Quincy in battle with Jacko estate
US singer, songwriter and music producer Quincy Jones is suing Michael Jackson's estate for millions of dollars in royalties generated from some of the star's biggest hits.
Jones, who worked on Jackson's three biggest solo albums - Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad - also named Sony Music Entertainment, the parent company of Jackson's longtime label, Epic Records, in the breach-of-contract complaint.
Jones accused the music giant and the song company controlled by Jackson's estate, MJJ Productions, of denying him royalties, fees and profit-sharing as they exploited Jackson's work through the posthumous concert film This Is It.
His claim also mentioned two Cirque du Soleil productions based on Jackson's music, accompanying soundtracks and the 25th anniversary edition of Bad.
According to the lawsuit, master recordings of songs that Jones produced were remixed and edited to deprive the producer of compensation he was entitled to under agreements with Jackson dating back to the 1970s and 1980s.
The movie This Is It, filmed during rehearsals for those concerts, generated more than $260-million, an equivalent of R2.5-billion, at the box office worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing concert films ever.
The lawsuit seeks at least R196-million in damages.
"Quincy has been frustrated with these matters for a number of years. [He] felt he was not making any progress and needed to take more formal action," Jones's lawyer, Henry Gradstein, told The Hollywood Reporter.
In a statement, Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for the Jackson estate, said: "The estate of Michael Jackson was saddened to learn that Quincy Jones has filed a lawsuit seeking money from Michael's estate.
"To the best of our knowledge, Mr Jones has been appropriately compensated over approximately 35 years for his work with Michael."
Jones, 80, who has worked with such greats as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington, first collaborated with Jackson as one of the composers for the 1978 film adaptation of the musical The Wiz.
He went on to produce Jackson's blockbuster solo albums, including Thriller, which sold 40 million copies. Seven of its nine tracks reached the top 10, according to AllMusic.com.