Legendary MJ conference call with Global Live Events

Legendary Michael Jackson FA was just in a conference call with Global Live Events about the Forever Michael Tribute Concert which is scheduled for October 8th 2011. We spoke with Andy Picheta who is the Live Event Director. The call lasted for about 15 minutes. Because this is about Michael and his fans we are sharing the information we got from the phone call with you here.

Invitation to KISS / Gene Simmons

Picheta explained that the selection of KISS was not discussed with the Jackson family. Also they did not research it enough and were just happy to book the act since they were told Michael was very fond of them. Now, especially because of the recent comments made by Simmons, they are happy that they have been removed from the line-up. GLE hopes that this shows to the fans that they do care.

Why contact the fanclubs now?

We were contacted this week by GLE for this conference call. We asked them why now? Why not in the early stages of setting up the tribute concert? Picheta explained that they have done many concerts and tributes. Fans are always part of it but normally a small part. With Michael Jackson it’s totally different. They say they didn’t realize that. When they could do this all over again, they would definitely contact the fanclubs in the early stages.

Picheta also comments that ‘they’ thought organizing a tribute concert for Michael could only be a good thing.

Timing issue

We asked Picheta why the concert was not scheduled for June 25th or August 29th. Now, the concert is badly timed with the trial against Conrad Murray. Picheta explained that they wanted to do the show on one of these dates but that it came with practical issues like artist booking and vanue availability.

So why on October 8th? According to Picheta this is one day different from the start of Michael’s solo career. It was the release of Michael’s first solo single Got To Be There on October 7th 1971 that marked the official launch of his solo career. 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of his solo career.

Ticket pricing

According to Picheta the ticket pricing is normal for concerts this big in the UK. He named the recent Take That concert as example. Tickets of Take That varied from £ 55 upto £ 145. Ticket pricing for this concert start at £ 56. About 2/3 of the audience is able to buy tickets below £ 100.

Charities

Picheta insures that GLE has made a profit share agreement with two charities; Aids LA and the Prince’s Trust. The Prince’s Trust because Michael did a benefit concert for that charity in 1988. They get a share of the profit of ticket sales and TV broadcasting. Picheta insures us that both charities are happy with the agreement.

Guaranteed performances

Picheta explained that fans are protected by the UK law. For example. If someone expects to see Ne-Yo and he wasn’t there they can get a full refund of their ticket. The UK law is very clear about this and protects consumers for this.

Estate of Michael Jackson

The administrators of the Estate of Michael Jackson are handpicked by Michael himself. It is very important for LMJ that the Estate is involved in a tribute of global size. We asked Picheta why they are not working with the Estate. According to Picheta GLE respects the Estate, the work they do and the copyrights they have. He also is clear about the fact that in the UK it is allowed to perform songs from any artist you want as long as you pay for the use of them. There is an organization that takes 2,5 % of the ticket price to make sure this is done.

Picheta says they feel they are not working against the Estate but alongside the Estate. He also points out that 13 Jackson family members will be either attending or performing at the show.

He also referred to the diplomatic response of Janet Jackson who was invited to perform too. Janet told GLE that “it is not right for her at this time”.

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The information above is honest and factual. As usual LMJ wants to protect Michael’s legacy above all. It is our duty to inform his fans with facts so you can decide for yourselves. Please leave a comment to let us know how you feel about the Tribute Concert now.