Michael Jackson's Sales, Streaming Decline after Leaving Neverland Broadcast
by Keith Caulfield, Billboard
March 8, 2019


HBO's new documentary Leaving Neverland, which chronicles allegations of sexual abuse by Michael Jackson, led to a dip in sales, streaming and airplay for his catalog of music in the U.S., according to initial reports from Nielsen Music.

The first two hours of the four-hour Neverland film debuted on HBO on Sunday, March 3, and the second two hours bowed on the network a day later.





Jackson’s combined album and song sales — including his work with the Jackson 5 and The Jacksons — dipped 4 percent in the shadow of the Neverland premiere. His combined sales March 3-5 totaled nearly 8,000, down from the little over 8,000 the previous Saturday, Sunday and Monday (Feb. 24-26).

Breaking that down further, looking at just album sales, his total fell by 39 percent in that span (dropping to about 1,000, down from nearly 2,000). Conversely, his song sales increased by 6 percent (rising to nearly 7,000 up from 6,000).

In terms of on-demand audio and video streams, Jackson’s tunes saw a decline of 5 percent, falling to 19.7 million March 3-5, down from 18.7 million Feb. 24-26.





Viewing Jackson’s radio airplay picture, spins of his songs fell by 13 percent to 5,200 plays across all monitored U.S. terrestrial and satellite radio stations March 3-5 (down from 6,000 on Feb. 24-26).

Notably, there was a marked decline in plays for Jackson’s songs Tuesday, March 5 (the day after the second part of Neverland’s airing), versus Sunday, March 3 (the day of the Neverland premiere).





On Tuesday, March 5, his songs' spin total was 1,600 — down 18 percent compared with that of Sunday, March 3 (1,900). If we scroll back to the week previous, looking at Tuesday, Feb. 26, his songs got a little over 2,000 plays — down just 3 percent compared with his spins Sunday, Feb. 24 (1,950).

It’s unclear if any of Jackson’s albums or songs will see any major impact on next week’s Billboard charts (dated March 16, reflecting the sales and streaming week ending March 7). All of Billboard’s charts dated March 16 are slated to be posted to Billboard’s websites March 12. Reporting of chart rankings will begin to appear within stories starting March 10.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-jacksons-sales-streaming-decline-leaving-neverland-1193509

I wouldn't think they would've been that high before this documentary since he's been gone so long. It's not like he's had any new music out recently or anything.

I wouldn't think they would've been that high before this documentary since he's been gone so long. It's not like he's had any new music out recently or anything.
No but the dilemma now is whether to play his music at all or whether he should be quietly airbrushed out of history now the allegations about paedophilia have become stronger. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a26762732/michael-jacksons-wade-robson-james-safechuck-allegations-timeline/

I'm shocked. Not.

Ed.

No but the dilemma now is whether to play his music at all or whether he should be quietly airbrushed out of history now the allegations about paedophilia have become stronger. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a26762732/michael-jacksons-wade-robson-james-safechuck-allegations-timeline/

Just don't play him. People have had DECADES on end to collect all of his music they want.

Why are the sales just now declining? The documentary didn’t do anything but just rehash what we already knew.

Even though Michael Jackson has been dead since 2009 I cannot see the reason why radio stations want to pull Michael Jackson's entire song library and stores want to pull Michael Jackson's albums from shelves due to HBO's Leaving Neverland and what I think the stores will do is pull every single Michael Jackson album off the shelves and people will grab the albums for collector's items and every piece of Michael Jackson merchandise will disappear from shelves too as well. If you recall when Prince released the soundtrack to his movie Purple Rain the song Darling Nikki was released as a single radio stations pulled the song due to the lyrics and it was teaching young girls bad behavior and Prince didn't get his albums pulled from store shelves either. Another singer that had this happen was Ozzy Osbourne when he released a song that was quickly pulled from rock stations due to it's bad lyrics that caused bad behavior in children and the song was banned from Ozzy Osbourne greatest hits albums but Ozzy never got his albums banned from stores. And I think it's HBO that started this mess because HBO decided to air Leaving Neverland and had not HBO aired Leaving Neverland there wouldn't be troubles with Michael Jackson's legacy and Michael Jackson should be left alone like celebrities like Elvis Presley and Kurt Cobain. I wonder what Michael Jackson would think of this if he was alive today?
Bestie

