Three of the late King of Pop's tracks, 'Monster', 'Keep Your Head Up' and 'Breaking News', have been taken down from major streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
- Jul 7, 2022
AceShowbiz - Michael Jackson's representative is speaking out. The late King of Pop's spokesperson has responded after the star's three songs were removed from major streaming platforms amid fake vocals allegations.
The songs in question, "Monster" featuring 50 Cent, "Keep Your Head Up" and "Breaking News", all appeared on Michael's 2010 posthumous project "Michael". As a result, only seven songs from the 10-track album are now available on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
A spokesperson for Michael insisted that the move "had nothing to do with their authenticity." The representative explained, "I should point out that the removal of these three songs has nothing to do with their authenticity."
"The Estate and Sony Music believe the continuing conversation about the tracks is distracting the fan community and casual Michael Jackson listeners from focusing their attention where it should be -- on Michael's legendary and deep music catalog," added the rep.
Michael's estate and Sony Music told USA Today in a statement, "Nothing should be read into this action concerning the authenticity of the tracks." They went on stressing, "It is just time to move beyond the distraction surrounding them."
The news arrived eight years after a fan named Vera Serova filed a lawsuit against Michael's estate and Sony Music for allegedly using fake vocals on the aforementioned tracks. The court ruled in favor of the estate and Sony Music in 2018 since both parties could not determine the identity of the vocals, they were not liable for charges.
"Because [Sony Music, MJJ Productions and the Jackson estate] lacked actual knowledge of the identity of the lead singer on ['Breaking News', 'Monster' and 'Keep Your Head Up'], they could only draw a conclusion about that issue from their own research and the available evidence," the court documents stated. "Under these circumstances, [Sony Music, MJJ Productions and the Jackson estate's] representations about the identity of the singer amounted to a statement of opinion rather than fact."
