate™) for this information.