Image Source : damienshields.com
Lawyers for Michael Jackson‘s estate threatened quietly to sue a pop culture collectibles website this week over the plan to auction all the unreleased studio recordings of Jackson that the estate claimed were ‘unquestionably [allegedly] stolen’, being withdrawn from sale.
The Jackson tapes released for sale as part of GHRR’s ‘Rock & Roll Pop Culture Winter Auction 2023,’ cover 25 recordings that also include ‘Sexy Love’, ‘Oh Love’, ‘Doing What My Heart’, ‘New Jelly’ and several others. The platform estimated that each recording which it said was ‘an artifact ONLY with no copyright’ with re-recording ‘STRICTLY prohibited’ would sell from $2,000 to $4,000.
Jonathan Steinsapir, Jackson’s estate attorney warned that the tapes were stolen and demanded that the Gotta Have Rock and Roll not only ‘cease from any efforts to further auction these tapes,’ he moreover added, “Neither Michael Jackson nor his record company, Sony Music Entertainment, ever sold or gave away master tapes from his recording sessions at The Hit Factory (or anywhere else),’ continued stating, “These tapes were unquestionably stolen or otherwise taken without authorization. Accordingly, they are the property of the Jackson Estate.”
The estate contacted the Gotta Have Rock and Roll again, represented by Alex Spiro this time, and said, “We write to notify you that we intend to seek a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction tomorrow (December 13) in New York Supreme Court,” continued, “Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions.”
The company’s attorney responded to Spiro along with an email, saying, “There is no contact information on your email. What is the best phone number to reach you?” on Tuesday.
The tapes had been removed from the Gotta Have Rock and Roll site by Wednesday. The site still adds plenty of Jackson’s items as part of their sale like a ‘Michael Jackson Circa 1984 Owned & Worn Red Military Style Jacket’ that they calculate will sell for over $10,000. However, the tapes and the particular numbers they occupied are no longer available.
The auction house did not respond to particular questions like how the auction house came into authority of the tapes and whether or not they had been returned to the estate.
Well, this is not the first time the Jackson estate is suing over materials that were allegedly stolen from the late legend. Back in 2022, the estate sued Jeffré Phillips, who was engaged to Michel’s sister La Toya Jackson, for allegations that he stole multiple materials from the singer’s Carolwood estate. Later in October, the estate stated that the case was ‘amicably resolved’ after Phillips ‘voluntarily returned Michael Jackson’s property to the Estate.’
Check out For More News Updates on Google News
Subscribe to our newsletter and get trending music news and Gossip in your inbox.
