Can Jackson make a comeback?
2005-06-14 13:07
Los Angeles - Pop icon Michael Jackson faces a tough battle reviving his stalled career and crumbling financial empire despite his acquittal on Monday in the dramatic finale of his child sex trial, experts say.
The 1980s "King of Pop", 22 years ago produced the best-selling album in history, Thriller, and became one of the world's most famous entertainers.
But he is arguably now better known to many for his eccentric antics and the damaging accusations that he molested a young boy.
The 46-year-old musical legend's entertainment career was frozen after his November 2003 arrest as he focused on clearing his name, but it had been slowly declining for years before the case came to light.
"I don't think we're going to see Michael Jackson make a huge comeback even with an acquittal," said pop culture expert Robert Thompson of the University of Syracuse in New York.
"Even before this trial, we had ceased to look forward to his latest music release and had started to look forward to his latest scandal," he said.
Other experts agreed that Jackson's career, further damaged by his highly publicised trial, may never quite be the same again.
New generation of fans
"Things could work differently, but can a guy of his age make a comeback?" questioned Todd Boyd, a professor of film and pop culture expert at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
"I think it all comes down whether a new generation of fans is going to support him," Boyd said.
But music fans appear to believe that Jackson's image is irreparably damaged and that his career will not survive trial.
A poll of readers of music's Billboard magazine earlier this month showed that 46% of 6 851 people questioned believed Jackson's career as a superstar was over no matter how the trial ended.
And while Thompson said Jackson would likely find work as an entertainer, he was unlikely to be a major recording force again.
'World would be at a loss'
But Jackson aides said he would put the damaging accusations of his trial behind him and re-emerge as a star.
"I don't believe he's going to be known as the celebrity who got off," said family spokesperson Angel Howansky.
"The world would be at a loss if Michael Jackson did not get back out and sing and perform," she said.
But music industry experts said the trial simply aggravated a two-decade-old decline in the career of the master entertainer whose 1983 Thriller album sold 170 million discs across the world.
"It's been more than 20 years since he released his peak album," said Geoff Mayfield, director of charts at Billboard.
"Even without the allegations of this trial, that is the nature of the music industry. He's moved past his hottest period," Mayfield said.
Adding to his career woes are mounting lawsuits against Jackson -who has earned more than half a billion dollars over his career - for alleged non-payment of bills.
That, coupled with reports that he is suffering a severe cash-flow crisis, makes some industry players cautious of working with Jackson, insiders said.
More highs than lows
Prosecutors brought evidence at Jackson's trial claiming he spends $20 to $30m more than he earns each year and has debts of more than $270m, including $10.5m in unpaid bills.
He reportedly shells out more than $1.5m a month on overhead costs - including maintaining his fantasy-themed Neverland Ranch with its amusement park and private zoo.
After Bank of America reportedly told the star in April he was in default for at least part of his massive debt with the bank, speculation mounted over whether Jackson would be forced to sell his lucrative assets.
Those assets include Jackson's half share in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which controls 200 000 songs, including most of The Beatles and Elvis Presley's hits, worth an estimated $900m to one billion dollars in its entirety.
"He is not broke, he is still asset rich - he has assets of value," Brett Pulley, senior editor at Forbes magazine told CNN.
The star also owns a catalogue of his own songs called Mijac Music worth between $75 and $150m that notches up revenues for Jackson each time one of his songs is played on the radio.
Other key Jackson assets worth a total of at least $600m including Neverland, valued at around $25m, according to Pulley.
But, music industry experts stressed that Jackson's career had seen more highs than lows, despite a lack of new material and disappointing sales of his last album in 2003.