Note from Bonnie Vent: Pay special attention to the dates and the people involved here. First of all Tommy Mottola is a "FORMER" executive of Sony. So why does he claim he is the gatekeeper of unreleased Michael Jackson material and that the catalog belongs to Sony? Perhaps he knew something the rest of us did not. He certainly knew John Branca, the administrator of the estate when they both worked with Michael Jackson. According to historical record, Michael Jackson left Sony in 2002, John Branca was fired in 2003 by Michael Jackson and Tommy Mottola "left" Sony in 2003. Please see all the documentation below:
July 7, 2009 - Tommy Mottola appears on the Today Show claiming he is the "gatekeeper" of unrelease material.
As far as we know Michael parted company with Mr. Mottola in 2002 after many public protests against Mr. Mottola in particular and Sony. What would make him a gatekeeper and why would he say the catalog belonged to Sony? Does he still work for/with Sony in some capacity??
March 16, 2010 - TMZ publishes an article: Michael Jackson Estate Inks Record, Record Deal
Of course this deal puts all of the above mentioned material into the hands of Sony. Interesting how Tommy Mottola knew this back on July 7, 2009, merely days after Michael Jackson death on June 25, 2009. That is pretty fast for someone who had not worked with Michael Jackson since 2002 and left Sony in 2003.
April 23, 2010 - NTDTV films a news segment and interview with Kenny Ortega and SONY CEO Sir Howard Stringer duing the launch of Sony Make.Believe.
Listen carefully to the dollars made so far and more to come. Yes, you heard the word Billion in this news piece. For those that have pleaded for Kenny Ortega to come forward with information; I would not hold your breath. He is certainly very tied to Sony going forward. There was a video in Japanese taken during this same launch. Kenny Ortega was talking all about how great Sony was and that he was looking forward to using their equipment and software in his upcoming projects. I could not find an english version, and now I cannot find the Japanese version. No matter, the video below makes the connection clear.
Date: July 7, 2009 on the Today Show
Michael Jackson Estate Inks Record, Record Deal
Originally posted Mar 16th 2010 5:10 AM PDT by TMZ Staff
TMZ has confirmed the Michael Jackson estate has signed the biggest deal ever in music -- worth up to $250 million with a guarantee of $200 million.
The estate made the deal with Sony Music Entertainment -- the contract is for 10 projects over seven years.
One album will debut in November, which contains never-before released recordings. We're told Jackson left enough material for at least three albums of fresh material.
A source tells TMZ the royalty rate on foreign sales is the key to the deal -- and 2/3 of the sales of MJ records traditionally have been outside the U.S.
And we're told Sony gets a two-year extension for the right to distribute the Michael Jackson catalog -- to 2017.
The deal has nothing to do with The Beatles' catalog -- it's all about MJ original recordings.
The agreement was brokered by John Branca and John McClain, executors of the MJ estate.
TMZ has confirmed the Michael Jackson estate has signed the biggest deal ever in music -- worth up to $250 million with a guarantee of $200 million. 
