Michael Jackson’s estate is not happy about an upcoming auction that plans to sell his unreleased music. The auction house, Gotta Have Rock and Roll, is selling cassette tapes with 12 songs that Jackson recorded in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before his Dangerous album. The bidding starts at $85,000, and the final price could reach between $150,000 and $200,000.
However, Jackson’s estate says this sale is misleading. They explain that the tapes are just copies of the original master recordings, which they own. This means whoever buys the tapes won’t have the rights to release or play the songs publicly. The estate also criticized the auction, calling it a “sad attempt to mislead the public.” They even mocked the fact that the recordings are on cassette tapes, calling them a “long-outdated format.”
Dylan Kosinski, the president of Gotta Have Rock and Roll, disagrees. He argues that the tapes are valuable because they cannot be reproduced or released to the public. He also believes that the fact Jackson’s estate is keeping the original recordings locked away makes these tapes even more special for collectors.
The songs were recorded by Michael Jackson with music producer Bryan Loren, who later gave copies to the person now selling them.
Even though Jackson’s estate is against the sale, the auction will still happen. Bidding starts on Wednesday at 9 AM ET, and many will be watching to see how much the tapes sell for.
