娱乐资讯:演出公司欲借杰克逊身后名赢利

【英文原文】

Jackson Backers Hope To Harness New Goodwill

摘要：规模盛大的迈克尔•杰克逊(Michael Jackson)悼念仪式周二举行，这场悼念活动促使杰克逊的宣传公司和遗产代理人拿出了新的计划：借公众重新焕发的好感以赢利，并为他的三个孩子、他母亲以及各项慈善基金管理好正在进行的事业。

Michael Jackson's lavish memorial service Tuesday inaugurated a new effort for his promoters and handlers: channeling the public's renewed goodwill into profits and an ongoing business for his three children, his mother and charities.

Mr. Jackson was preparing, amid some skepticism, for a series of 50 comeback concerts at London's O2 arena that were scheduled to start next week.

Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, the concert promoter that hosted Tuesday's service and was to have staged the London shows, said it was fitting to memorialize the so-called King of Pop by seeking new ways to package and sell his music.

'Michael was bigger than Michael, as we're all learning,' Mr. Phillips said during rehearsals for the memorial service, 'as he himself learned when the O2 shows sold out.'

Mr. Phillips added that there should be some limits to exploiting Mr. Jackson's musical legacy.

'Do I think his music should be licensed for suppository commercials?' he asked. ' No, obviously.' Short of that, Mr. Phillips saw few reasons to hold back. 'His estate is in debt and they need to get out of debt,' he said. 'They can do it easily given his enormous popularity.'

For AEG, the stakes are high. The company had taken on considerable financial risk by booking Mr. Jackson into the ambitious run of concerts. Now, it is looking to make itself whole by marketing Mr. Jackson's memory.

Disagreements within Mr. Jackson's family about who should have control over his estate at first hindered heirs and business partners from taking advantage of the renewed attention.

But a ruling Monday by a Los Angeles judge cleared the way by naming as temporary administrators of the estate two of Mr. Jackson's business associates. Those administrators, lawyer John Branca and record executive John McClain, are empowered to make decisions on behalf of the estate.

Late Monday, an official concert Web site began selling T-shirts, belt buckles, hats and other memorabilia originally created as souvenirs for the O2 concerts.

AEG also plans to make a documentary about Mr. Jackson's preparations for his comeback bid, using 100 hours of footage it shot during planning and rehearsals. The company's proceeds from such a film, however, will depend on striking a licensing deal with the singer's estate.

The estate and AEG have a number of such issues to resolve, including whether the estate must repay AEG the $20 million or more it advanced to Mr. Jackson ahead of his concerts. The promoter had spent close to $30 million in preparation for the concerts.

People in the concert industry estimated that AEG might have realized a net income of around $50 million from the 50 shows. Now the company must see whether it can offset 50 nights' worth of merchandise and food sales, licensing deals, VIP ticketing packages and other revenue streams lost to the canceled shows.

'Until we sit down and lay out a strategic plan,' AEG's Mr. Phillips said, 'I don't know if we'll recoup, make money, lose a little money, or what.'

A $17 million insurance policy taken out by AEG would pay off only if a pending toxicology report supports a claim that Mr. Jackson's death was accidental, Mr. Phillips said. Additionally, the promoter is in the process of offering refunds on the nearly one million tickets it sold, whose face value was estimated at between $85 million and $120 million.

The company is giving fans the option of keeping their tickets as souvenirs, in lieu of a cash refund. That would offset Mr. Jackson's obligation to the promoter, but people familiar with the situation said that so far, just 10% have asked for the souvenir ticket.

【中文译文】

规模盛大的迈克尔•杰克逊(Michael Jackson)悼念仪式周二举行，这场悼念活动促使杰克逊的宣传公司和遗产代理人拿出了新的计划：借公众重新焕发的好感以赢利，并为他的三个孩子、他母亲以及各项慈善基金管理好正在进行的事业。

杰克逊原定从下周开始在伦敦O2 arena举行50场演唱会，本来正在为此做准备。不过也有人对此表示怀疑。

演唱会宣传公司AEG Live总裁兼首席执行长菲利普斯(Randy Phillips)说，找到新的方式将号称“流行音乐之王”的杰克逊的音乐重新包装并出售，这是再合适不过的纪念方式。AEG Live主办了周二的悼念仪式，杰克逊伦敦演唱会本来也是由该公司负责。

菲利普斯在悼念仪式排演时说，迈克尔不仅仅是迈克尔，我们所有人都正认识到这一点，当伦敦演唱会门票一售而空时，他自己也认识到了这一点。

菲利普斯补充说，对杰克逊的音乐遗产加以利用应当有所限制。

他问道，他的音乐应不应当被授权用于栓剂广告？显然不行。除了这类用途，菲利普斯认为没什么理由阻止。他说，杰克逊债务重重，需要摆脱债务。由于他拥有巨大的声望，这一点很容易做到。

对于AEG来说，风险很大。这家公司与杰克逊签约组织这轮规模庞大的演唱会已经在财务上冒了极大的风险。现在，它指望拿杰克逊身后之名做文章，借此全身而退。

杰克逊家人就谁应当获得他的财产控制权存在分歧，这种情况一开始妨碍了其财产继承人和商业伙伴对公众的再度关注加以利用。

但洛杉矶一位法官周一指定杰克逊的两位商业助手担任临时遗产管理人，从而扫清了障碍。杰克逊的长期代理律师布兰卡(John Branca)和音乐界管理人士麦克莱恩(John McClain)得到授权，对遗产事宜做出决定。

周一晚间，演唱会的一个官方网站开始出售T恤衫、皮带扣、帽子和其他纪念品，这些最初都是为伦敦演唱会设计的纪念品。

AEG还计划制作一部有关杰克逊为复出演唱会做准备的纪录片，利用在策划和排练期间拍摄的100个小时视频为素材。不过，该公司在这样一部电影上获得的收益将取决于能否与杰克逊的遗产代理人达成授权交易。

遗产代理人和AEG还有诸多此类问题有待解决，包括是否必须归还AEG为演唱会先期支付给杰克逊的2,000万美元。AEG为演唱会所做的准备工作花费已接近3,000万美元。

业内人士预计AEG原本可从50场演唱会中实现大约5,000万美元的净收入。现在这家公司必须弄清楚能否弥补取消演唱会所造成的损失，包括50场演唱会的商品和食品销售收入、授权交易、VIP套票以及其他收入。

菲利普斯说，只有坐下来拿出实实在在的计划，我才能知道我们是会弥补损失、赢利还是会赔点钱。

菲利普斯说，AEG的一份价值1,700万美元的保单只有在毒物学检验报告证实杰克逊死于意外的情况下才能生效。此外，AEG正在为已经售出的近100万张演唱会门票退款，其票面价值估计在8,500万美元-1.20亿美元之间。

AEG给了歌迷们一个选择：保留他们已买的演唱会门票作为纪念，而不用退票。这可以抵消杰克逊欠AEG的部分债务，但知情人士说，迄今为止只有10%的人要求留下门票作纪念。