What about Earth Song, Karen?

The Estate of Michael Jackson told the fans that they had plans to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Michael Jackson’s HIStory album. However, those plans, they claim, have been shattered by COVID-19 and cancelled.

While other Estates (which envy the MJ Estate so much) or artists are able to release albums or even box-sets during the pandemic, the Michael Jackson Estate opted for a capsule system related to “HIStory”.

They had shared that each release anniversary from the album (including the album itself), would get a capsule (like a time capsule) with a set of merchandise.

On May 31, 2020, the first capsule was released containing t-shirts, masks and hoodies representing the first single of the HIStory album: “SCREAM” which was originally released as the first single on May 31, 1995.

This first capsule came with some backlash as the fans felt that the designs were lazy. Slapping the Maxi-single cover on merchandise is not what the fans expected and with so many stunning images of Michael from the set of the short film, it felt as though the Estate were again just throwing something together last minute.

Not to mention that companies producing and distributing the merchandise for the Estate, Musictoday for the US and Sandbag for Europe have been very bad at communicating with customers who have ordered. They changed the date of shipping multiple times without updating customers, and to date, some fans are still waiting to receive their orders… 7 months later!

When we contacted the MJ Online Team regarding the design back in June, we have been ignored. However, we had received confirmation that all releases from the album back in 1995/1996/1997 will get a capsule (Keep that in mind).

Then came June 20! As our big surprise, it seems that the Estate did listen and the designs of the merchandise for the release of the Album Capsule have been more creative: New logo (well, the MJ Logo with a “25” on it) and some more thought had gone into the design, which was better than just slapping the album cover on a t-shirt! However, it’s worth noticing the logo designed and used for ‘HIStory 25’ on the Scream merchandise was now not being used.

But again, the capsule came with some negativity. The first point was the time of delivery which again, some fans are still waiting for their orders to arrive. Some received these items but are still waiting for the first capsule – it’s just a chaotic mess.

And this is not it! Some of the items came with an exceptionally high price tag! So for premium prices, one would expect quality products… well you were wrong to think that!

Check out the review on some of the items from the album capsule here:

On August 15, with no announcement, the 3rd capsule was release on the 25th Anniversary of the single “You Are Not Alone”.

Again, some fans have complained about the designs which although more inventive than Scream, showed clearly scanned single covers being used on the mockups. A bit of photoshopping could have removed those scan marks right out? Or a call to single cover photographer Steven-Paul Whitsitt for the original, high-quality photo. But no.

I cannot report on delivery time or quality because… mmh, I didn’t buy these items, nor did anyone I know – Fool me once…!

In the mean time, the Estate released a range of Face Covering in June 2020 and announced in August a high-end figurine of Smooth Criminal with a Chinese company.

And then November 27 came and went by without a peep…So, where is the “Earth Song” Capsule?

“Earth Song” is one of the most important songs on the album! The Song was the first that overtly dealt with the environment and animal welfare. It went to number one in the United Kingdom, and was the nation’s number-one Christmas single in 1995 spending six weeks at the top spopt. It also topped the charts in Germany, Iceland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland while peaking at number two in France, Ireland, and the Netherlands. Michael went on to receive recognition from various animal and environmental organisations.

At first we thought they delayed the release of the capsule as the US MJ website was offering special discount for Black Friday which came on the same day, and we know they’re not going to give us a discount when they expect us to pay full price. But then the week-end came and went and now a week has been and gone and still no sign of the “Earth Song” Capsule!

We can only find one explanation for the missing capsule – The Estate only see US releases and as Earth Song wasn’t released as a commercial single in the US, it not been eligible for a capsule release! Meaning the next capsule will be on April 16, 2021 for “They Don’t Care About Us” and that is if only they care to carry on this format!

It is an absolute shame for missing “Earth Song” from those capsule releases as Michael Jackson, although a US-born artist, is a worldwide superstar!

HIStory was mostly successful outside the US and not to mention he did not tour in the US for this album!

For many years now, we have heard rumblings that the Estate are keen to make “the brand more high-end” – Meaning producing merchandise with a high price tag and this has been evident in many of the releases attached to the MJ name – with brands such as Hugo Boss, Diamond Supply, Illesteva or Supreme. As you can see, most of those expensive brands are based in the US. Internally, the recent This Is It 10th Anniversary Boxset came with an exceptionally steep price tag.

But Michael Jackson was not only for the most fortunate and wealthy/ During his career, Michael released a whole host of merchandise which was affordable and hugely available to all.

While we understand to have different merchandise for different markets (or wallets), it seems that there is no balance in what the Estate is releasing.

The capsules are a prime example of the way the Estate is dealing with the merchandise of the biggest star on the planet: Inconsistent, low quality, no connection with the fanbase, poor delivery services, limit the access to the masses with a high price tag…

It is hard to see that “other Estates” will be envious of the Michael Jackson Estate for doing such a “great” job when it comes to their product releases, don’t you think?

PS: The comment from the Michael Jackson’s website FAQ saying that other Estates are envious of MJ’s Estate has now been changed to a more political correct sentence.

by Sebastian Mille, Co-author of the Ultimate Collector Book Series.