Michael Jackson (55 page)

The next few months were filled with intensive and frustrating negotiations. Bidding against Michael were Charles Koppelman
and Marty Bandier's Entertainment Company; Virgin Records; real estate tycoon Samual J. Lefrak; and financier Charles Knapp.
At one point, John Branca called off the negotiations, completely.

During those eight tense months, Paul McCartney again tried to convince Yoko Ono to join him in a bid. When Yoko repeated
that she was not interested, Paul decided not to bid.

Meanwhile, Michael telephoned John Branca once a week for news.

When Koppelman and Bandier had beaten Michael's offer of $47.5 million with one of $50 million, Michael was crushed. ‘Branca,
we can't lose this, now,’ he said. ‘You gotta do something. I know we agreed that we wouldn't spend more than $41 million,
but I'm willing to do it.’

The Koppelman and Bandier offer was being financed by the MCA company, so John made a telephone call to the head of the company,
Irving Azoff. ‘Man, you can't give these guys money to buy this catalogue,’ John told Irving. ‘Did you know that they're competing
against Michael for it? Remember, you were a consultant for the Victory tour?’

‘Johnny, don't worry about it,’ Irving Azoff said. ‘I'll take care of it.’

Azoff then pulled the rug out from under Koppelman and Bandier by refusing to finance their offer. John Branca had put Michael
back in the driver's seat.

Soon, Robert Holmes à Court was telephoning John Branca and practically begging him to go to London and close the deal. John
played hardball and acted as if Michael wasn't interested. Holmes à Court offered to pay for John's plane fare, but John could
afford his own ticket, and didn't want any favours at this stage of the game. John agreed to go to Europe, and Holmes à Court
even said that if the deal wasn't closed on that trip, he would reimburse all of John's travel and accommodation expenses.

After Michael gave John power of attorney, he went to England and closed the deal in twenty-four hours. Michael Jackson never
signed the important, history-making contracts; John Branca did. John then telephoned Michael long-distance to give him the
news, bad and good. The bad news: he was out $47.5 million. The good news: he owned ATV.

Michael couldn't believe his good fortune. The same could be said for Paul McCartney, who said, ‘Someone rang me up one day
and said, “Michael's bought your songs.” I said, “
What??!!
” I think it's dodgy to do things like that,’ Paul complained. ‘To be someone's friend and then to buy the rug they're standing
on.’

After the deal was struck, Michael did attempt to telephone Paul to discuss the matter. Knowing his personality, that probably
wasn't an easy thing for Michael to do, still he at least tried. However, when he called, Paul hung up on him. Finally, Michael
concluded, ‘Paul's got a real problem, and I'm finished trying to be a nice guy. Too bad for him. I got the songs and that's
the end of it.’

Robert Hilburn, in an analysis of the ATV acquisition for the
Los Angeles Times,
explained Michael's purchase in dollars and cents: ‘If, for instance, “Yesterday” earns $100,000 a year in royalties from
record sales, airplay and live performances, the Lennon estate and McCartney – as co-writers – divide about 50 per cent of that
income, about $25,000 each. The publisher – now Michael Jackson – collects the other 50 per cent. The publisher also controls
the use of the song in terms of films, commercials and stage productions.’
Yesterday
in particular probably earns considerably more.

As soon as Michael made the purchase, he and his representatives investigated tactics to make it pay off for him. He hired
a staff to develop an anthology series and four films using The Beatles' music, including
Strawberry Fields
, an animated feature;
Back in the USSR,
a movie based on Russian rockers; and films based on ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘The Fool on the Hill’. Michael also planned musical
greeting cards and music boxes. When he licensed ‘Revolution’ to Nike for a sneaker advertisement, he obtained Yoko Ono's
consent, but not Paul McCartney's. In fact, Paul, like many Beatles fans, felt Michael was cheapening the music.

In the end, though, Paul had to accept Michael's decision. Every time Paul performed one of the songs he wrote between 1964
and 1971, he had to pay Michael.