Even though Michael Jackson has been dead since 2009 I cannot see the reason why radio stations want to pull Michael Jackson's entire song library and stores want to pull Michael Jackson's albums from shelves due to HBO's Leaving Neverland and what I think the stores will do is pull every single Michael Jackson album off the shelves and people will grab the albums for collector's items and every piece of Michael Jackson merchandise will disappear from shelves too as well. If you recall when Prince released the soundtrack to his movie Purple Rain the song Darling Nikki was released as a single radio stations pulled the song due to the lyrics and it was teaching young girls bad behavior and Prince didn't get his albums pulled from store shelves either. Another singer that had this happen was Ozzy Osbourne when he released a song that was quickly pulled from rock stations due to it's bad lyrics that caused bad behavior in children and the song was banned from Ozzy Osbourne greatest hits albums but Ozzy never got his albums banned from stores. And I think it's HBO that started this mess because HBO decided to air Leaving Neverland and had not HBO aired Leaving Neverland there wouldn't be troubles with Michael Jackson's legacy and Michael Jackson should be left alone like celebrities like Elvis Presley and Kurt Cobain. I wonder what Michael Jackson would think of this if he was alive today?
Bestie
He was lucky not to be in prison during his lifetime. He brought his premature death upon himself by the misuse of drugs and is certainly no role model for any person to follow.

I'm not going to comment on the documentary because I haven't seen it.

But as far as this sudden decline in sales goes, this is temporary.

After a while, the scandal will wear off, people will forget about this and sales will stabilize.

I heard "Rock With You" on the car radio yesterday so they are still playing Michael's music here in Altoona PA :wave:

I heard "Rock With You" on the car radio yesterday so they are still playing Michael's music here in Altoona PA :wave:

He was referring to rockin with kiddies on his bed! :lol:

Many celebs. have continued with their careers after being accused/convicted of serious crimes... R Kelly, Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Mike Tyson, Victor Salva... all I'll say is that none of us are saints.

It's hard for some to separate the art from the artist, the work can stand alone despite who created it. Many art geniuses are said to have been screwed up people.

Many celebs. have continued with their careers after being accused/convicted of serious crimes... R Kelly, Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Mike Tyson, Victor Salva... all I'll say is that none of us are saints.

It's hard for some to separate the art from the artist, the work can stand alone despite who created it. Many art geniuses are said to have been screwed up people.
R. Kelly: dropped by his record company and career probably over.

Woody Allen: allegations probably true but dropped by the Connecticut Prosecutor due to lack of evidence.

Roman Polanski: charged with sex assault of a minor and related activity. On the run in Europe since 1978.

Mike Tyson: sentenced to 6 years for rape.

Victor Salva: sentenced to 3 years for child sex abuse.

The fact with Michael Jackson is that his lawyers paid hush money for years to keep him out of prison. He attained sainthood status purely from his image makers. The BBC even broadcast his funeral live on UK television.

None of the above should have been allowed in a position of trust with minors again, even if they were allowed to continue in their chosen careers.

He was lucky not to be in prison during his lifetime.
Why? There was no evidence of him doing anything illegal.

He brought his premature death upon himself by the misuse of drugs.
He lived a very hard life, largely because of judgemental people just like you. And it was his "doctor", who gave him an overdose.

... and is certainly no role model for any person to follow.
Yeah... A misunderstood and talented man, who did what he could to help children and animals all over the world. How could he possibly be a role model for anybody? :rolleyes:

He was referring to rockin with kiddies on his bed! :lol:
Eh… No, he wasn't. And the song wasn't even written by him anyway.

Many celebs. have continued with their careers after being accused/convicted of serious crimes... R Kelly, Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Mike Tyson, Victor Salva... all I'll say is that none of us are saints.

It's hard for some to separate the art from the artist, the work can stand alone despite who created it. Many art geniuses are said to have been screwed up people.
Michael was never convicted of anything. And all of his accusers are the screwed up people here, who are willing to destroy an innocent man's legacy and hurt his family for money.

The fact with Michael Jackson is that his lawyers paid hush money for years to keep him out of prison.
Absolutely not. He paid money to one family once, and only because his insurance company adviced him to do so.

