Who Owns the Michael Jackson Story?

About this episode

AJ discusses the implications of who tells the Michael Jackson story in the new biopic and the broader issues of ownership in music.

Subscribe to Rhythm FM: https://www.youtube.com/@realrandr AJ went to see the Michael Jackson biopic — and left with more questions than answers. Not about Michael. About who's telling the story and why. We break down why the film feels surface level, what gets left out (The Wiz, Janet Jackson, Diana Ross), and how the same thing happened with the Bob Marley doc. Then we zoom out: when a label owns an artist's catalog, they don't make biopics to honor the legacy — they make them to monetize the IP. Fela Kuti just got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Three months after his catalog got purchased. Draw your own conclusions. We also talk Diplo, why his 2008 funk documentary changed how we see him, and what it actually means to have skin in the game as a DJ.

People in this episode

Host: AJ

Topics covered

• Michael Jackson biopic
• storytelling in music
• ownership of artist's catalog
• biopics and monetization
• impact of documentaries
• Fela Kuti
• Diplo's influence

Keywords

• Michael Jackson
• biopic
• storytelling
• music ownership
• Fela Kuti
• Diplo
• documentary
• Janet Jackson
• Diana Ross
• Bob Marley

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rhythm FM

Books & works: The Wiz, Bob Marley doc

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