When Michael sold ‘All You Need is Love’ to Panasonic for $240,000, Paul finally called him and told him he was going too
far. Michael didn't even hang up on him. He explained that he felt using The Beatles' songs in commercials enabled the music
to reach an entirely new generation of fans who would then buy Beatles' records. ‘I just don't like the idea that Michael
Jackson is the only guy in the world who gets to sit in judgement as to which Beatles songs can be used in commercials,’ Paul
later said. ‘He's drawn up a list! I don't see how he should have that power.’

Paul said he had hoped that ‘All You Need is Love’ would remain an anthem of the sixties, not become a jingle for ‘a friggin'
loudspeaker system. And I also don't want “Good Day Sunshine” to become an Oreo cookie,’ he complained, ‘which I understand
he's done. I think that's real cheesy. I don't think Michael needs the money.’

On the other hand, Paul owns the Buddy Holly catalogue and had exploited Holly's songs commercially many times over, because,
as he's reasoned, ‘Buddy himself did commercials, and his widow actively wants us to earn money via commercials. It's her
call.’

Yoko seemed satisfied with what Michael did with The Beatles' catalogue and called his ownership ‘a blessing’. She said in
November 1990, ‘Businessmen who aren't artists themselves wouldn't have the consideration Michael has. He loves the songs.
He's very caring. There could be a lot of arguments and stalemates if Paul and I owned it together. Neither Paul nor I needed
that. If Paul got the songs, people would have said, “Paul finally got John.” And if I got them, they'd say, “Oh, the dragon
lady strikes again.”’

In 1990, Paul and Michael met to discuss what Paul called ‘this problem of publishing’. Paul recalled, ‘I put it to him this
way: “When we signed our deal, John and I didn't even know what publishing was. We thought songs were in the sky and everyone
owned them. These days, even kids know better than that. Last year, “Yesterday” passed the five-million-plays mark in America,
which no other song has ever done. Not even “White Christmas”. But no one has ever come up to me and said, “Hey man, I really
think you need a bonus. You've done great for this company.” So what the fuck is going on? You mean I've got to be content
for the rest of my life to be on this deal I signed when I was a fresh-faced twenty-year-old? I've done a lot for this company.’

Michael acted as though he didn't understand what in the world Paul was telling him. Therefore, Paul spelled it out for him.
‘I wanted him to recognize in the deal that I'm a big writer for this company that he now owns,’ McCartney recalled.

Michael told Paul that he didn't ‘want to hurt anyone’, and Paul said he was happy to hear that. ‘He's a genuine bloke, Mike
is,’ a placated Paul would then say of him. Michael promised that he'd try to work something out.

The next day, John Eastman, Paul's attorney, telephoned John Branca and told him that Paul and Michael had agreed to renegotiate
a higher writer's royalty for his songs. John checked it with Michael. ‘Heck, no, I didn't tell Paul that,’ Michael said,
annoyed. ‘In fact, he's not getting a higher royalty unless
I
get something back from
him,
in return.’

John passed Michael's comment on to Paul's attorney.

‘Okay, then fine. We'll sue,’ Eastman threatened.

‘Hey, be my guest,’ Branca told him.

When John told Michael that Paul might sue him, Michael laughed out loud. ‘Cool. Let him sue,’ he said. ‘Meanwhile, go license
some more songs, Branca. Let's make some money. Let's run this thing like a business.’

An associate of Michael's said, ‘Privately, Michael's feeling was: Paul had two chances to buy the company. Both times, he
was too cheap to spend the money. Mind you, Paul is said to be the richest entertainer in the world, worth about $560 million.
His royalties in one year come to $41 million. As Mike told me, “If he didn't want to invest £47.5 million in his own songs,
then he shouldn't come crying to me now.” He's a hard-hearted son-of-a-gun, Michael Jackson is, just like his father. And
when it comes to Paul, Michael doesn't want to know anything. “I got those songs fair and square,” he's said. “They're mine,
and no one can tell me what to do with them. Not even Paul McCartney. So, he'd better learn to deal with it.”’

