LOS ANGELES — Sony is paying $750m to the estate of Michael Jackson for the late pop star’s stake in their joint music business to take control of a catalogue that includes artists Sting and Alicia Keys.The terms call for Sony to make a lump sum payment of $733m for Jackson’s 50% stake in Sony-ATV Music Publishing, as well as future distributions, according to a statement.Talks on a deal began in last September, when Sony exercised its right under their joint venture to buy out Jackson’s estate.The deal consolidates Sony’s control over a catalogue of almost 4-million songs as music industry revenues shift increasingly to subscription services offered by Apple, YouTube and Spotify.The Tokyo-based company is sharpening its focus on network services including game and movie streaming centred on its PlayStation console."The value of music assets is increasing with the growth of streaming," said Damian Thong, an analyst at Macquarie Group in Tokyo. "Sony is actually paying less than the ...
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