A Thriller On Wall Street

MICHAEL JACKSON periodically pops into public view, his emergence often stage-managed in minute detail, including the well-placed tabloid leak. There he is before the cameras with his latest business partner--a Saudi prince or a prominent African-American entrepreneur--unveiling megabuck plans for amusement parks or casinos from Warsaw to Detroit. Here he is in the New York Post supposedly house-hunting in a Manhattan ZIP code with stratospheric sales prices, a getaway from his famed Neverland Ranch, with its amusement rides and petting zoo. Or there's a mention of his days spent crooning to his two babies, while his wife--an assistant to his plastic surgeon--heads off to work.

The houses, the hotel suites, the staff all add up to one of the most lavish lifestyles in show business. Now, to help keep it all going, the King of Pop is turning up in a new venue--Wall Street. He is hoping to pull off a high-finance coup to the tune of $100 million or more. How? Float Jackson bonds.

The financial move would be slick but simple. Selling the bonds would allow Jackson to, in effect, borrow against future royalties from golden oldies, including early Beatles hits, that he owns. The eccentric performer began to consider the strategy last year, several music-industry executives say. Former EMI Capitol Music boss Charles Koppelman, backed by Prudential, now has the inside track to underwrite Jackson bonds. In an interview, Koppelman was mum on Jackson, but said he is poised to announce $250 million worth of music-royalty deals. Jackson's longtime adviser, attorney John Branca, didn't respond to calls.

On Wall Street, a bull market in old tunes may be slowly emerging. In 1997 glam-rocker David Bowie issued ""Bowie bonds,'' becoming the first to employ the novel approach of raising a lump sum--$55 million--secured by anticipated royalties on his old compositions--25 of his pre-1990 albums. David Pullman, a financier who advised Bowie, pioneered the new-wave showbiz financing. Like Bowie, Jackson would receive immediate cash, while investors would reap the future royalties from songs he controls. Jackson's holdings include some of pop music's biggest hits. In the mid-1980s, he acquired about 250 Beatles tunes, including ""Yesterday'' and ""Let It Be.'' They now are part of Sony/ATV, one of the largest music publishers, with control of more than 120,000 songs, including hits by Babyface and Mariah Carey. Jackson co-owns it with Sony. Industry experts estimate that Sony/ATV earns at least $50 million annually before expenses and royalty payments to songwriters. Jackson also owns Mijac, which controls his own hits, including ""Billie Jean'' and ""Thriller.'' It grosses an estimated $15 million annually.

Jackson needs a lot of cash to sustain his much-chronicled lifestyle. At one point, his monthly expenses exceeded $1 million, say people once familiar with his finances. In addition to the costly Neverland, he's had mammoth legal expenses. It's been widely reported that he settled a lawsuit alleging child molestation for $20 million. Jackson tends to travel with an entourage and stays in suites at the most luxurious hotels. He seems determined to live out the title to one of his hits--""Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough.'' Except he never seems to be sated.

Jackson's income doesn't add up to the king's ransom it once was. In recent years, he has been dogged by rumors of cash squeezes, despite his multimillion-dollar annual earnings. Last year, Forbes estimates, he earned $20 million, down from $65 million in 1989. His more recent albums, while successful, fell far short of 1982's ""Thriller,'' the biggest-selling album of all time at 45 million copies worldwide. ""HIStory,'' released in 1994, has sold a lower-than-expected 13 million worldwide, despite a $30 million Sony marketing push. In the past, Jackson has run up heavy bank debt, using his old songs as collateral. (He presumably would have to repay such loans out of cash from a bond sale.) Indeed, music-industry sources say, it was a big loan, which the former Chemical Bank called in during the early 1990s, that first threw Jackson into a cash crunch. Some of Jackson's advisers swear that the star is now trying to live within his means. In May one of his managers was quoted as saying the star was ""getting rid of some of the crazier spending.'' Said another adviser in an interview last week: ""He's getting back on his feet now. He was able to come back from a disastrous situation.'' But other associates, while acknowledging Jackson's valuable assets, believe his cash-flow problems are not quite behind him. If he can float his Jackson bonds, perhaps he'll be a thriller on Wall Street, if not with a new generation of music buyers.