Michael Jackson’s Unreleased Music Is Up For Auction As Estate Fights Back

Michael Jackson’s estate has never been a stranger to controversy.

In 2013, a few years after the singer’s death, the estate got into hot water with the US government, having been audited by the IRS. Last year, the estate reported an extortion attempt to authorities, and was seeking a 213 million payment.

In 2024, the estate was criticized by the Jackson family, specifically his children and mother, due to the IRS situation from 2013, as well as for denying funds and payments to his children, citing the 2013 IRS investigation as to why they could not pay. But now they’re in the public eye, again, for a different issue related to the King of Pop’s legacy.

The world of music memorabilia is no stranger to high-stakes auctions. Still, a recent sale of Michael Jackson’s unreleased recordings has sparked heated debate between the pop legend’s estate and a New Jersey-based auction house.

At the heart of the controversy are three cassette tapes featuring early versions of songs from the late 80’s and early 90’s, including collabs between the king of pop and LL Cool J and his sister, Janet Jackson.

While the auction house sees the tapes as rare artifacts for collectors, the Jackson estate has criticized the sale as a misleading attempt to profit from their family’s material.

Many artists and musicians have fought long and hard battles to gain control of their masters. Recently, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs released the masters to all current and former artists of his label, for example, if they signed an NDA. However, for legends like the King of Pop or Prince, their masters have more than just a monetary value.

The tapes are also listed to sell for $85,000 but are expected to sell between $150,000 and $200,000 by the end of the auction. The company currently in control of the cassettes is Gotta Have Rock and Roll. The CEO, Dylan Kosinski, stated that the sale and auction have generated significant hype since the announcement.

“Fans want to hear new music, which is why the tapes are getting so much buzz and hopefully will sell to a collector who wants to listen to them,” he said.

In a statement to TMZ, Jackson’s estate claimed the sale was “…a sad attempt by an auction site to mislead the public.”

Continuing that, the estate owns the material on the cassettes, whether they’re copies of the original master recordings or not. The estate further asserts that the auction winner would not have the right to copy, distribute or publicly play any recordings due to the estate’s copyright.