The official estate of Michael Jackson has found itself embroiled in yet another kerfuffle. Only this time, it’s centered around some new and unreleased music.
Some the aforementioned music — which is available on cassette tapes — is set to be auctioned off on Wednesday by Gotta Have Rock and Roll according to TMZ on Tuesday, but the official estate has taken issue with the auction house as they feel it’s a “sad attempt by an auction site to mislead the public.”
They also claim that the tapes are just mere copies of the original recordings and they can’t be reproduced or publicly played anywhere as the estate owns the masters and the rights. The estate also called the tapes “a long-outdated format.”
The cassettes in question reportedly include over 10 unheard MJ songs that were recorded some time between the 1980s and 1990s. Some of the title tracks are: “Serious Effect,” “SuperFly Soul Sister,” “Work That Body,” “She Got It” and more. The auction house will reportedly start the bidding at $85,000 and settle somewhere between the $150,000-$200,000 range for the final sale.
The auction house has since responded and remain dedicated to move forward with the sale despite the estate’s comments. They told TMZ on Tuesday that the fact that estate is holding onto the master recordings and not allowing the songs to be reproduced actually helps their sale and makes it more alluring to buyers at the end of the day.
The official estate is no stranger to getting into entanglements with people. Aside from this auction house, it was previously in battles with Jackson’s own mother Katherine and the late producer and frequent MJ collaborator, Quincy Jones.