Hey guys - I picked up the January 7th, 2006 edition of Billboard today and whatdaya know...a brand spanking Michael Jackson article spread across pages 14-15! I enjoyed the article and thought you would aswell, therefore, I've take the liberty to type it up so everyone can read it. Enjoy!



Michael Grows Support Ashore
Sony BMG Tapping Into Europe's Love For 'Visionary' Michael Jackson

By Paul Sexton

LONDON - An imminent crossmedia campaign from Sony BMG underlines Europe's undimmed appetite for the vintage work of Michael Jackson.

Between February and June in the United Kingdom, the company will begin a series of weekly rereleases of 20 of Jackson's best-known songs as limited-edition singles. The project is reminiscent of a highly successful Elvis Presley campaign that Sony BMG launched 12 months ago.

The Jackson series, under the banner "Visionary - The Video Singles," will see each single released on DualDisc with its original video. Sony BMG claims Jackson is the world's first artist to have DualDisc singles released. The Official U.K. Charts Co. confirms the singles are chart-eligible.

Sony BMG's Presley series was based around his 18 U.K. chart-toppers. All the reissues reached the top five and three reached No. 1, generating total U.K. sales of 625,000 units, according to the OCC.

The Jackson project is due to begin Feb. 20 with two singles, "Thriller" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." A limited, numbered box will also be sold to house all 20 releases. The series will conclude June 26 with "Blood On The Dance Floor."

Sony BMG U.K. VP of commercial marketing Darren Henderson believes total sales could outnumber the Presley campaign, claiming Jackson's commercial status in Europe has not been adversely affected by negative publicity surrounding his personal life and last year's 14-week U.S. child abuse trial.

"The media have more of an issue [with that] than the British record-buying public," he says. Further, the DualDisc aspect lets the company focus on Jackson's innovative visual work.

Henderson notes that while Sony BMG's international companies initially felt the Presley campaign was innappropriate for their markets, they noted the British sales and media impact with interest. Consequently, Sony BMG in France and in Germany will run with the Jackson series week by week. Other territories will release the singles in "batches." There were not any firm plans at press time for U.S. campaign.

Retail reaction so far is positive. London-based HMV U.K. & Ireland singles buyer Stewart Allan describes Jackson "one of the few artists with the depth of singles, recording heritage and dedicated fan base to make such a project work."

Allan points out that the label and retail can draw upon the Presley experience to make the campaign work effectively. "[This] also presents a perfect opportunity to further test and develop the DualDisc format," he adds.

Sony BMG says the 2005 38-track Epic double CD "The Essential Michael Jackson" is platinum in the United Kingdom (300,000 shipments). In the United States, however, negative publicity appears to have done more damage to the artist's commericial profile. In July the double CD had first week sales of only 8,000 units, according to Neilsen SoundScan, and has sold 93,000 to date. (My note: The writer failed to mention that the "Number Ones" CD has scanned 1.042 million in the USA thus far while the "Number Ones" DVD has scanned over 400,000 units. In addition, as some might already know, Jackson scans an average 15,000 units in the USA each week.)

Jackson is still a presence at U.K. radio, Manchester's adult top 40 Key 103 PD Anthony Gay says. "We play Jackson at various points during the week," he says. " 'Billie Jean' and 'Beat It' are active songs, and we'll also work in others from the catalog."

Gay says he stopped playing Jackson's songs during the 2005 trial. "At times," he says, "the nature of the court reporting and the allegations created an uncomfortable atmosphere [that was] jarring around his music."

According to Gay, the reissue of the singles means he will "certainly consider" Jackson's catalog more in the coming weeks. "I'm sure his music will be picked up by new audiences," he adds, "as long as people are able to separate that from his personal life."

The singles campaign will not be the only reminder for U.K. consumers in early 2006 of Jackson's past work.

Dance track "Say Say Say (Waiting 4 U)" by Hi-Tack, originally on Dutch label Spinnin and which samples Jackson's vocal from his 1983 collaboration with Paul McCartney, will be released Jan. 16 in the United Kingdom by independent Gusto Records.

That will be followed by a dance version of Jackson's 1988 hit "Man In The Mirror" by Rhythme Digital featuring Redd Angel on dance indie All Around the World.
[Edited 2/2/06 16:25pm]

Great news...But I wanted a new album!

MikeMatronik said:

Co-Sign

MikeMatronik said:

tell me about it. Re-issue after re-issue. Just a boxset of unreleased shit should tide most over over, but jacko dont play that.

I don't view these single releases as just another GH package.

I view them more as five month promotional strategy that will keep MJ's names in the headlines for all the right reasons: music, videos, and chart positions.

I didn't know how to read the title of this thread. I thought it was either going to be "Michael Jacksons Grows Support Asshole" or "Michael Jackson Grows Support Asswhore". I think both of them would have been quite disturbing.