The King of Pop has added another jewel to his crown: today the RIAA certified Thriller as the first 30x-multiplatinum album, reaffirming its status as the bestselling album of all time.
“RIAA has awarded Gold & Platinum records on behalf of the music business for nearly 60 years, but this is the first time an artist has crossed the 30X multi-Platinum plateau,” said RIAA chief Cary Sherman in a statement. “We are honored to celebrate the unique status of Thriller in Gold & Platinum history.”
Produced by Quincy Jones and Jackson, Thriller won a record eight Grammys and spent more than two years on the Billboard album charts. It also spawned some of the most influential videos of all time, namely "Thriller," "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," which revolutionized the medium--and paved the way for black artists to become MTV mainstays, cementing Jackson's status as the Jackie Robinson of pop music.
Michael Jackson is widely credited for his accomplishments as an artist and trailblazer, but his late-life financial woes obscure what's likely the most successful career any musician has had from a business standpoint, as I wrote in my book Michael Jackson, Inc. That extends far beyond Thriller, which has now sold 30 million albums in the U.S. and some 100 million units around the world.
Among the highlights: buying the Beatles' publishing catalogue for $47.5 million in 1985 (Jackson's estate still owns half of the expanded entity, Sony/ATV, now worth an estimated $2 billion); racking up $1.1 billion in lifetime earnings (an inflation-adjusted $1.9 billion) and earning more than $1 billion since his untimely death in 2009.
Jackson also offered a blueprint for the cross-promotional stars of today, launching his own sneaker and clothing lines while pursuing a career in film--both in front of the camera and behind it. He even tried to buy Marvel long before Disney transformed it into a multibillion-dollar business.
“He was extremely smart,” rapper-actor-entrepreneur Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges once told me. “From my perspective, because I’m business-oriented and savvy, I noticed and even read up on everything he did.”
The foundation Jackson built in life has served him well in death: thanks to publishing royalties, record sales and new deals cut by the executors of his estate--for two Cirque du Soleil shows, new albums and film This Is It--Jackson often out-earns the world's highest-paid living musicians on an annual basis.
“He had a kid’s heart, but a mind of a genius,” Berry Gordy told me in an interview for Michael Jackson, Inc. “He was so loving and soft-spoken, and a thinker. ... He wanted to do everything, and he was capable. You can only do so much in a lifetime.”
For more about the business of the King of Pop, check out my book, Michael Jackson, Inc. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook.
