Michael Jackson- Officials description

MICHAEL JACKSON ESTATE F.A.Q. SUBMIT A QUESTION
This page has been created to provide answers to commonly asked questions received by the Estate through the Michael Jackson Online Team. The page will be updated occasionally with additional questions and answers and you can submit questions for consideration through the submission form on this page.

WHY ISN’T NEVERLAND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC?
Neverland unfortunately cannot be open for public visitation. We wish it could. Its location and the applicable zoning regulations prohibit opening it up to the public. During his lifetime, Michael explored this possibility and was faced with the fact that it could not be done.

WHY IS THE ESTATE SELLING NEVERLAND AND NOT KEEPING IT FOR MICHAEL’S CHILDREN?
Neverland is managed and controlled by Colony Capital, not by the Estate. This is based on a contract Michael signed in 2008. We did explore with Colony Capital a number of potential options for Neverland, including donating it to the State of California to be preserved for historical purposes and special events, but none proved feasible and ultimately Colony decided to sell the property. Neverland has always been and will continue to be a very expensive property to maintain. Thus, without any viable option to generate income from the property, Colony’s decision to find a buyer is understandable and it is the same reason that the Estate cannot purchase the property. We trust that any new owners will respect the historical importance and special nature of this wonderful property.

We also think it is important to keep in mind that as magical and beautiful a place as Neverland was during the years Michael lived there, it was not his home for the last few years of his life and he publicly stated that it would not be his home again. Michael’s music, vision and messages remain ever present with us - the artist, the creative genius and the caring human being with an unparalleled passion for the planet and the people who inhabit it. This will continue to be immortal and inspire generations to come.

IS THERE GOING TO BE A PERMANENT MICHAEL JACKSON MUSEUM?
We do hope that there will be a Michael Jackson Museum. We have and will continue to explore that possibility. We are also researching the possibility that the Hayvenhurst property could be opened for limited public tours and we are optimistic about this possibility. While this is not imminent, it is something we would like to accomplish.

WHY DON’T YOU RELEASE EVERYTHING IN THE VAULT?
Eventually more music will be released but there is nothing in the vaults that is finished and ready for release. We don’t and won’t release everything in the vaults based on the choices Michael made during his life.

We agree with LA Reid’s philosophy on Xscape: we prefer to start with those recordings on which Michael sang full vocals because we know those are the ones he put the most work into. We are criticized by some fans when we don’t release unreleased material. And we are criticized by other fans when we release unreleased material using top producers, many of whom worked with Michael, to finish the recordings. If we released demos by themselves, they would not be commercially successful because they are, by definition, unfinished.

WHAT INSPIRED SCREAM AND MICHAEL JACKSON’S HALLOWEEN?
The Scream album and the animated Halloween special were inspired by Michael’s love of Halloween and animation as well as the public interest every October in Thriller. Michael Jackson’s Halloween and the Scream album are intended to serve as the first part of a slate of Halloween releases to take place in future years - we love the idea of Michael Jackson dominating Halloween!

Scream is meant to be a playlist that will return to streaming services each October and there may also be special collector vinyl and CD releases like this year’s glow in the dark vinyl that could include other content or surprises as well.