He attained sainthood status purely from his image makers. The BBC even broadcast his funeral live on UK television.
If MJ had some "sainthood status", this crap would never have happened. And why is it a problem to you, that a memorial service about him was broadcasted on TV almost ten years ago?

Absolutely not. He paid money to one family once, and only because his insurance company adviced him to do so.


If MJ had some "sainthood status", this crap would never have happened. And why is it a problem to you, that a memorial service about him was broadcasted on TV almost ten years ago?
Because he was a paedophile and illegal drug user. I can only surmise that your English skills are insufficient to understand the information which is now in the public domain.

Because he was a paedophile and illegal drug user. I can only surmise that your English skills are insufficient to understand the information which is now in the public domain.
What is your proof that he was a paedophile? Neither is there any proof that he used illegal drugs.

What is your proof that he was a paedophile? Neither is there any proof that he used illegal drugs.
Watch the Leaving Neverland documentary. https://www.theguardian.com/music/video/2019/mar/11/what-we-know-about-michael-jacksons-history-of-sexual-abuse-allegations-video

Watch the video on Michael Jackson's autopsy. https://youtu.be/0gmXYKicWJk

..and whilst you're about it learn about the limitations on free speech in your own country. https://youtu.be/H4tRM7A3yX8

The correct video has been removed from YouTube but here is a discussion of its contents. https://youtu.be/_aWjKDih1G8

Michael was never convicted of anything. And all of his accusers are the screwed up people here, who are willing to destroy an innocent man's legacy and hurt his family for money.

I know that Jackson was never convicted of anything, like Woody Allen, and being accused hasn't hurt their careers.

Others who were convicted also continued in their professions.

Watch the Leaving Neverland documentary. https://www.theguardian.com/music/video/2019/mar/11/what-we-know-about-michael-jacksons-history-of-sexual-abuse-allegations-video

Watch the video on Michael Jackson's autopsy. https://youtu.be/0gmXYKicWJk

..and whilst you're about it learn about the limitations on free speech in your own country. https://youtu.be/H4tRM7A3yX8

Leaving Neverland is one sided and isn't really "proof" of anything.

Leaving Neverland is one sided and isn't really "proof" of anything.

So you're saying they make documentaries like that about EVERY male singer??!?

I'm not saying it's iron clad proof but it's VERY compelling. There are at least 6 different men who've come forward who say Jackson molested/raped them as kids. These are men who had no connection to each other before they met Jackson.

I always thought he was guilty. At the very least he was screwed up. A grown man doesn't go to bed with children. Saying that I'm against censoring his songs. This is just the way things are nowadays. Trying to erase something because you hate the artist. There's plenty of stuff hiding in the closet out in Hollyweird.

NYC radio currently still plays him.

The problem with sexual abuse is that it's secretive by nature. You have to take the evidence available now and if you can't see it then I'm truly sorry for you whether you require my sympathy or not.

So you're saying they make documentaries like that about EVERY male singer??!?

I'm not saying it's iron clad proof but it's VERY compelling. There are at least 6 different men who've come forward who say Jackson molested/raped them as kids. These are men who had no connection to each other before they met Jackson.

Where did I say that?

People can make documentaries about anything, such as UFO and Bigfoot sightings. Just because there's a docu. on someone or something out there doesn't mean it's true.

I don't know if Michael Jackson did anything to those kids.

I also don't know if he didn't do anything to those kids.

I saw part of Leaving Neverland with my mom and I cannot see why this series is causing Michael Jackson's legacy to be tarnished and why I think Leaving Neverland was even released on HBO was because I think the Michael Jackson estate is in trouble and they want to get every single true story of Michael Jackson history finally released to the public in order to save the estate from going bankrupt. With the death of Michael Jackson's father Joseph Jackson I think this has hurt the Jacksons even more and they have been causing fans stress not to have Michael Jackson fans buy any of his albums and that I think is the main cause of this decline. I also wonder if this has also caused many of the albums from The Jackson 5 to be scarce and many of Janet Jackson's first albums to be hard to find and even Jermaine Jackson's albums will be out of print too. When it has come down to it when you are a singer who has passed away you should never let your legacy get tarnished and as I mentioned in my previous post it seems that Michael Jackson is now being treated like Elvis Presley and they should have good things to say about Michael Jackson rather than focus on other stories about his career
Bestie

^His “legacy” was already tarnished BEFORE he died.

