Michael Jackson’s Estate & Sony Music Settle Lawsuit Related To ‘Impersonator’ Songs

Michael Jackson’s musical career is considered one of the greatest of all time. While the star’s fans never stopped hearing his music, apparently some of his songs came under strong scrutiny. Sony Music and the Michael Jackson estate have resolved their long-running legal dispute over allegations that the record company released a posthumous album with songs performed by impersonators in violation of false advertising laws.

According to Billboard, Sony Music and the estate said that the dispute had been properly settled. The agreement was reached while the two parties awaited the California supreme court’s ruling on the matter after hearing arguments in May. It happens a month after Sony removed the contested tunes from streaming services, including Michael’s 2010 album’s Breaking News, Keep Your Head Up, and Monster. Sony and the late singer’s estate released a joint statement.

Regardless of how the supreme court may rule, the parties to the lawsuit mutually decided to end the litigation, which would have potentially included additional appeals and a lengthy trial court process. The simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all.

No specifics on the terms of the agreement were given by either party. Eddie Cascio, a close friend of Michael Jackson’s, produced and recorded the three disputed songs and assured listeners that the “King of Pop” was at the controls. Vera Serova filed a lawsuit against Cascio and his production business Angelikson Productions LLC in 2014, alleging that they had written false songs and distributed them through Michael Jackson’s estate and Sony Music entertainment.

Cascio and Angelikson refuted the allegations. Serova claimed that an imposter named Jason Malachi provided the vocals for the tracks. Malachi appeared to acknowledge this in a Facebook post from 2011 that his management later claimed was a forgery. According to Sony and the estate, their choice to identify the music as being by Jackson was protected speech made during an “ongoing public discussion,” not misleading product labelling. Stay tuned to Thirsty for latest updates.

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