杰克逊去世一周年 收入超过十亿

6月25日是流行天王迈克尔•杰克逊去世一周年的纪念日。在这一年里，与他有关的音乐、电影及其它商业产品持续热销，带来了超过十亿美元的收入。在杰克逊生命的最后几年里，他的资产状况可谓一团糟，欠债大约5亿美元，他名下的梦幻庄园也一度面临被拍卖的艰难境地。

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Michael Jackson's demise has lent weight to the wry showbusiness maxim that death is the ultimate career move.

Soaring（翱翔的，高耸的） music sales, a blockbuster（轰动，巨型炸弹） movie and an array of commercial spin-offs: Michael Jackson's demise（死亡，终止） has lent weight to the wry（歪斜的） showbusiness maxim that death is the ultimate career move.

In the final years of his life, Jackson's finances were widely reported to be in chaos⁴（混乱） , with the singer facing foreclosure（丧失抵押品赎回权） on his famed Neverland Ranch⁵ and struggling with debts of roughly $US500 million.

However in the 12 months since Jackson's death on June 25 last year, the King of Pop's empire has witnessed a money-spinning resurgence⁶（复活，再现） , generating revenues（收入，税收） estimated at more than $US1 billion.

Jackson's estate has paid off more than half of the singer's debts and is likely to put his affairs back into the black（变为有盈余） in the coming year.

The financial bonanza⁷（富矿带，好运） began almost immediately, with Jackson selling nearly 4 million records in the six weeks after his death.

By June 2010, total album sales had swollen⁸ to 9 million in the United States alone, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan.

Internationally, Jackson has sold 24 million albums.

Factor in digital downloads - estimated at 26.5 million worldwide - as well as downloads of ringtones and the Jackson estate has raked in around $US429 million from music sales alone.

The astonishing success of Jackson's music is reflected in the fact that the singer now accounts for nine of the 17 bestselling R&B hits in digital history, including Thriller⁹, Billie Jean and Beat It.

Jackson's death has also been no impediment（妨碍，阻止） to his recording¹⁰ career.

In March, the administrators¹¹ of his estate - John Branca and John McClain - inked a deal with Sony Music Entertainment believed to be one of the biggest in history.

The deal is expected to guarantee the Jackson estate as much as $US250 million.

It will see the release of 10 albums over seven years until 2017.

The albums will range from a collection of previously¹² unreleased tracks to re-releases, in particular of 1979's Off The Wall.

The deal also allows Sony and the estate to work together on licensing¹³ arrangements for films, television and stage shows using Jackson's music.

Mr Branca says administrators are using Elvis Presley's posthumous¹⁴（死后的） empire as a template（模板，样板） for how to manage Jackson's legacy¹⁵.

"To this day there's interest in Elvis. And I think there will be enduring interest in Michael," Mr Branca said when the Sony deal was signed.

"It's our job to continue to expose Michael to new generations."

The blanket worldwide coverage¹⁶ given to Jackson's death has undoubtedly¹⁷ played a part in helping¹⁸ the singer find new audiences.

The This Is It movie, made from rehearsal¹⁹（排演，预演） footage of the singer's comeback concerts, became a hit last year, earning more than $US260 million worldwide at the box office and an additional $US68 million in DVD sales and rentals²⁰（租金收入） .

A further $US15 million is expected from the sale of television rights to the film, while licensing for screenings outside theatres - airplanes, hotels, cruise ships（游艇） - could net around roughly $US24 million.

Mr Branca and Mr McClain have also given their blessing²¹ to a groundbreaking Guitar Hero-style video game from manufacturers Ubisoft, where gamers get points for emulating²²（仿效） Jackson's signature moonwalk and other dance steps.

Meanwhile, the world famous Cirque du Soleil is planning a series of shows next year inspired by Jackson's music and dance work.

The tour of specially²³ themed shows will kick off late in 2011, with an extended run in Las Vegas.

By late 2012 the Montreal-based contemporary（当代的） circus troupe²⁴（马戏团） aims to have established a permanent performance there.

Jackson's estate owns 50 per cent of each project and will receive royalty²⁵ payments for the intellectual property（知识产权，著作权） used in the shows.