NEW YORK — Michael Jackson says he has no plans to part with his lucrative catolog of Beatles’ songs.
“I want to clarify a silly rumor: The Beatles’ catalog is not for sale, has not been for sale, and never will be for sale,” Jackson said in a statement Thursday.
Recent reports said Jackson was prepared to sell the rights he owns to some 200 Beatles’ hits. Jackson bought the ATV Music catalog in 1986 for more than $47.5 million and merged it with Sony Music Publishing in 1995 for $100 million.
Best known for his moonwalk and 1983 “Thriller” video — a mini-movie that was more of a pop culture event — Jackson recently topped VH1’s list of the ”100 Greatest Videos.” He had the second-highest number of videos on the list with five, being edged out by Madonna with six videos appearing on the countdown.
Clocking in at 17 minutes and directed by John Landis, “Thriller” was much hyped before its 1983 premiere on VH1’s precursor and sister channel, MTV, and it helped catapult Jackson’s album of the same name to the top of the all-time best-seller list.
