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Jun 25 2011 9:56 AM EDT 23,137Michael Jackson's Legacy, Two Years Later, By the NumbersLegendary singer's impact continues to blossom in the two years since his death; MTV News breaks down the figures.By Gil Kaufman Like Elvis, Bob Marley, Notorious B.I.G. and Frank Sinatra before him, Michael Jackson's influence has continued, and grown, since his untimely death on June 25, 2009.On the second anniversary of the King of Pop's passing, MTV News took a look at the enduring appeal of MJ's music, videos and imagery, which continue to fascinate and attract fans across the globe thanks to a series of posthumous albums, a movie, video games and two upcoming Cirque du Soleil live shows.Where Were You Two Years Ago When You Heard the News? Tell Us on Facebook$72 million: According to Box Office Mojo, Jackson's posthumous concert film, "This Is It," has grossed more than $72 million to date domestically and $189 million in foreign markets for a worldwide take over more than $261 million. It ranks as the #2 music documentary of all-time behind Justin Bieber's "Never Say Never." The film has also generated nearly $45 million in DVD sales in the U.S.16: In May, Jackson lodged his first #1 on the Billboard magazine Dance/ Club Play Songs chart in 16 years with the latest single from his posthumous Michael album, "Hollywood Tonight."2: Number of posthumous albums that have been released since Michael's death in June 2009. Last year's Michael has sold just over 510,000 copies to date, while the This Is It collection has moved nearly 1 million copies to date in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.15,000: The number of videos submitted by fans since March for the crowdsourced video for "Behind the Mask." After they were edited down by a five-person team over two months, the resulting clip used submissions from more than 1,600 participants from 103 countries.3 million: The amount of copies sold of the Ubisoft "Michael Jackson: The Experience" video game worldwide.$57 million: The reported cost of Cirque du Soleil's traveling MJ show, "The Immortal World Tour, which is slated to kick off on October 2.[glow=red:1k2xe81l]$1 billion:[/glow:1k2xe81l] That gaudy figure is the reported amount the Jackson estate had generated by last June on the first anniversary of the singer's death. According to Billboard, the revenue was generated by a combination of music sales ($429 million), film/TV revenue ($392 million), music publishing ($130 million), licensing ($35 million) and a $31 million recording contract. (A spokesperson for Jackson's estate declined to provide updated figures for this story.)$310 million: The amount of gross earnings reported by the executors of the estate in a December 2010 court filing detailing the progress made in paying off the $400 million in debt run up by the spendthrift singer during his lifetime.16.1 million: MJ was always a big singles artist. Yes, Thriller is one of the best-selling albums of all time, but even in death, fans can't resist cherry-picking some of Michael's best songs. That explains why [glow=red:1k2xe81l]he's sold more than 16 million digital tracks since June 28, 2009,[/glow:1k2xe81l]the first sales week following his passing, according to Nielsen SoundScan. To put that in perspective, from the time Nielsen began counting digital tracks in 2004 until the week before Jackson's death, the singer had sold just over 8.1 million digital tracks, a figure that has doubled in just the past two years.2013: The projected launch for a second, non-touring Cirque show celebrating Jackson. The yet-untitled show is slated to open in the spring of 2013 at a new theater being built at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.$25 million to $50 million: That's how much Jackson's estate takes in on an annual basis thanks to his stake in the half-million-song Sony/ATV catalog, which includes titles by Elvis, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Beyoncé and Bob Dylan.
beamer05 commented | 8 days agoI happened to be in California the day Michael Jackson died. I got off the plane, and my car driver informed me that MJ had died. I was in shock, it was crazy. I began to text anyone I could think of. We actually had to take a different route to the Hotel I was staying at, because traffic was so backed up by the Hospital MJ was taken to. When I was in the elevator heading to my room at the hotel, random strangers and I talked about his death. Later in the evening, I was on a 'tour' via a Limo (I was out there for a contest I had won), and our driver took us by the house MJ lived at- and ultimately died in. It was so surreal, seeing hundreds of people lined up...many of them were looking at the Limo, thinking I might be someone like a family member- not knowing I was no one special, just a guy from the small state of Vermont who happened to arrive in California that day. I remember flipping through the TV later that evening, and MJ was all the talk- rightfully so. I still couldn't believe it. The next morning, I got to meet the cast of the TV show 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' (the main part of the trip), and it was a great time. But, people were still talking about MJ's death. It blew my mind how much of an impact one man had on so many different people. Later that day, I tried to visit his star on the walk-of-fame, but couldn't...there were simply too many people. Dinner, later that night, was at Spagos'...it's a great restaurant, but I still could over hear people talking about his death. The next morning, I left California, bright and early. But, I've often that back to that day- how crazy is it that I arrived in California the day that the King of Pop died? How amazing is it that people, of all different backgrounds, were united by this one man? To wrap this up- I watched MJ's memorial on TV, and it all caught up to me. I kept it together, up until his daughter spoke at the end. For some reason, the images of going by his house, being in California when he died, and seeing his daughter speak...just broke me down. I can't lie, I was 22 at the time...and I cried like a little baby. So, 2 years later, the death of MJ is still shocking- but not quite as much. The man was truly an all time great, and no one will ever replace what he did. R.I.P. MJ, and hopefully you have found more peace in Heaven than you experienced on earth!