By acquiring ATV, Michael Jackson proved himself a perceptive, hardheaded businessman, exactly the kind of entrepreneur his
father, Joseph, would like to have been, but wasn't. Where Joseph bullied, Michael ingratiated. Where Joseph shouted, Michael
usually listened – but he, too, could be unreasonable. Where Joseph rushed in unprepared, Michael usually studied every angle
before reaching a decision – or, at least, he had someone else do it for him, namely John Branca. Indeed, Michael had the wisdom
to surround himself with brilliant people, and then allow them to do their jobs without interference; Joseph never did. He
always felt that he had to have final-say over everything. It's almost as though Michael had studied Joseph's technique and
then tried to do exactly the opposite. However, what father and son did share back then – and still do today – is that they trust
no one and can be ruthless to those they have vanquished. Rarely do they allow anyone a second chance.

By January 1985, the Victory tour was history. Though it hadn't been an easy experience, Michael did find a pot of gold at
the end of the rainbow: Chuck Sullivan gave him eighteen million dollars,
cash,
to develop a clothing line. Michael barely got a few fashions into the stores – which didn't sell – when Chuck went bankrupt.
Michael got to keep the eighteen million.

The Jacksons made a lot of money on the Victory tour, even if the promoters didn't; each brother made about $7 million, one-sixth
of the share after all expenses, net. Michael donated his take to charity; his brothers spent theirs on a lavish lifestyle
and, before very many years, would need to work again.

Michael has never again gone on the road with his brothers – though they have repeatedly tried to convince him to do ‘just one
more tour’.

Once he got home to Encino, one of the first things Michael did was get into LaToya's black Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL and speed
off without any security. He simply wanted some freedom – as if he could ever have it! As always, there were about two dozen
fans waiting at the front gate for someone – anyone – who looked like a Jackson. They never dreamed they might actually catch
a glimpse of
the
Jackson. When they saw him pull out of the gate, they jumped into their cars and followed in hot pursuit. Michael tried to
lose them, but to no avail. He was almost to Quincy Jones's house, miles away, when the vehicle car ran out of gas. Michael
jumped out of the car, leaving it in the middle of the street, and then ran for blocks, with his stalkers following him, until
he reached Quincy's home, where he found refuge.

After the Victory tour, Michael became involved in ‘We Are the World’, the historic effort to feed the hungry of Ethiopia.
For some time, Harry Belafonte had been making plans to draw together some of the biggest artists in the entertainment business
to record a song, the proceeds of which would go to a new nonprofit foundation, USA for Africa, to feed the starving masses.
In addition to providing emergency food, medical relief, and self-help programmes to stricken areas of Africa, the undertaking
was also to set aside funds for hunger relief in the United States. Harry contacted Ken Kragen, an entertainment manager with
a history of fund-raising, to ask if he could enlist his clients, Kenny Rogers and Lionel Richie, in the endeavour. Kenny
and Lionel, in turn, obtained the cooperation of Stevie Wonder to add more name value to the project. Lionel then telephoned
Michael to ask if he would perform on the recording. He not only wanted to sing on the song, Michael said, he also wanted
to help Lionel write it.

Michael has always been empathetic to the plight of the hungry, homeless and sick, especially children. In the past, Frank
Dileo has told many heartbreaking stories of Michael's influence on dying children. It is as though an unexplainable part
within Michael is able to reach children close to death; his touch seems to act as some kind of soothing balm for kids facing
a frightening time. It's an important, positive side of Michael, and one he thinks is the best thing about himself.

For instance, a small child suffering from a brain tumour and spinal cancer was brought to Michael on a stretcher one night
after a show. When the boy reached up to Michael, Michael grabbed his hand and held tight. The child smiled. Frank Dileo turned
away and broke into tears. ‘He's not afraid to look into the worst suffering and find the smallest part that's positive and
beautiful,’ Frank concluded.