Why did Sony remove three Michael Jackson tracks from each streaming service? Here’s the truth

by Arthur · July 7, 2022

When we talk about music and its history, one name will always come out as one of the big ones, and it is none other than Michael Jackson. Known as ‘King of Pop’, Jackson has been one of the most influential names in the music industry and has given many charts in his career. Aside from music, controversy has also been a big part of his life, and it seems that the recent controversy has forced Sony to remove some of the songs produced by Jackson.

In 2014, a woman named Vera Serova sued Sony Music and filed a lawsuit for breach of the Unfair Competition Act and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act over allegations that Jackson was misrepresented as lead singer for three tracks, including ‘Breaking News’, ‘Hold’ head up ‘and’ Monster ‘. All the songs mentioned are from the 2010 album ‘Monster’ which was released almost a year after Jackson’s tragic death. Jackson’s property and Sony denied the allegations, and an appeals court ultimately ruled in their favor, removing them from the lawsuit.

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Over the years, many fans have joined the conversation and insisted that Michael did not sing these songs.

Singer Michael Jackson enters Santa Maria Superior Court on the fifth day of the March 7, 2005 child abuse trial in Santa Maria, California. Jackson is charged with 10 counts of abusing a boy, using liquor and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He has pleaded not guilty. (Photo by Carlo Allegri / Getty Images)

To bury the case once and for all, Sony Music and Michael Jackson’s estate have made the decision to “remove” the songs from all streaming services in an attempt to “get beyond” the controversy, according to Variety. Although they have removed the tracks from several streaming sites, the statement made it clear that the decision has not been made due to the “authenticity of the tracks”.

“I should point out that the removal of these three songs has nothing to do with their authenticity. The Estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music decided to remove the tracks ‘Breaking News’, ‘Monster’ and ‘Keep Your Head Up’ from the 2010 album ‘Michael’ as the easiest and best way to go beyond the conversation related to these tracks once and for all. The album’s remaining tracks remain available. Nothing should be read into this action regarding the authenticity of the tracks – it is only time to move beyond the distraction around them, the spokesperson said in the statement.

Sony Music Entertainment CEO Rob Stringer speaks at a Sony press event for CES 2019 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 7, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world’s largest annual fair for consumer technology, runs from 8 to 11 January and has around 4,500 exhibitors showcasing their latest products and services to more than 180,000 participants. (Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Sony bought the rights to the singer’s unreleased materials in a gigantic $ 250 million deal in 2010, and when the album, titled ‘Michael’, was released, it was stated that the songs were written and produced by hitmaker ‘Thriller’ with Edward Cascio. and James Porte in 2007.

However, it seems that the fans were not convinced and thought that someone else’s voice had been used in the tracks. The case became so big that Sony had made a statement at the time and assured the fans that the vocals belonged to Jackson. But it wasn’t just the fans who felt that way, some of Jackson’s close ones also questioned whether the singer performed these songs or not.

Michael Jackson’s nephew, Taryll Jackson, expressed disappointment at the same thing and tweeted: ‘I’m shocked that things have come this far. This is ridiculous. I was in the studio when these questionable files were delivered. I tried so hard to stop this madness, but they would not listen. ”

Serova’s case against Angelikson Productions, Cascio and Porte is currently ongoing. Meanwhile, she has also asked the California Supreme Court to reopen the lawsuit against Sony.