Viacom agreed to sell its Famous Music publishing business to Sony/ATV Music Publishing for about $370 million, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Wednesday.

A deal is expected to be announced Wednesday, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.

Viacom and Sony/ATV Music could not be reached immediately.

Viacom said in February it was exploring the possible sale of the unit, which includes the music from contemporary hit artists Eminem and Shakira.

Famous Music was founded in 1928 by the predecessor of its film studios, the Famous-Lasky, to publish music that accompanied its movies.

Sony/ATV Music was formed in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and trusts formed by pop star Michael Jackson. It owns or administers over 400,000 copyrights by such artists as the Beatles, Leonard Cohen, Neil Diamond and Bob Dylan.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Spanning decades of music and performances by Michael Jackson and his talented siblings, the upcoming Guernsey’s auction of Jackson Family memorabilia will not only appeal to music lovers, it will also benefit children throughout the world. To help raise even more money, Universal Express, owner of the collection, has invited Michael Jackson to attend and personally autograph all memorabilia items that command more than $150,000.

10% of the proceeds will be donated, benefiting charities such as: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and Save the Children

Other celebrities affiliated with the charities, including Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Lee Curtis, Oscar De La Renta, Jeff Gordon, Grammy®-nominated Kelis, Marlo Thomas, Denzel Washington, have been invited to be auctioneers for some of the items.

Richard Altomare, Chairman and CEO of Universal Express, commented:

“We are thrilled to be involved in auctioning one of the all-time greatest collections of music memorabilia. It is particularly gratifying to know that the generation who enjoyed the Jacksons’ music from their first appearances as The Jackson Five through the early 1990s, can now help support today’s children through their winning auction bids.”

The auction will take place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, on May 30 and 31, 2007.

Source: Universal Express

In the May/June issue of Rap-Up, super producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins gave a candid interview where he shares his opinion of Brandy’s 2004 Timbaland produced album Afrodisiac, working with Michael Jackson and his dream collaboration.

On his experiences on working with the King of Pop, he had this to say:

“It was incredible. He’s definitely the greatest of all time. He really showed me how to combine melody into records. He really took my craft to another level.”

He also mentions Thriller as his favourite album of all time and Janet Jackson as his dream collaboration.

Source: Rap-Up.com

Veteran producer Quincy Jones has snubbed the chance to work with Michael Jackson again.

The legend, who produced Jackson’s 1982 album ‘Thriller’, still the best-selling LP of all time, said he had been in contact with the singer.

He told NME.COM: “Man please, I’ve got enough to do. We already did that. I have talked to him about working with him again but I’ve got too much to do. I’ve got 900 products, I’m 74 years old. Give me a break.”

Jones, who picked up The Special International Award at the Ivor Novello Awards, also praised Amy Winehouse and her producer Mark Ronson.

He added: “Mark Ronson is almost my son-in-law. He’s a great producer and I’m a big fan of Amy’s music.”

Source: NME.Com

In an interview with Extra! Simon Cowell revealed another bit of information about what could be the biggest musical comeback of all time.

The reporter asked the American Pop Idol judge whether or not it was true that Michael Jackson had contacted him regarding the singer’s career.

Cowell answered, “Well, we were planning something with the record label, maybe for Thriller, so we’ll see what happens”.

He did not share any other details, except that he couldn’t “tell you anymore than that! Big, big tribute. But we’ll see, you know, just early stages”.

Source: Extra!

Pop superstar Michael Jackson made a surprise visit to Britain.

Jackson wore black pants, a smart blue-and-white pinstriped shirt and dark sunglasses, and swept through Heathrow Airport with a police escort.

His 3 children, 10-year-old Prince, 9-year-old Paris and five-year-old “Blanket” did not appear to be with him.

The King of Pop waved to fans before being whisked away by minders.

It is believed that Michael Jackson will be meeting with record company executives in London, as well as hooking up with old friend David Gest.

David Gest is currently appearing as a judge on ITV1 show Grease Is The World.

Jackson is becoming a frequent visitor to the UK.

Last time he was in the UK was in March, when he checked into a £3,000-a-night in London’s Jumeirah Carlton Towers hotel in Knightsbridge. In November he appeared at the World Music Awards to receive a special award, where he also sung a few lines of “We Are The World”.

Earlier this week, Jackson’s lawyers settled a lawsuit meant to block an auction of the singer’s personal belongings. More than 1,000 Jackson family items are going under the hammer at a Las Vegas sale next week, including Jackson’s gold disc for his Thriller album.

Part of the confidential settlement was that some of the auction proceeds will now go to charity.

Source: DotMusic.Com

To All The MJ Fans Around The World

‘MJJMAGAZINE – The Michael Jackson Magazine’ is yet to be launched. MJJMAGAZINE dedicates to you, the fans, a section for your art, photos and letters.

You can submit, by e-mailing to fans@mjjmagazine.com, drafts, poems, poetry, messages, photos of yourself, your MJ rooms, your collections, and if you met the King of Pop e-mail us your stories and experiences.

All submitted material must be in English language and please include your name and country. To protect your privacy we will not publish full names. Thank You!

Source: MJJ Magazine

May 18, 2007

MICHAEL JACKSON AND UNITED EXPRESS REACH SETTLEMENT

AUCTION TO PROCEED AS SCHEDULED

Las Vegas, NV ….. Michael Jackson and Universal Express are pleased to announce the completion of a confidential resolution to the action disputing title to the items being auctioned at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on May 30 and 31, 2007, or by logging on to liveauctioneers.com.

“Mr. Jackson is satisfied with the negotiated settlement,’” stated Raymone K. Bain, Jackson spokesperson, “and is pleased that some of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to certain charities. As this is a confidential agreement, we will be making no further comments.’”

“Although the road to auction has been long, we look forward to being able to introduce to the world the glory of the Jackson family and take great pride in the five charities that will benefit from the sales proceeds,” stated Richard A. Altomare, Chairman and CEO of Universal Express.

Items belonging to Mr. Jackson, included in the auction, will be accompanied by written authentication.

Source: Raymone K. Bain

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Raymone K. Bain

May 17,2007

RE: Michael Jackson/Court Appearance

Las Vegas, Nevada …. Contrary to published reports, Mr. Michael Jackson

will not be personally appearing in court in Las Vegas, Nevada on

Friday, May 18, 2007, regarding the auction items issue.

Thank you.

Source: Raymone Bain

Universal Express Inc. (OTC BB:USXP.OB - News) CEO and Chairman Richard Altomare’s witnesses and Michael Jackson himself will square off in Court this Friday in Las Vegas to determine ownership of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Jackson memorabilia items.

“In Las Vegas’ response to Miami’s ‘who’s the father’ or California’s question ‘does the glove fit,’ Michael Jackson and Universal Express’ CEO will give testimony to clarify the trail of ownership of thousands of purchased items of the Jackson family (www.usxp.com/jackson), which are scheduled to be auctioned on May 30th and 31st in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Casino,” said Richard A. Altomare.

Mr. Altomare continued, “I have instructed our counsel to request cameras in this courtroom to clearly show our long held position of legal ownership.”

“Emotions are understandable but actual possession, documentation and previous legal rulings present our case most soundly.”

“Mr. Jackson will be questioned by Universal Express attorneys and asked to identify items, as our witnesses and documentation stands ready for exposure. I trust Mr. Jackson is equally prepared,” concluded Richard A. Altomare.

Source: Universal Express, Inc.