Is Michael Jackson Over? ‘Leaving Neverland’: The Aftermath OneYear On
Aired in two parts on HBO on March 3rd and 4th 2019, Dan Reed’s documentary ‘Leaving Neverland’ put a spotlight on Wade Robson and James Safechuck who shared devastating allegations of sexual abuse that shocked audiences worldwide and became 2019’s most in-demand documentary.
As a result, public backlash against the artist ensued and a musical based on the life and career of Jackson, titled MJ, was cancelled ahead of its much anticipated Chicago run. The star’s 2,700-acre Neverland Ranch (now renamed Sycamore Valley Ranch, and the setting for much of the reported abuse) was put on the market at a new asking price of $31 million, nearly $70 million less than its original listing from 2015.
Also a 1991 episode of The Simpsons which features the voice of Jackson was pulled from the show’s archives and multiple streaming outlets. And Louis Vuitton’s Fall/Winter 2019 menswear collection that drew direct inspiration from Jackson, was also scrapped. Both LVMH, the owner of Louis Vuitton, and Head designer Virgil Abloh, released a statement “I am aware that in light of this documentary the show has caused emotional reactions. I strictly condemn any form of child abuse, violence or infringement against any human rights,”.
The backlash also affected music sales, as the sales for Jackson’s albums and songs as a whole, including both his solo work and his time with Jackson 5 and The Jacksons, dropped four percent in the wake of the documentary’s premiere.
Michael Jackson’s songs were subsequently banned on numerous radio stations around the world, including two radio stations in New Zealand and three major Canadian radio stations in Montreal.
Billboard reported that compared to the year previous, radio airplay of Jackson’s songs decreased 32 percent in the same period. And that Jackson’s estate tallied an estimated $60 million pretax in 2019, which sounds pretty good right?
Well not when you compare it to 2018’s profits which totalled $400 million, a dramatic 85 per cent year-on-year decrease.
So, what does this mean for Michael Jackson’s enduring legacy? Will the artist ever be able to make a comeback? Has ‘cancel culture’ indeed dethroned the King of Pop?
Though, it would be easy to attribute the dip in profits to the well-publicized abuse allegations raised in Leaving Neverland. However, the documentary isn’t the real reason behind the dramatic drop.
Last year’s figure included a onetime windfall of nearly $300 million for the sale of Jackson’s stake in EMI Music Publishing, as well as a new record deal with Sony.
2019’s total was always bound to be a fraction of 2018’s. With profits of $60 million, Michael Jackson is still №1 on the list of top-earning dead celebrities — for the 7th year in a row.
Even after his early 2019 reckoning, Jackson’s U.S. streaming totals actually edged up from 1.8 billion to 2.1 billion, an increase of 17 per cent. His music sales are likely to continue to grow as streaming is continuing to grow, and because of his unbelievably popular pop songs.
That said, the days of Jackson’s centimillion-dollar annual earnings totals from beyond the grave may have come to an end — not so much because of a public backlash, but because megadeals and asset sales that fueled his afterlife bonanza have been completed. Among them, pacts for This Is It and the Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour, as well as Jackson’s $750 million haul for his half of the Sony/ATV catalog in 2016.
Jackson still can count on further payouts from Sony, cash from the Las Vegas show Michael Jackson One and millions from his own Mijac Music catalog, which his estate still controls. And then there’s his sprawling Neverland compound, which at $31 million may finally be priced to sell.
Although there are new avenues to be explored. The Jackson-themed musical, whose Chicago run was canceled earlier this year, is set to open on Broadway in August 2020. That sort of production could help Jackson find fresh audiences while connecting with old ones, boosting his reach just as the likes of Spotify and Apple Music have.
The legendary musician’s 1983 hit “Thriller” seems to have survived largely unscathed during 2019’s spooky season, holding top position for the most popular Halloween inspired song. In the United States, “Thriller” walks and parades were held in Georgia, Lexington, Kentucky, La Crescent, Wisconsin and New Hampshire as a homage to the song’s music video.
And just recently, the socks Michael Jackson wore during his legendary Motown 25 performance, where he debuted his iconic moonwalk to the World, are going on auction for a whopping estimate of 1 to 2 million dollars.
Indicating that just mere months after the backlash caused by ‘Leaving Neverland’, Michael Jackson’s popularity and cultural significance shows no sign of waning. A career spanning 40 years, that reached the far corners of the Earth, proving that Michael Jackson’s appeal and legacy is set to live on for generations to come.