I saw part of Leaving Neverland with my mom and I cannot see why this series is causing Michael Jackson's legacy to be tarnished and why I think Leaving Neverland was even released on HBO was because I think the Michael Jackson estate is in trouble and they want to get every single true story of Michael Jackson history finally released to the public in order to save the estate from going bankrupt.

The Jackson estate has nothing to do with the HBO doc. and they blasted the film. They are making no money from it.




With the death of Michael Jackson's father Joseph Jackson I think this has hurt the Jacksons even more and they have been causing fans stress not to have Michael Jackson fans buy any of his albums and that I think is the main cause of this decline.

What exactly does Joe Jackson's death have to do with album sales declining?

I watched Leaving Neverland and it was riveting.

Both men told very similar stories, even before they met and I definitely believed them.

What is a mystery to me is whether Michael Jackson would have been a child molester or gay if he had not had the miserable slave-like childhood he had, chiefly at the hands of his father.


Woody Allen: allegations probably true but dropped by the Connecticut Prosecutor due to lack of evidence.

I've seen zero evidence that Woody Allen was guilty of anything. And I've lived in NYC my entire life and followed the story closely. If anything, there's more evidence that Mia Farrow made the story up, bolstered by Woody's wife Soon-Yi, Mia's daughter.

Michael Jackson is an excellent example that child molesters don't do it once or wait until they're 60 years old to do so. There has never been any hint of any other allegation against Woody Allen - ever.

^His “legacy” was already tarnished BEFORE he died.

LOL..not as badly as it is now!

He actually had sold out all the concerts for his farewell tour that never happened because he died. So his legacy was nowhere NEAR as big as it was during the Thriller days but MILLIONS still wanted to see him.

LOL..not as badly as it is now!

He actually had sold out all the concerts for his farewell tour that never happened because he died. So his legacy was nowhere NEAR as big as it was during the Thriller days but MILLIONS still wanted to see him.

Well, that’s because he was a great entertainer.

I watched Leaving Neverland and it was riveting.

Both men told very similar stories, even before they met and I definitely believed them.

What is a mystery to me is whether Michael Jackson would have been a child molester or gay if he had not had the miserable slave-like childhood he had, chiefly at the hands of his father.




I've seen zero evidence that Woody Allen was guilty of anything. And I've lived in NYC my entire life and followed the story closely. If anything, there's more evidence that Mia Farrow made the story up, bolstered by Woody's wife Soon-Yi, Mia's daughter.

Michael Jackson is an excellent example that child molesters don't do it once or wait until they're 60 years old to do so. There has never been any hint of any other allegation against Woody Allen - ever.
I don't see any validity in speculating on Michael Jackson's sexuality or motives but your mind may work differently. As for Woody Allen you do make a good point about child molesters in general, though it's paedophilia which is more likely to be a serial offence and remain uncured. There were also more details forthcoming about the abuse, which made me think that it did happen:

“I was taken to a small attic crawl space in my mother’s country house in Connecticut by my father. He instructed me to lay down on my stomach and play with my brother’s toy train that was set up,” Farrow told Gayle King of CBS This Morning. “As I played with the toy train, I was sexually assaulted … As a seven-year-old, I would say, I would have said he touched my private parts.”

"His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has."

Am I the only person here thinking Streisand should be held accountable in a court of law for these comments? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47680378

"His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has."

Am I the only person here thinking Streisand should be held accountable in a court of law for these comments? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47680378

Unless you're threatening someone or slandering them, you can't be taken to court for your opinion here in the U.S. It's freedom of speech.

Unless you're threatening someone or slandering them, you can't be taken to court for your opinion here in the U.S. It's freedom of speech.

You can’t be taken to court BUT you can be taken to the cleaners.

Unless you're threatening someone or slandering them, you can't be taken to court for your opinion here in the U.S. It's freedom of speech.
I see she's since apologized, and rightly so.

I see she's since apologized, and rightly so.

It doesn't matter. Once you've said something you cant take it back. It's out there and it's hurt and offended some people.

Think before you speak.