On March 5, 2009, Michael Jackson stood in front of crowds of fans. Before screaming fans, he pronounced with pumping arms: "This is it!" A few months later, Jackson was dead. With the late pop star's return to radio, television and the cultural events, Forbes judges that Jackson has made $90 million since his death June 25. This figure is based on his royalties  from album sales, radio play, rights to his name and royalties from his stock in the Sony/ATV music catalog  . Jackson's music was his most easily-seen source in the last months. "Nothing increases the value of an artist than death ... an untimely death," says Barry Massarsky, a music industry economist. The music's immediate value was clear. Since June, Jackson has sold more than 5.9 million albums in the U.S. and another 4.5 million overseas. In the first weeks after his death, there were 5.6 million single downloads across North America, Europe and Australia. Jackson recently has three of the top 20 best-selling albums of the year in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan. His 2003 hits album Number Ones is the best seller of the year, beating Taylor Swift's Fearless. More than 500,000 Jackson ringtones and 100,000 music videos were sold. In the week following his death, songs by The Jackson 5, The Jacksons and Michael were played over 100,000 times on the radio, according to Nielsen BDS. Jackson's estate will likely see more money by the end of this year, as it has rights to some of the profits from This Is It as well as the two-disc album of the same name. The estate will share 90% of the film profits with AEG. Ticket sales from an exhibit opening in London will also contribute a likely profit. Hundreds of Jackson's personal belongings-his L.A. Rolls Royce etc-will remain on show for three months at the O2 for fans willing to shell out $25 for a view. The pop singer bought ATV Publishing, for $47.5 million in 1985. Ten years later, he sold the catalog to Sony for $95 million and took a 50% stock in Sony/ATV, which is now worth about $1.7 to $2 billion. So he still owned half the Sony/ATV catalog at his death. Jackson's future earning potential is based on his stock in valuable music and as well as the value of his image . As many musicians, actors and artists before him, Jackson's fame could have a long tail on the market with allowable products, advertising and entertainment events. What can we know about the Sony/ATV catalog?
Jackson sold ATV catalog to Sony in 1985. Jackson had half right of ATV Publishing at his death. Jackson sold ATV catalog to Sony for $ 47.5 million in 1995. Jackson's stock in Sony/ATV now has a value of about $ 1.7 billion to 2 billion.